SPECIAL WORDS FOR SEX AND RELATIONSHIP 225 



have Sanskrit gdmdtri, 1 Greek 7^/3/009, Latin gener, for 

 son-in-law. The base idea here seems to be simply that 

 of the begetter, the procreator, the root being jam, gam y 

 with the sexual weight, as in Greek ya^eco and Latin 

 geminus. In Lithuanian the word is zentas. Thus, 

 while the German word eidam points to son-in-law as 

 an exogamous relation, there is nothing in the Sanskrit, 

 Greek, and Latin words inconsistent with endogamy, i.e. 

 with the gener being originally one of the gamahhida, 

 the kin -group. 2 Indeed there is a good deal to be said in 

 favour of it. Greek 70^/3/309 has the usual vagueness of 

 a word which has been specialised from a wider primi- 

 tive sense ; for, besides son-in-law, we find it used for 

 father-in-law, sister's husband, and wife's brother, and 

 then still more generally for bridegroom, wooer, suitor. 3 

 Sanskrit gdmi for daughter-in-law is used also for 

 sister. Lastly, Lithuanian gente, gentere, sister-in-law, 

 can hardly fail to be connected with the Scandinavian 

 genta, merely signifying girl or young woman, appear- 

 ing O.N. genta, Swedish gcinta, Landsmaal gjenta, and 

 Norwegian jente. 



This identification of a word used primitively for 

 young woman with a marriage relationship occurs in 

 cognate words. Thus Greek wos, daughter-in-law, is 

 used for any female connection by marriage, and further 

 for a bride or a wife. The word is probably a corrup- 

 tion of o-z/uo-09. Latin nurus ( = snurus), daughter-in- 

 law (Italian nuora), is used by Ovid of any young 



1 Zend zdmdtar, son-in-law, and zdmi, birth, may also be noted. 



2 That the son-in-law was originally from the kin seems to be evidenced by 

 the Gothic mtys, Swedish mdgr. See p. 139. 



3 Early and dialect usage. 



VOL. II Q 



