| Summary: | The purpose of the present contribution is to explain the Romance term * locca (f.) 'loach, Barbatula barbatula L.' from an etymological and semantic point of view. The paper develops A. Richard Diebold's hypothesis, according to which the Romance term for 'loach' represents a reflex of the Indo-European term for 'salmon, Salmo salar L.'. The present authors are convinced that Romance * locca derives from Vulgar Latin *lócĭca (f.) by a regular syncope and finally it goes back to the Indo-European archetype *loḱĭḱā (f.) 'salmon'. The exact equivalent of the Romance appellative in question appears to be attested in the Baltic languages, cf. Lithuanian lašišà f.) 'salmon; salmon trout'. The Indo-European term for 'salmon' contained no vowel *a in the nominal root, as the original o-vocalism may be securely confirmed not only by the Romance terms for 'loach', but also by the Middle Armenian name losdi (losti) 'salmon trout, Salmo trutta trutta L.', as well as by early Finno-Samic borrowings from a Proto-Baltic source, cf. Finnish lohi , Sami (Lapponian) luossa , Estonian lõhi 'salmon' vs. Lithuanian dial. lãšis (m. jo-stem), Latvian lasis (m. jo-stem) 'salmon; salmon trout'.
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