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Formerly as I remember I saw somewhere *dhvor- (door, gate, yard, court) connected with the root *vert- (turn) in PIE. This is quite realistic and can be supported with similar Russian words створка (stvorka) meaning leaf of a door or a gate or a small door, and затвор (zatvor) (gate, lock), both originating from PIE *vert-.

But Starostin links *dhvor- to Eurasiatic *durV (Kartvelian: *dur-, Dravidian: *tūr-) meaning "hole". This is quite strange given the difference in meaning and also that *durV strikingly resembles Russian дыра (dyra) also meaning "hole". Vasmer links Russian дыра with Lithuanian duríù, dùriau, dùrti (stab, make hole) but further etymology is uncertain. It is quite natural to suggest that this word is connected to Eurasiatic *durV instead of idea that *durV is connected to *dhvor-.

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  • 6
    What is the question, exactly? – Otavio Macedo Jan 22 '12 at 10:14
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    The question is whether *dhvor- is really connected to *durV – Anixx Jan 22 '12 at 18:26
  • If certain questions get closed for "being about a particular language", then certainly questions should be closed for "being about a particular hypothetical form in a reconstructed language". That said: I vote that we don't close either. – Alexis Wellwood Feb 1 '12 at 5:36
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  1. Yes, it seems that BSL *dhvor < PIE *dhuor- / *dhur- < Skt. dAra / dvAra.

    I saw somewhere *dhvor- (door, gate, yard, court) connected with the root *vert-

  2. No, it does not seem correct.

De Vaan, 2008 (p.233) lists PIE *dhuor- and *dhur- as synonyms.
Also, Whitney, 1879 (#399) explained on vowel-to-consonant transition and suggested examples dvāra and dura.

In Sanskrit, दार [dAra] and द्वार [dvAra] are mostly synonyms. They both mean entrance, and they are often interchangeable in sacral texts.

On the other hand, there's no evidence that द्वार [dvAra] can be related to वृत्र [vRtra] (to rotate).

P.S. In Russian, there are many words derived from [vRtra], including "вертеть" [vʲer'tʲetʲ] (to rotate, to turn) and "ворота" [vɐr'otɐ] (gate). The least has an ancient form of "врата" [vrɐt'a].

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  • What indicates that Sanskrit "dara" is not just a contraction of "dvara" happened inside Sanskrit? Why do you connect it to Eurasiatic *dura? – Anixx Aug 1 '12 at 5:43
  • @Anixx: De Vaan, 2008 (p.233) lists PIE *dhuor- and *dhur- as synonyms. Also, Whitney, 1879 (#399) explained on vowel-to-consonant transition and suggested examples dvāra and dura. – bytebuster Aug 1 '12 at 8:14
  • Also, there was a bad typo in the 1st answer, I'm sorry about that. – bytebuster Aug 1 '12 at 8:28
  • *dhuor- and *dhur- are not synonyms; they are different ablaut grades of the same root. – fdb Mar 8 '16 at 14:19
  • Your initial sentence does not make sense. Nothing in PIE can descend from Sanskrit. By definition, Sanskrit is a descendant of PIE. – brass tacks Mar 8 '16 at 18:05

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