On The Thracian Gloss Ἴτον/Iton
On The Thracian Gloss Ἴτον/Iton

Summary/Abstract: The study focuses on the word ἴτον/iton, known from ancient texts as the Thracian name for the truffle. In 1979, Georgi Rikov proposed a Thracian etymology for the word, which is examined in detail in this paper and argued for on the basis of classical sources and contemporary research into the peculiarities of the truffle fungus. The etymologization of the name ἴτον/iton from the Indo-European root *h3eyd-/*h3oyd-/*h3id- ‘to swell’, in light of the distinctive features of Thracian comparative-historical phonology, is convincing both phonologically and semantically, providing semantic parallels across languages. This gives us grounds to add ἴτον/iton to the list of highly plausible Thracian glosses.The study focuses on the word ἴτον/iton, known from ancient texts as the Thracian name for the truffle. In 1979, Georgi Rikov proposed a Thracian etymology for the word, which is examined in detail in this paper and argued for on the basis of classical sources and contemporary research into the peculiarities of the truffle fungus. The etymologization of the name ἴτον/iton from the Indo-European root *h3eyd-/*h3oyd-/*h3id- ‘to swell’, in light of the distinctive features of Thracian comparative-historical phonology, is convincing both phonologically and semantically, providing semantic parallels across languages. This gives us grounds to add ἴτον/iton to the list of highly plausible Thracian glosses.

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