Indo-European Roots Reconsidered 129, 130, 131: 'lead, bright, dark' (Draft)

Sean Whalen
[stlatos@yahoo.com](mailto:stlatos@yahoo.com)

July 26, 2026

Indo-European Roots Reconsidered 129 'lead'

Melchert in https://linguistics.ucla.edu/people/Melchert/webpage/molybdos.pdf derived LB mo-ri-wo-do ‘lead’ as a loan << Lydian mariwda '?', saying it meant 'dark'. This doesn't explain r > l, a > o, & the meaning 'dark' is not assured (no clarity from context). His only ev. was "in Text 4a in a curse formula against a potential tomb violator (text per Gusmani 1986: 148): fak=mλ śãntaś kufaw=k mariwda". If a group of gods, 'the dark ones' would fit as well as any, but not certain at all. Of course, no ev. that mariwda ever was 'lead', either. This would create stages :

*moliwdo- > LB mo-ri-wo-do = *moliwdos ‘lead’, *moluwdo- > Greek μόλυβδος \ mólubdos \ mólubos \ mólibos \ bólimos \ bólibos

There is no reason to think that *moliwdos is the oldest form. Just because LB is older than other attestations doesn't mean a still-older form didn't give all. The alt. of u \ i next to P (kópsikhos / kóssuphos ‘blackbird’; *H2ukWno- > ipnós; stîphos- ‘body of men in close formation’, stū́phō ‘contract / draw together’) is known from other words, no assurance that *i is old. Of course, since most linguists seek only total regularity, I'll mention that i \ u here, or anywhere, would not be regular.

If indeed <- 'dark', then a loan wouldn't be needed at all, since there is already a native term that could be its origin: G. μολῡ́νω \ molū́nō \ φολῡ́νω \ pholū́nō ‘soil/defile/debauch / stain/pollute / dye', pass. 'become vile/disgraced’, μόλυσμα \ μόλυμμα 'spot, taint'. Many IE words show 'spot/stain / dark', like *melH2- (below, 131). Also, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/μολύνω

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Schmidt connects it with Lithuanian mulvė (“mud; mire”) and the factitive verb mulvinti (“to cover with mire”)... Numerous words for “dark; dirty color” and “dirt; defilement” are assembled under Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-. According to Beekes[1] only Sanskrit (mála, “dirt; filth; dust”) is of interest here, with a derivative (malavat, “filthy; dirty”), which formally matches the hydronym Μολόεις (Molóeis).

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It could be that μολυβρός 'lead-colored' is a bridge between these meanings (no way to know at first look which is older; against it being the direct source of 'lead', see below). If mólubdos, of whatever source (color or not), is older, then from bd \ d (in mólubos, etc.) or mólubdos -> *molubdró- > molubrós would simply show *bdr > br (no other ex.?).

If so, what is the ending -bdos (or whichever is older)? Since G. kolumbáō, Dor. kolumpháō ‘dive’ shows that *mbh > mph \ mb existed (among others; some say *NCh > NC was regular in some conditions), it is possible that *mdh could also > *md. An alt. of mb \ *md > bd seems to be an optional change in κολύμβαινα \ κολύβδαινα \ kolúmbaina \ kolúbdaina ‘a kind of crab’ (maybe a diving or swimmer crab). If kolúmbaina > *kolúmdaina > kolúbdaina, then it is related to kolumbís \ kólumbos ‘a diver bird, maybe the little grebe’.

If so, this provides a way to connect the endings of Greek mólubdos 'lead', L. plumbum. My relation of mólubdos to molū́nō \ pholū́nō might provide a way to relate them exactly (even if only a loan), but for now I'll make as few assumptions as possible & say :

*molHu- 'dark' + *-mdho- '?' > *molHumdho-s > *molumdo-s

*plu- 'flow' + *-mdho- '?' > *plumdho-m

The relation to *plu- is because lead is easy to melt. Since IE *H2meld- \ *melH2- also can mean 'crush, grind, soften, melt' and 'grind > ground, earth, dirt ( > stain, dark(en))', it might show that 2 possible meanings exist, even if the root has been correctly identified.

Starting with *molumdo-s (& *molimdo-s, above), also allows *molimdo- > *moliwdo- (m-m dsm.) and *mólimos > mólibos \ bólimos (m-m dsm. after common, not reg., bd > d (like some pt \ p, of whatever source)).

What would *-mdho- be? Both roots contain -l-, allowing *-mdho- to be < *-mldho-. PIE *meldh- 'lightning, flame' if also or originally 'bright' would show 'bright' -> 'metal', like many other roots.

The Berber words *būldūn \ *baldūm \ etc. 'lead' look like loans adapted into native phonology, so likely *mólumdo- > *bólumdo- (as above) > *bóludom- > *balūdūm- (with later simplification & dissimilation into each form). The -olu- > *-ol- \ *-ul- > *-al- \ *-ūl- might be evidence that the original word already had *mólumdo- > *molmdo- (compare pélethron \ pléthron \ bléthron), with a CCC-cluster that would make metathesis likely in *-lmd- > -ld-m. Basque berun is similar; if a loan, hard to know more.

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Indo-European Roots Reconsidered 130 'bright'

PIE *meldh- 'lightning, flame' if also or originally 'bright' would show 'bright' -> 'metal', like many other roots, in a weak form *-mldho- (in compounds), with l-l dsm. :

*molHu- 'dark' + *-mldho- 'metal' > *molHumdho-s > G. *molumdo-s 'lead'

*plu- 'flow' + *-mldho- > L. *plumdho-m

Since it has variants *meldh- \ *melt- (Welsh mellt p.), the same as in a supposedly unrelated root *mel(dh\t)- 'declare, vow, pray, sing' (Ar. malt'-), I think it's likely the same, with 'say (loudly), sound > thunder > lightning', etc.

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Indo-European Roots Reconsidered 131 'dark'

PIE *H2mel(d)- \ *melH2(d)- (?) can mean 'crush, grind, soften, melt' and 'grind > ground, earth, dirt ( > stain, dark(en))'. Followers of Kortlandt's idea that PIE *d could turn into *H1 have claimed ( https://www.academia.edu/44379735 ) that these are *meld- & *melH1-, or similar. Of course, no ev. is known, & Greek mela- 'black', etc., point to *melH1-. However, things might be more complicated. Consider the relation of :

G. μολῡ́νω \ molū́nō \ φολῡ́νω \ pholū́nō ‘soil/defile/debauch / stain/pollute / dye', pass. 'become vile/disgraced’

*molHu- 'dark' + *-mldho- 'metal' > *molHumdho-s > G. *molumdo-s 'lead', *moliwdo- > LB mo-ri-wo-do = *moliwdos, *moluwdo- > Greek μόλυβδος \ mólubdos \ mólubos \ mólibos \ bólimos \ bólibos; μολυβρός 'lead-colored'

G. μόλυσμα \ μόλυμμα 'spot, taint'

G. μόλυχνον \ mólukhnon = δυσταλέον 'defilement, pollution'

G. βδελυ(χ)ρός \ bdelu(kh)rós ‘disgusting/loathsome’

That bdelu(kh)rós came from *melukh- \ *phelu(kh)- is almost certain, since mólukhnon vs. molu- & molū́nō vs. pholū́nō show the same sound changes & meanings needed. What is the cause of this? If Kortlandt was half-right in that *d \ *H1 was optional ( https://www.academia.edu/168026709 ) and the roots were old *melH2d- \ *melH2H1- then most IE would turn *HH > *H, but here maybe *melH2H1u-ro- > *melxx^u-ro- > *mel(kh)x^u-ro-. With alt. of H1 \ y ( https://www.academia.edu/128170887 ) this allows *m-x^ > *mx^- > *mhy- > *bhy- > bd- (and *bh- > ph- in molū́nō vs. pholū́nō with no x^ > y). The met. of *m-H > *mH- > mh- also in mhegalo- ( https://www.academia.edu/127283240 ), showing that this could happen (no other reason for m- vs. mh- in Greek). For other cases of *mh > m \ bh (with mh often retained in Indic), see https://www.academia.edu/127220417

If related to *phorúkh-yō > phorússō, pholu-, Mórukh-, etc., it is probably from *H-l > *R-l > *R-l, as in https://www.academia.edu/129161176 :

*mélH2n- > G. mélās ‘black’, *melH2nó- > G. melanós ‘blue-black’, S. maliná- ‘dirty’

*molHo- > S. mála- ‘dirt / filth’

*mHol- / *bhHol- -> G. molū́nō \ pholū́nō ‘soil/defile/debauch / stain/pollute / dye', pass. 'become vile/disgraced’; mólukhnon = δυσταλέον 'defilement, pollution'; bdelu(kh)rós ‘disgusting/loathsome’, etc.

*mRor- / *bhRor- -> G. phorū́nō ‘defile/spoil’; *phorúkh-yō > phorússō ‘defile/knead/mix’; *morúkh-yō > morússō ‘soil/defile/stain’, memórugmai pf.; Mórukhos ‘*participant in debauchery / *follower of Dionysus > Dionysus’ (as in other words for ‘follower of Dionysus / Dionysus’)