Proto-Vasconic *lapa, *lepa “smooth, flat rock”

As I have said on numerous occasions, I am very reluctant to start any kind of etymological inquiry with reconstructed words. I do so in this case because what we seem to have is a lithonym that refers to a smooth, flat rock of some kind in at least four Vasconic languages, and also in several non-Vasconic Dene Caucasian languages, but there is no agreement as to what that smooth, flat rock is. Starting from the general and moving to the particular seems appropriate in this case.

We will begin our survey of Vasconic languages with Basque.

Azkue lists the following:

lapitz (AN-Baztan-Oiartzun, L, BN, Z) “slate”, (Z) “loam or marl”, (Salaberry) “roc au niveau de la surface de la terre, de la riviere”.

(Z) lape “refugio bajo el alero de un tejado”.

labar (B-Durango) “edge of a cliff”, (B-Arratia-Aiangiz) “tierra costanera”.

Some points to note:

• Two of the meanings attributed to lapitz refer to smooth, flat rocks. Slate is smooth and flat (flat when it is cut), and the Sallaberry meaning could be referring to rocks than are smooth and flat. Loam and marl (do they exist in the Basque Country?) are a kind of clay, which is fine grained though soft.
• The sibilant suffix carried by lapitz is similar to the -issos suffix often carried by Pelasgian loanwords and toponyms in Greek.
• lapitz (at least the corresponding unrecorded Iberian word) was borrowed by Spanish as lapiz, which can mean “pencil” and “graphite”. There has clearly been an additional meaning shift here.
• lape seems to refer to some kind of lean-to shed, which might have had a slate roof.
• labar refers to a cliff. A cliff is a wall of rock, which can sometimes be smooth. labar carries the fossilised collective suffix, -ar, so it really means “collection of smooth, flat rocks”, ie, a cliff.
• lapitz and lape retain the presumed Proto-Vasconic medial /p/, but labar has hardened this to /b/.
• All three Basque reflexes exhibit first syllable /a/.

Basque lapitz is present in the following Basque toponyms:

Lapitz, Luzaide, Navarra

Lapitz, Ossas-Zuhare, Soule

(There is a phytonymic stem found in Basque lapabelar, lapaitz, lapar, which is also present in other Vasconic languages. It is a distinct homonym.)

Italian Vasconic

Latin lapis, lapidis “stone, milestone, boundary stone, tombstone, precious stone, marble auctioneer’s stand” is a probable Italian Vasconic loanword. Note that four of the six meanings given (from Collins Latin Dictionary) refer to smooth flat rocks. lapis, lapidis cannot be used to refer to just any kind of rock.

Pelasgian

Greek lepas “bare rock, hill”, a probable Pelasgian loanword.

Greek lapare “flank, loins”, a probable Pelasgian loanword.

Note the following:

• lepas derives from the bare stem, while lapare carries the fossilised collective suffix, -ar. A bare rock is likely to be smooth and possibly also flat, while a cliff is analogous to the side of the human body (somanyms are often used to describe geomorphological features).
• Pelasgian provides us with a contrast between first syllable /a/ and first syllable /e/. This is quite a frequent vowel variation in Vasconic. It is not strictly speaking an ablaut variation, because ablaut requires a change in grammatical function.
• Pelasgian retains the presumed Proto-Vasconic medial /p/, which often but not always becomes /b/ in Basque.

British Vasconic

The name of the River Laver (West Yorkshire) bears an obvious resemblance to Basque labar and Greek lapare.

Does Proto-Vasconic *lapa, *lepa have cognates in other non-Vasconic Dene-Caucasian languages?

Almost certainly. Consider the following:

North Caucasian

Chechen laba “shed, peak of a cap”

Ingush laba “shed, peak of a cap”

A shed and a peak of a cap are analogous to a smooth, flat rock.

Avar ƛ̣eb “stone”

Chadakolob ṭeb “millstone”

All the following with metathesis:

Chamalal abul “plate, slab”

Khvarshi boƛ̣o “stone plate, stone for fastening the roof”

Inkhokvari boƛ̣o “stone plate, stone for fastening the roof”

North Caucasian exhibits a variety of first syllable vowels, including /a/ and /e/.

Burushaski

Hunza tápi “stony terrace”

Nagar tápi “stony terrace”

Sino-Tibetan

Pre-classic Old Chinese l(h)ēp “tablet”

Classic Old Chinese l(h)ēp “tablet”

Western Han Chinese l(h)jāp “tablet”

Eastern Han Chinese l(h)iāp “tablet”

Tibetan leb “flat”, gleb “to make flat, plain”

Burmese hljap “very thin”

Sino-Tibetan exhibits both first syllable /a/ and first syllable /e/.

Addendum 19/02/2017

The following French toponyms probably incorporate *lapa, *lepa:

Lapege (Ariege) <*lapa-egi

Laps (P-de-D) <*lapa

Lapte (Haute-Loire), recorded as Lapte in 1201 <*lapa-ate