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A Symbolic–Semantic Approach to Etymology: Methodological Considerations for Deep Comparative Analysis

Etymology, properly understood, is concerned with the origin and development of the constituent elements of a word, not simply with the word as a fixed lexical unit. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis requires consideration of multiple perspectives—phonological, semantic, symbolic, and comparative—rather than relying on a single comparative explanatory framework.

The current approach seeks to trace the origin of words through the partiality of elements in place of the basic symbolic element, rather than through later administrative or functional partial meanings of the word that may represent later historical layers. From this perspective, primordial symbolism constitutes a generative substrate from which multiple lexical forms have emerged, subsequently changing in meaning over time and across languages. Within this framework, a limited set of archaic phonetic-symbolic units - such as bhë, bho, bha, bher, al, el, ar, ol, oi, oia, ui, ul, i, o, zë, zhër, zhor, zhur, za, zan, da, nda, di,  among others - can be understood as elementary semantic cores. These units seem to underlie a wide range of lexical formations in all European languages, functioning as fundamental markers of verb perception, movement, becoming, presence, division of possession, and appearance. Over time, these primordial elements have been recombined, resemantized, and institutionalized, producing the diverse vocabularies observed in historical Indo-European languages.

Accordingly, etymological analysis should not be limited to linear derivation or superficial lexical attestation, but should also consider deep symbolic continuity, where ancient conceptual structures persist beneath later phonological and semantic transformations. Such an approach does not deny established historical linguistics, but complements it by addressing the symbolic and cognitive dimensions of language formation that precede and inform documented linguistic history.

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