On Avestan "aiβiθiiō" (V18.17 & 25)

Abstract

Av. aiβiθiiō is attested only in V18.17 and in its repetition in V18.25. In this paper I give an alternative explanation to the derivation from the root-noun ºsī- (Ved. ºśī-) “lying”. I propose a derivation from the root-noun ºδī- (Ved. ºdhī-) “thinking, perceiving” and I try to explain the presence of θ instead of δ through the contact with a laryngeal, as M. Kümmel has recently tried for other “irregular” Avestan forms.