Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary — *kalbazScott K. ShayWardja Presshttps://protogermanic.org/pgmc_kalbaz_1
Single-entry extract from the dictionary. Cross-references to other entries point to their identifiers in the full dictionary.
*gel*gʷelbʰ-wombgalbalittle worm, larva; small person or animalglaebaclodglābtto save
nounneuterz-stemcalf (young cow)Unknown. The connection with Proto-Indo-European *gʷelbʰ- (‘womb’) is problematic due to the missing labiovelar in Germanic. However, *gʷl̥bʰus- or the weak stem of *gʷélbʰ-us ~ *gʷl̥bʰ-éws would yield *kulbuz-, from which the variant *kelbuz-, also attested in Germanic, could have been derived analogically as a strong stem, whose influence might explain the missing labialization in *kalbiz-.Pokorny connects it to Latin galba (‘little worm, larva; small person or animal’), itself perhaps of Gaulish origin, and proposes Proto-Indo-European *gel (e)b⁽ʰ⁾- as a labial extension of *gel- (‘form into a ball; ball’); compare Old English clyppan (‘to hug, embrace; to clasp’) (modern English clasp), German Klafter (‘armful, fathom’), Latvian glābt (‘to save’), and Latin glaeba (‘clod’), globus (‘round object’). However, such irregular correspondences between *kalbaz and galba would more likely point to substrate origin.Has been compared to Mingrelian ქაბლა (kabla), itself of uncertain origin.