Kʰar

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Kʰar is a pre-Indo-European linguistic root meaning 'stone, rock'. It is found in Armenian kʰar, Basque harri < kʰarr- or Irish carraig 'stone'.

It explains many European place names based on radicals:

• Kar-, Ker- : Carcassonne, Charente^[1], Quéribus, Cher… Note the reduplication in Carcarès, Carqueiranne...
• Har-: Harz^[2]…
• Ar- : Aravis, Arcangues < Arkʰangoiz, Arles, Arros…
• Garr- : Garonne, Garros^[3]/ Garrotxa, Pic du Gar at Saint-Béat…

This root should not be mistaken for the root karr- 'oak'.

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ initial C become Ch in central France.
2. ^ from MHG hart 'forest', linked to Greek Harkunia > Hercynian, with a well known semantic shift between 'mountain' and 'forest'.
3. ^ a widespread placename in Gascony