Etymology question: is hindi 'chowk', supposedly derived from sanskrit 'chatushk' possibly actually derived from arab 'souk'?
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Would not be at all surprised by any such cross-influences, as if languages were made up of pollen spores borne by the wind.
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Etymology is binary. Either one word belongs in the ancestry tree of the other, or it's a coincidence. No vague influence
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Nevertheless it is curious when striking similarities leap out without this connection.
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but words do change via vague influence. "admiral" comes from Arabic "amir". Got the "d" through confusion with "admire"
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprachbund lateral transmission, sandhi, folk etymology, memetics is bacterial.
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