Grób, Grab, Grave, Sepolchro, Tombeau, Tumba: Etymologische Und Semantische Bemerkungen Über Europas Sprachenvielfalt

The Atlas Linguarum Europae consists of motivational and onomasiological maps. The notions presented on the latter can be interpreted etymologically as well as semantically. I dealt with two such notions in the recent past, namely with workman (VIERECK 2004) and with cemetery (VIERECK 2006). The notion to be discussed here is grave. All these three notions will not be published within the frame of the European Linguistic Atlas. In the historico-comparative field of study the degree of linguistic abstraction is quite important. As a reconstructed underlying form is a better common denominator for a group of languages than an actual standard form found in one of the languages of the group, I start with Indo-Germanic/Indo-European roots and describe into which modern linguistic forms they developed. The semantic aspect is, of course, also taken into account as are language contact phenomena. Non-Indo-Germanic languages play a less important role in Europe. They are dealt with in a less comprehensive way. In the second part the languages are grouped together according to semantic criteria, but some morphological observations are also made.