1410: brute and guru Oct 21, 2018

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It is not uncommon that certain pairs of sounds will replace each other over time in some etymologies. This tends to happen for instance between [b] and [p], but with enough time it is possible to have some shared etymology that hinges on [b] and [g]. For instance 'brute' is related through a Proto-Indo-European root to 'guru'. 'Guru' is from Sanskrit but cognates in other languages like the Ancient Greek βαρύς (barús) help to show some of the transitions over time. The relation between [t] and [ɾ] makes enough sense given that this happens in English (e.g. 'butt' with [t] but 'butter' with [ɾ] in American English). The [b]-[g] relationship is less typical but over enough time and across languages this is not so unsurprising to have big differences somewhere. It is really only a coincidence that in English 'guru' denotes a sort of expert but a 'brute' conveys insensibility or idiocy.

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