THAT WHICH RUNS RAPIDLY, FLOWS GENTLY, OR SPREADS WIDELY.
In the preceding chapter I have included the words from which I have not
been able to extract any other sense than that of water. As I have
before mentioned, it is probable that in some instances there may be
fine shades of difference which would remove them out of that category,
but whenever I have thought to have got upon the trace of another
meaning, something has in each case turned up to disappoint the
conditions.
In the present chapter, which comprehends the words which describe a
river as that which runs rapidly, that which flows gently, that which
spreads widely, there may still in some cases be something of an
appellative sense, because there may be a general word to denote a
rapid, a smooth, or a spreading stream.
Among the rivers noted for their rapidity is the Rhone. This is the
characteristic remarked by all the Latin poets--
Testis Arar, Rhodanusque celer, magnusque Garumna.
_Tibullus._
Qua Rhodanus raptim velocibus undis
In mare fert Ararim.
_Silv. Ital._
Præcipitis Rhodani sic intercisa fluentis.
_Ausonius._
I think that Donaldson and Mone are unquestionably wrong in making the
name of this river Rho-dan-us, from a word _dan_, water. Still more
unreasonable is a derivation in the _Cod. Vind._, from _roth_, violent,
and _dan_, Celt. and Hebr. a judge! On this Zeuss (_Gramm. Celt._)
remarks--"The syllable _an_ of the word Rhodanus is without doubt only
derivative, and we have nothing here to do with a judge; nevertheless
the meaning violent (currens, rapidus,) is not to be impugned." The
word in question seems to be found in Welsh _rhedu_, to run, to race,
Gael. _roth_, a wheel, &c. But there is a word of opposite meaning,
Gael. _reidh_, smooth, which is liable to intermix. Also the Germ.
_roth_, red, may come in, though I do not think that Förstemann has
reason in placing all the German rivers to it.
1. _England._ The ROTHA. Lake district.
_Germany._ ROT(AHA), 8th cent. The ROTH, two rivers, the ROTT,
three rivers, the ROD(AU), the ROD(ACH), and the
ROTT(ACH), all seem to have had the same ancient
name.
RAD(AHA) ant., now the ROD(ACH).
_Holland._ The ROTTE, by Rotterdam.
_Asia Min._ RHODIUS ant.[37] Mysia.
2. _With the ending en._
_England._ The RODDEN. Shropshire.
_France._ RHOD[)A]NUS ant., now the Rhone.
_Germany._ The ROTHAINE near Strassburg, seems to have been
formerly ROT(AHA).
3. _With the ending ent._[38]
_Germany._ RADANTIA, 8th cent., now the REDNITZ.
4. _With the ending er._
_England._ The ROTHER in Sussex.
The ROTHER, joins the Thames at Rotherhithe.
5. _With the ending el._
_Germany._ RAOTULA, 8th cent., now the RÖTEL.
Allied to the last word is the Eng. _race_, and the many cognate words
in the Indo-European languages which have the sense of rapid motion, as
Welsh _rhysu_, &c.
1. _Scotland._ The RASAY. Rosshire.
_Ireland._ The ROSS.
_Germany._ The RISS. Wirtemberg.
_Switzerland._ The REUSS. Joins the Aar.
_Russia._ The RASA.
_Spain._ The RIAZA.
_Asia Min._ RHESUS of Homer not identified.
_India._ RASA, the Sanscrit name of a river not identified.
2. _With the ending el._
_Germany._ The ROSSL(AU). Joins the Elbe.
3. _With the ending et._
_Germany._ The REZAT. Joins the Rednitz.
From the Gael. _garbh_, Welsh _garw_, violent, Armstrong derives the
name of the Garonne and other rivers.[39] The root seems to be found in
Sansc. _karv_ or _karp_, Latin _carpo_, &c., implying violent action.
The Lat. _carpo_ is applied by the poets to denote rapid progress, as of
a river, through a country. So likewise more metaphorically to the
manner in which a bold and steep mountain rises from the valley. As also
one of our own poets has said--
Behind the valley topmost Gargarus
Stands up and _takes_ the morning--
Hence this root is found in the names of mountains as well as
rivers--_e.g._, the Carpathians (Carp[=a]tes), and the Isle of
Carp[)a]thus, which "consists for the most part of bare mountains,
rising to a central height of 4,000 feet, with a steep and inaccessible
coast."[40]
1. _Scotland._ GARF water, a burn in Lanarkshire.
The GRYFFE. Renfrew.
_Germany._ The GRABOW. Pruss. Pom.
_Danub. Prov._ CARPIS, Herodotus, see p. 73.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The GIRVAN. Ayr.
_Italy._ The CARPINO. Joins the Tiber.
The GRAVINO. Naples.
3. _With the ending el._
_Italy._ CERBALUS[41] ant., now the CERVARO--here?
From the Sansc. _su_, to shoot forth, _sûs_, _sûtis_, rushing or
darting, Gr. {sousis}, cursus, I take to be the following. Among the
derived words, the Gael. _sûth_, a billow, seems to be that which comes
nearest to the sense required.
1. _Switzerland._ The SUSS.
_Denmark._ The SUUS(AA).
_Bohemia._ The SAZ(AWA). Joins the Moldau.
_Portugal._ The SOUZA.
_Siberia._ The SOS(VA), two rivers.
_India._ The SUT(OODRA), or Sutledge--here?[42]
2. _With the ending en._
_France._ The SUZON.
_Russia._ The SOSNA, two rivers.
Probably to the above we may put a form _sest_, _sost_, found in the
following.
1. _Germany._ The SOESTE. Oldenburg.
_Italy._ SESSITES ant., now the Sesia.
_Persia._ SOASTUS or SUASTUS ant.
2. _With the ending er._
_Russia._ The SESTRA. Gov. Moskow.
_Germany._ The SOSTER(BACH). Joins the Lippe.
To the above root I also place the following, corresponding more
distinctly with Old High German _schuzzen_, Ang.-Sax. _sceotan_, Eng.
_shoot_, Obs. Gael. and Ir. _sciot_, dart, arrow.[43]
1. _With the ending en._
_Germany._ SCUZNA, 8th cent., now the SCHUSSEN.
SCUZEN ant., now the SCHOZACH.
2. _With the ending er._
_Germany._ SCUTARA, 10th cent., now the SCHUTTER, two rivers.
SCUNTRA, 8th cent., now the SCHONDRA and the SCHUNTER.
From the Germ. _jagen_, to hunt, to drive or ride fast, Bender derives
the name of the Jaxt, in the sense of swiftness, suggesting also a
comparison with the ancient Jaxartes of Asia. Förstemann considers both
suggestions doubtful, but the former seems to me to be reasonable
enough. The older sense of _jagen_ is found in the Sansc. _yug_, to
dart forth, formed on the simple verb _ya_, to go. And appellatives are
found in the Finnic words _jokk_, _jöggi_, a river. As for the Jaxartes,
I am rather inclined to think that the more correct form would be
Jazartes, and that it contains the word _jezer_, before referred to.
1. _Russia._ The JUG. Joins the Dwina.
2. _With the ending et._
_Italy._ JACTUS ant. Affluent of the Po.
_Persia._ The JAGHATU.
_Germany._ The JAHDE,[44] in Oldenburg.
3. _With the ending st._
_Germany._ JAGISTA ant., now the _Jaxt_ or _Jagst_.
From the root _vip_, to move, p. 64, by the prefix _s_, is formed Old
Norse _svipa_, Ang.-Sax. _swîfan_, Eng. _sweep_, &c. In these the sense
varies between going fast and going round, and the same may be the case
in the following names.
_France._ The SUIPPE. Joins the Aisne.
_Germany._ SUEVUS, 2nd cent., now the Warnow, or, according to
Zeuss, the Oder.
SUAB(AHA), 8th cent., now the SCHWAB(ACH).
From the Obs. Gael. _sgiap_, _sgiob_, to move rapidly, Eng. _skip_, may
be the following.
1. _England._ The SHEAF, by Sheffield.
_Germany._ SCIFFA, 9th cent., now the SCHUPF.
_Asia Min._ SCOPAS ant., now the Aladan.
2. _With the ending en._
_England._ The SKIPPON. Joins the Wyre.
In the Gael. _brais_, impetuous, related perhaps to Lat. _verso_, we may
find the root of the following.
1. _Germany._ The BIRSE. Prussia.
_Switzerland._ The BIRSE. Cant. Berne.
2. _With the ending en._
_Ireland._ The BROSNA. Leinster.
_Transylvania._ The BURZEN. Joins the Aluta.
_Pruss. Pol._ The PROSNA.
3. _With the ending el._
_France._ The BRESLE. Enters the English Channel.
4. _With the ending ent._
_Germany._ The PERSANTE. Pruss. Pom.
From the Sansc. _rab_ or _rav_, to dart forth, whence (in a somewhat
changed sense) Eng. _rave_, French _ravir_, Lat. _rabidus_, &c. The
original meaning of a ravine was a great flood, or as Cotgrave expresses
it--"A ravine or inundation of water, which overwhelmeth all things that
come in its way."
1. _Ireland._ The ROBE. Connaught.
_India._ The RAVEE or Iraotee--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_England._ Various small streams called RAVEN, RAVENBECK, &c.
_France._ The ROUBION, affluent of the Rhone--here?
From the Sansc. _math_, to move, are derived, as I take it, Old High
German _muot_, Mod. Germ. _muth_, Ang.-Sax. _môd_, courage or spirit,
Welsh _mwyth_, swift, &c., to which I place the following.
1. _Switzerland._ The MUOTTA. Cant. Schwytz.
2. _Compounded with vey, stream or river._
_Wales._ The MUTHVEY. Three rivers.
The Sansc. _sphar_, _sphurj_, to burst forth, shews the root of a number
of words such as _spark_, _spring_, _spirt_, _spruce_, _spry_, in which
the sense of briskness or liveliness is more or less contained. But the
Sansc. _sphar_ or _spar_ must be traced back to a simpler form _spa_ or
_spe_, as found in _spew_, to vomit, and in the word _spa_, now confined
to medicinal springs.
1. _Scotland._ The SPEY. Elgin.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The SPEAN.
3. _With the ending er._
_Scotland._ The SPEAR.
_Germany._ SPIRA, 8th cent., now the SPEIER.
The SPREE. Joins the Havel.
Derived forms from the above root are also the following, which
correspond more closely with Germ. _sprütsen_, Ang.-Sax. _sprytan_, Eng.
_spirt_, Ital. _sprizzare_. And I think that most of these names are
probably German.
_England._ The SPRINT, a small stream in Westmoreland.
_Germany._ SPRAZAH, 9th cent., some stream in Lower Austria.
The SPROTTA in Silesia.
SPRENZALA, 8th cent., now the SPRENZEL.
SPURCHINE(BACH),[45] 9th cent., now the
SPIRCKEL(BACH).
_Eu. Turkey._ The SPRESSA. Joins the Bosna.
In the preceding chapter I have treated of the root _al_, _el_, _il_, to
go, and various of its derivations. There is another, _alac_, _alc_,
_ilc_, which, as it seems most probably either to have the meaning of
swiftness, as in the Lat. _alacer_, or of tortuousness, as in the Greek
{helikos}, I include in this place.
1. _Russia._ The ILEK. Joins the Ural.
_Sicily._ HALYCUS ant., now the Platani.
_Asia Minor._ ALCES ant. Bithynia.
2. _Compounded with may, main, river._
_Siberia._ The OLEKMA. Joins the Lena.
_Germany._ ALKMANA, 8th century, now the Altmühl.
_Greece._ HALIACMON ant., now the Vistritsa.
From the Welsh _tarddu_, to burst forth, we may take the following.
There does not seem any connection between this and the root of _dart_
(jaculum); the latter from the first signifies penetration, and in
river-names comes before us in the oblique sense of clearness or
transparency.
1. _Scotland._ The TARTH. Lanarkshire.
_Libya._ DAR[)A]DUS ant., now the Rio di Ouro.
_Armenia._ DARADAX[46] ant. (Xenophon).
2. _With the ending er._
_France._ The TARDOIRE. Dep. Charente.
_Aust. Italy._ The TARTARO.
3. _With the ending es._
_Spain._ TARTESSUS ant., now the Guadalquiver.
With the Sansc. _till_, to move, to agitate, we may probably connect the
Gael. _dile_ and _tuil_, Welsh _diluw_, _dylif_, _dylwch_, a flood,
deluge, as also Ang.-Sax. _dilgian_, German _tilgen_, to overthrow,
destroy, &c. The Ang.-Sax. _dêlan_, Germ. _thielen_, to divide, in the
sense of boundary, may however intermix in these names.
1. _England._ The TILL. Northumberland.
_Ireland._ The DEEL. Limerick.
_Germany._ The DILL. Nassau.
_Belgium._ THILIA, 9th cent., now the DYLE in Bravant.
_Switzerland._ The THIELE.
2. _With the ending en._
_Germany._ The TOLLEN. Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
3. _With the ending er._
_Scotland._ The DILLAR burn. Lesmahagow.
4. _With the ending es._
_Germany._ The TILSE, by Tilsit.
With the two Welsh forms _dylif_ and _dylwch_, deluge, we may perhaps
connect the following, though for the former the Ang.-Sax. _delfan_, to
dig, _delf_, a ditch, may also be suitable.
_Germany._ DELV(UNDA), 9th century, now the DELVEN(AU).
DELCHANA, 11th century, now the DALCKE.
From the Gael. and Ir. _taosg_, to pour, _tias_, tide, flood, may be the
following. Perhaps the special sense of cataract may come in, at least
in some cases, as two of the under-noted rivers, the Tees and the Tosa,
are noted for their falls.
1. _England._ The TEES. Durham.
_Switzerland._ The TÖSS. Cant. Zurich.
_Piedmont._ The TOSA.
_Russia._ The TESCHA. Joins the Oka.
_Hungary._ TYSIA ant., now the THEISS.
_Greece._ TIASA ant. Laconia.
_India._ The TOUSE--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_Switzerland._ The TESSIN or TICINO.
_Germany._ The DESNA. Joins the Dnieper.
_France._ The TACON. Dep. Jura.
3. _With the ending el._
_Germany._ TUSSALE (_Genitive_), 11th cent., now the DUSSEL
by Düsseldorf.
4. _With the ending st._[47]
_England._ The TEST. Hants.
_Germany._ The DISTA. Prussia.
_India._ The TEESTA--here?
From the Sansc. _gad_ or _gand_, Ang.-Sax. _geôtan_, Suio-Goth. _gjuta_,
Danish _gyde_, Old Norse _giosa_, Old High Ger. _giezen_, Obs. Gael.
_guis_, all having the meaning of Eng. "gush," we get the following. The
Gotha or G[oe]ta of Sweden may probably derive its name from the
well-known fall which it makes at Trolhætta. So also the Gaddada of
Hindostan is noted for its falls; and the Giessbach is of European
celebrity. But in some of the other names the sense may not extend
beyond that of wandering, as we find it in Eng. _gad_, which I take to
be also from this root. Or that of stream, as in Old High Germ. _giozo_,
Gael. and Ir. _gaisidh_, rivulus.
1. _England._ The GADE. Herts.
_Scotland._ GADA ant.,[48] now the JED by Jedburgh.
_Germany._ The GOSE. Joins the Ocker.
GEIS(AHA), 8th cent., now the GEISA.
The GANDE, Brunswick--here, or to _can_, _cand_,
pure?
_Switzerland._ The GIESS(BACH). Lake of Brienz.
_Spain._ The GATA. Joins the Alagon.
_Sweden._ The GOTHA or G[OE]TA.
The GIDEA, enters the G. of Bothnia.
_Asia._ GYNDES (_Herodotus_), perhaps the Diala--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_Asia Minor._ CYDNUS ant., now the Tersoos Chai.
3. _With the ending er._
_Persia._ The GADER.
_Sardinia._ CÆDRIUS ant., now the Fiume dei Orosei.
4. _With the ending el._
_Germany._ GISIL(AHA), 8th cent., now the GIESEL--here?
5. _With the ending ed._
_India._ The GADDADA.
6. _Compounded with main, stream._
_Switzerland._ The GADMEN.
From the Sansc. _arb_ or _arv_, to ravage or destroy, cognate with Lat.
_orbo_, &c., may be the following. To the very marked characteristic of
the Arve in Savoy I have referred at p. 6. But there is a word of
precisely opposite meaning, the Celt. _arab_, Welsh _araf_, gentle,
which is very liable to intermix.
1. _France._ The ARVE and the ERVE.
_Germany._ ORB(AHA), 11th cent., now the ORB.
_Sardinia._ The ARVE and the ORBE.
_Hungary._ The ARVA. Joins the Waag.
_Spain._ The ARVA, three rivers, tributaries to the Ebro.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The IRVINE. Co. Ayr.
_France._ ARVENNA ant., now the ORVANNE.
3. _With the ending el._
_Germany._ ARBALO, 1st cent., now the ERPE.
4. _With the ending es._
_Asia Minor._ HARP[)A]SUS ant., now the HARPA.
In the Sansc. _cal_, to move, and the derivatives Sansc. _calas_, Gr.
{kelês}, Obs. Gael. _callaidh_, Latin _celer_, all having the same
meaning--the sense of rapidity seems sufficiently marked to include them
in this chapter.
1. _Scotland._ The GALA. Roxburgh.
_Sicily._ GELA ant.[49]
_Illyria._ The GAIL.
_Greece._ CALLAS ant., in Eub[oe]a.
_As. Turkey._ The CHALUS of Xenophon, now the Koweik.
2. _With the ending en._
_Ireland._ The CALLAN. Armagh.
3. _With the ending er = Lat. celer?_
_Italy._ CALOR ant., now the CALORE.
4. _With the ending es = Sansc. calas, &c.?_
_Germany._ CHALUSUS, 2nd cent., supposed to be the Trave.
The KELS, in Bavaria.
_India._ The CAILAS.
I am inclined to bring in here, as a derivative form of _cal_, and
perhaps corresponding with the Obs. Gael. _callaidh_, celer, the forms
_caled_, _calt_, _gelt_. That the Germ. _kalt_, Eng. _cold_, may
intermix, is very probable, but I do not think that all the English
rivers at any rate can be placed to it. There is more to be said for it
in the case of the Caldew than of the others, for one of the two streams
that form it is called the Cald-beck (_i.e._, cold brook), and it seems
natural that the whole river should then assume the name of Caldew (cold
river). Yet there may be nothing more in it than that the Saxons or
Danes who succeeded to the name, adopted it in their own sense, and
_conformed_ to it. It is to be observed that although the form Caldew
corresponds with the Germ. Chaldhowa, yet that the local pronunciation
is invariably Cauda (=Calda), corresponding with the Scandinavian form.
Upon the whole however, there is much doubt about this group; the form
_gelt_ Förstemann refers, as I myself had previously done, to Old Norse
_gelta_, in the sense of resonare. In the following names I take the
Kalit(va) of Russia, and the Celydnus and Celadon of Greece to approach
the nearest to the original form.
1. _England._ The GELT. Cumberland.
The CHELT by Cheltenham--here?
The CALD(EW). Cumberland.
_Germany._ The CALD(HOWA), (_Adam Brem._), now seems to be called
the Aue.
_Russia._ The KALIT(VA). Joins the Donetz.
2. _With the ending en._
_Germany._ GELTEN(AHA), 11th cent., now the GELTN(ACH).
_Greece._ CELYDNUS ant. Epirus.
CELADON ant. Elis.
3. _With the ending er._
_England._ The CALDER. Three rivers.
_Scotland._ The CALDER. Joins the Clyde.
_Belgium._ GALTHERA, 9th cent.
I am also inclined to bring in, as another derivative form of _cal_, the
word _calip_, _calb_, _kelp_. The only appellatives I find for it are
the word _kelp_, sea-weed, and the Scottish _kelpie_, a water-spirit,
wherein, as in other words of the same sort, may perhaps lie a word for
water. However, this can be considered as nothing more than a
conjecture.
1. _Germany._ KALB(AHA), 8th cent., now the Kohlb(ach).
The KULPA. Aust. Croatia.
_Hungary._ COLAPIS ant., affluent of the Drave.
_Spain._ The CHELVA. Prov. Valentia.
_Portugal._ CALL[)I]PUS ant., now the Sadao.
_Asia Minor._ CALBIS ant. Caria.
CALPAS ant. Bithynia.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The KELVIN. Stirling.
The Sansc. _car_, to move, Lat. _curro_, like some other words of the
same sort, branches out into two different meanings--that of going fast,
and that of going round. Hence the river-names from this root have in
some cases the sense of rapidity, and in others of tortuousness; and
these two senses are somewhat at variance with each other, because
tortuousness is more generally connected with slowness. Separating the
two meanings as well as I can, I bring in the following here.
1. _Scotland._ The GARRY. Perthshire.
The YARROW. Selkirkshire.
2. _With the ending en._
_England._ GARRHUENUS ant., now the YARE.
_France._ GARUMNA or GARUNNA ant. The GARONNE.
The GIRON. Joins the Garonne.
_Greece._ GERANIUS ant., and GERON ant., two rivers of Elis,
according to Strabo.
3. _With the ending es = Sansc. caras, swift, Lat. cursus, &c._
_France._ The GERS. Joins the Garonne.
CHARES ant., now the CHIERS.
_Germany._ The KERSCH. Joins the Neckar.
_Italy._ The GARZA, by Brescia.
_Hungary._ GER[)A]SUS ant., now the KOROS.
_Asia Minor._ The CARESUS of Homer in the plain of Troy.
_Syria._ CERSUS ant., now the Merkez.
There appear to be several words in which the sense of violence or
rapidity is brought out by the preposition _pra_, _pro_, _fro_, in
composition with a verb. Thus the Welsh _ffre-uo_, to gush, whence
_ffrau_, a torrent, seems to correspond with the Sansc. _pra-i_, Lat.
_præ-eo_, &c. Or perhaps we should take a verb with a stronger sense,
say _yu_, to gush, and presume a Sansc. _pra-yu_ = Welsh _ffre-uo_. In
the Albanian {pro}, a torrent, corresponding with Welsh _ffrau_, there
seems, however, no trace of a verb.
1. _Wales._ The FRAW, by Aberfraw.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The FROON. Falls into L. Lomond.
_Russia._ The PRONIA.
The Welsh _ffrydio_, to stream, to gush, appears to be formed similarly
from the preposition _fra_, joined with the verb _eddu_, to press on, to
go, corresponding with Sansc. _it_, Latin _ito_, &c. Hence it would
correspond with a Sansc. _pra-it_, Lat. _præ-ito_, &c. From the verb
comes the appellative _ffrwd_, a torrent, corresponding with the Bohem.
_praud_, of the same meaning.
_Scotland._ The FORTH. Co. Stirling.
_Danub. Prov._ PORATA (Herodotus). The PRUTH.
_Russia._ The PORT(VA). Gov. Kaluga.
I also bring in here, as much suggestively as determinately, the
following.
_Sansc. pra-pat, Lat. præ-peto, &c., to rush forth._
_Russ. Pol._ The PRIPET. Joins the Dnieper.
_Bulgaria._ The PRAVADI. Falls into the Black Sea.
_Sansc. pra-cal, to rush forth, pra and cal, p. 112._
_Prussia._ The PREGEL. Enters the Frische-Haff.
_Sansc. pra-li, Lat. pro-luo, &c., to overflow._
_India._ The PURALLY.
According to the opinion of Zeuss and Gluck, the DANUBE, (ant. Danubius
and Danuvius, Mod. Germ. Donau,) would come in here. These writers
derive it from Gael. _dan_, Ir. _dana_, fortis, audax, in reference to
its strong and impetuous current. This is no doubt the most striking
characteristic of the river, but it might also not inappropriately be
placed to the root _tan_, to extend, whence the names of some other
large rivers. Gluck considers the ending _vius_ to be simply derivative,
and suggests that the Germans, with a natural striving after a meaning,
altered this derivative ending into their word _ava_, _aha_, _ach_, or
_au_, signifying river. Though Gluck is a writer for whose opinion I
have great respect, and though this is the principle for which I myself
have been all along contending, yet I am rather inclined to think that
in Danuvius, as in Conovius (the Conway), there is contained a definite
appellative, qualified by a prefixed adjective: this seems to me to be
brought out more clearly in the Medway, and in the names connected with
it.
The word Ister, which, according to Zeuss, is the Thracian name of the
Danube, I have elsewhere referred to the Armorican _ster_, a river. Not
that I mean to infer therefrom that the name is Celtic, because _ster_
is only a particular form of an Indo-European word _sur_. If we refer
the prefix _is_ to the Old Norse _isia_, proruere, then Ister would have
the same meaning as that given above to Danubius. But the derivation of
Mone, who explains it by _y_, the Welsh definite article, and _ster_, a
river, making Ister = "The river," I hold with Gluck to be--like other
derivations proceeding on the same principle--opposed to all sound
philology.
Among the rivers noted for the slowness of their course, the most
conspicuous is the Arar or Saone. Cæsar (_de Bell. Gall._) describes it
as flowing "with such incredible gentleness that the eye can scarcely
judge which way it is going." Seneca adopts it as a type of
indecision--"the Arar in doubt which way to flow." Eumenius multiplies
his epithets--"segnis et cunctabundus amnis, tardusque." The name
Sauconna, Sagonna, Saonna, Saone, does not appear before the 4th cent.,
yet there does not seem any reason to doubt that it is as old as the
other. Zeuss (_Die Deutschen_) and the Editor of "Smith's Ancient
Geography" take this as the true Gallic name. And though Armstrong
explains both the Arar and the Saone from the Celtic--referring the
former to the Obs. Gael. _ar_, slow, and the latter to Gael. _sogh_,
tranquil or placid, in which he may probably be correct, yet it by no
means follows that the name of the Arar is Celtic, for _ar_ is an
ancient root of the Indo-European speech. To the same root as the Saone
I also put the Seine (Sequ[)a]na), and the Segre (Sic[)o]ris), comparing
them with Lat. _seg-nis_. The former of these rivers is navigable for
350 miles out of 414, and the latter is noted in Lucian as "stagnantem
Sicorim." Some other rivers, in which the characteristic is less
distinct, I also venture to place here, separating this root as well as
I can from another p. 58.
1. _Germany._ SIGA, 10th cent. The SIEG.
_Russia._ The SOJA. Joins the Dnieper.
2. _With the ending en._
_France._ SAUCONNA ant. The SAÔNE.
SEQUANA ant. The SEINE.
The SEUGNE. Dep. Charente-Inf.
_Russia._ The SUCHONA. Joins the Dwina.
3. _With the ending er._
_Spain._ SICORIS ant. The SEGRE.
The SEGURA. Enters the Med. Sea.
Perhaps allied in its root to the last is the Gael. _saimh_, quiet,
tranquil, to which I put the following.
1. _Belgium._ The SEMOY.
_Russia._ The SEM or SEIM. Joins the Desna.
SAIMA, a lake in Finland.
_Asia Minor._ The SIMOIS of Homer--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_Switzerland._ The SIMMEN, in the Simmen-Thal.
3. _With the ending er._
_France._ SAMARA, ant., now the SOMME.
The SAMBRE, ant. Sabis.
_Germany._ The SIMMER. Joins the Nahe.
_Russia._ The SAMARA. Two rivers.
4. _With the ending et._
_Germany._ SEMITA, 8th cent. The SEMPT.
In the Gael. _ar_, slow, (whence the Arar, p. 118,) is to be found, as I
take it, the root of the Welsh _araf_, mild, gentle. From this Zeuss
(_Gramm. Celt._), derives the name of the Arr[)a]bo, now the Raab. This
root is liable to mix with another, _arv_, p. 109, of precisely opposite
meaning.
_Hungary._ ARRABO ant., now the Raab.
_India._ ARABIS ant., now the Purally.
_Ireland._ The AROB(EG),[50] Co. Cork--here?
I bring in here the word _aram_ or _arm_, which, both in the names of
rivers, and in the ancient names of men, as the German hero Arminius,
needs explanation. The authority of Dr. Donaldson may probably have been
the cause of the reproduction, even in some of the latest English works,
of the mistake of confounding the name Armin, Ermin, or Irmin, with the
word _hermann_, warrior, (from _her_, army, _mann_, homo). That it is
not so is shown by its appearance in the ancient names of women, as
Ermina, Hermena, and Irmina,[51] (daughter of Dagobert the 2nd). And by
the manner in which it forms compounds, as Armenfred, Irminric,
Irminger,[52] Ermingaud, Irminher, &c. For we may take it as a certain
rule that no word, itself a compound, forms other compounds in ancient
names. Indeed, the last of the five names, Irminher, (which is found as
early as the 7th cent.), is formed from the word _her_, army, so that,
according to the above theory, it would be Her-mann-her. The fact then,
as I take it, is that, both in the names of rivers and of men, the root
is simply _arm_ or _irm_, and _armin_ or _irmin_ an extended form, like
those found all throughout these pages. As to its etymology, the word
_aram_, _arm_, in the Teutonic dialects signifying poor or weak, is in
itself unsuitable, but I think that the original meaning may perhaps
rather have been mild or gentle. The root seems to be found in the Gael.
_ar_, slow; and _aram_ may be a corresponding word to the Welsh _araf_.
Baxter, who, though his general system of river-names I hold to be
fallacious, was, for his time, no contemptible etymologist, suggests
something of the sort.
1. _England._ The ARME. Devon.
_Russia._ The URJUM(KA)--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_Italy._ ARIMINUS ant., now the Marecchia.
The ARMINE.
3. _With the ending es._
_Germany._ ARMISIA ant., now the ERMS.
In this place I am inclined to bring in the Medway, and some other names
connected with it. Among the various derivations which have been
suggested for this name, that of Grimm deserves the first place, though
I much fear that it is too poetical to be true. He observes, (_Gesch. d.
Deutsch. Sprach._), comparing it with another name--"In Carl's
campaign, A.D. 779, there is a place mentioned in the vicinity of the
Weser, called Medofulli, Midufulli; _medoful_ means poculum mulsi,
(_Hel._ 62, 10); it appears to have been a river, which at present bears
some other name. Of just a similar meaning is the name of the river
Medway flowing through the county of Kent into the Thames--_i.e._,
Ang.-Sax. Meadovaege, Medevaege Medvaege (_Cod. Dip._), from _vaege_,
Old Sax. _wêgi_, Old Norse _veig_, poculum.... I suggest here a
mythological reference: as the rivers of the Greeks and Romans streamed
from the horn or the urn of the river-god, so may also the rivers and
brooks of our ancestors, in a similar mythic fashion, have sprung from
the over-turned mead-cup."
It is a pity to disturb so poetical a theory, coming too as it does from
the highest authority, but I much fear that on a comparison of this name
with all its related forms, it can hardly be substantiated. For the word
does not stand alone--the prefix _med_ is found in several names in
which the second part can hardly be taken to mean poculum, and the
ending _way_ is found in several names of which the former part cannot
mean mulsum. In any case, it seems to me that a Saxon derivation can
hardly be sustained. For Medo[)a]cus, (=Medwacus), occurs as the ancient
name of a river in Venetia--this appears to be precisely the same name
as that of the Medwag or Medway--and in Venetia we can account for a
Celtic element, but not for a German. In Nennius the name stands as
Meguaid or Megwed; and comparing this with a river called the
Medvied(itza) or Medviet(za) in Russia, it would seem rather probable
that the form is not altogether false, but that only it should be Medwed
instead of Megwed. In that case it would probably be only another form
of Medweg, for _d_ and _g_ sometimes interchange in the Celtic dialects,
as in the Gaelic _uidh_ and _uigh_, via, a word which indeed I take to
be related to the one in question. Again, in the Medu[=a]na of France
and the English Medwin, we have a third form of ending, _wân_ or _win_.
And this may probably only be one of those extended forms in _n_ so
common in the Celtic languages.[53] So that the endings _way_, _wân_,
_wied_, in Medway, Medu[=a]na, Medvied(itza), may be slightly differing
forms of a common appellative (p.p. 62, 63), qualified by the prefix
_med_, which we have next to consider. In Gibson's "Etymological
Geography" _med_ is explained as _medius_--Medway = medium flumen--the
river flowing through the middle of the county of Kent--and this I think
is the general acceptation. In the case of the Medina, (ant. Mede),
which divides the Isle of Wight into two equal parts, I should readily
accept such a derivation, but in the case of the Medway it seems to me a
feature scarcely sufficiently obvious to give the name. And I should on
the whole prefer a derivation from the same root as mead, mulsum, viz.,
Sansc. _mid_, to soften, Lat. _mitis_, Gael. _meath_, soft,
mild--finding in Old Norse _mida_, to move slowly or softly, the word
most nearly approximating to the sense, and thus deriving the name of
the Medway from its gentle flow.
Nevertheless it must be observed that as well as the supposed river
Medofulli referred to as above by Grimm, we find in a charter of the
10th cent., a river called Medemelacha, which seems evidently to contain
the Gael. _mealach_, sweet, and to mean "sweet as mead." This river is
near Medemblik on the Zuyder-zee, and I suppose that the name of the
place is corrupted from it.
The following names I place here, though with uncertainty in the case of
some of them.
1. _France._ The MIDOU. Dep. Landes.
_Persia._ MEDUS ant., now the Pulwan.
2. _With the ending en._
_Russia._ The MEDIN(KA). Gov. Kaluga.
3. _Compounded with way, wân, wied, see above._
_England._ The MEDWAY. Kent.
The MEDWIN.
_France._ MEDU[=A]NA ant., now the Mayenne.
_Italy._ MEDO[)A]CUS ant., now the Brenta.
_Russia._ The MEDVIED(ITZA).
4. _Compounded with ma, river, p. 60._
_Germany?_ METEMA, in a charter of the 11th cent.
I think, upon the whole, that the general meaning of the root _lam_,
_lem_, _lim_, is smoothness. Though the root-meaning seems rather that
of clamminess or adhesiveness, as found in Sansc. _limpas_, Gr. {lipos},
Lat. _limus_, Old Sax. _lêmo_, Mod. Germ. _lehm_, Eng. _lime_, &c.[54]
In the Gr. {limnê}, lake, the sense becomes that of smooth or standing
water: this, as I take it, is in effect the word found in the Lake
Leman, Loch Lomond, &c. Though the word most immediately concerned is
the Gaelic _liobh_, _liomh_, Welsh _llyfnu_, to smooth; and the Loch
Lomond, (properly Lomon), was also formerly called, as the river which
issues from it is still, Leven, being just another form of the same
word--_v_ and _m_ interchanging as elsewhere noticed. Hence the Welsh
_llifo_, to pour, p. 46, might be apt to intermix in the following. The
Lat. _lambo_, the primitive meaning of which is to lick, is applied to
the gentle washing of a river against its banks--"Quæ loca lambit
Hydaspes,"--_Horace_. Dugdale observes that "at this day divers of those
artificial rivers in Cambridgeshire, anciently cut to drain the fens,
bear the name of Leam, being all muddy channels through which the water
hath a dull or slow passage." In the following names the sense may be
sometimes then that of muddiness, though in general, as I take it, that
of sluggishness.
1. _England._ The LEAM by Leamington.
The LYME. Dorsetshire.
_Germany._ LAMMA, 11th cent. The LAMME.
LAIM(AHA), 8th cent. Not identified.
LEMPHIA, 8th cent. The LEMPE.
_Russia._ The LAMA. Joins the Volga.
The LAM(OV). Gov. Penza.
_Italy._ The LIMA. Joins the Serchio.
_Spain._ LIMÆA ant., now the LIMA.
_Asia Minor._ LAMUS ant., in Cilicia.
2. _With the ending en._
_England._ The LEMAN. Devonshire.
The LIMEN in Kent. (Limeneâ _Cod. Dip._)
_Scotland._ Loch LOMOND, formerly also called LEVEN.
_Switzerland._ Lake LEMAN, or the Lake of Geneva, (ant. LEMANNUS.)
_Italy._ The LAMONE in Tuscany.
3. _With the ending er._
_Germany._ LAMER, 11th cent. The LAMMER.
_Italy._ The LAMBRO.
_Asia Minor._ LIMYRUS ant., in Lycia.
4. _With the ending et._
_Switzerland._ The LIMMAT. Cant. Zurich.
From the above form _lam_, _lem_, _lim_, I take to be formed by
metathesis _alm_, _elm_, _ilm_. And the lake Ilmen in Russia I take to
be in effect the same word as the lake Leman in Switzerland. In the name
of another lake in Russia, the Karduanskoi-ilmen, it seems to occur as
an appellative. A certain amount of doubt is imported by the coincidence
of two names in which we find a sacred character--the river Almo, which
was sacred to Cybele, and a sacred fountain Olmius mentioned in Hesiod.
The coincidence, however, may be only accidental.
1. _England._ The ALME. Devonshire.
The HELME. Sussex.
ALUM Bay in the Isle of Wight?
_Germany._ ILMA, 8th cent. The ILM, two rivers.
The HELME in Prussia.
_Holland._ The ALM in Brabant.
_Norway._ The ALMA.
_Spain._ The ALHAMA. Prov. Navarra.
_Italy._ The ALMO near Rome.
_Russia._ The ALMA in the Crimea.
_Siberia._ The ILLIM.
_Greece._ OLMEIUS ant. B[oe]otia.
2. _With the ending en._
_Germany._ The ILMEN(AU). Joins the Elbe.
_Russia._ ILMEN. Lake.
3. _With the ending el._
_Holland._ The ALMELO. Prov. Overijssel.
Perhaps from the Gael. _foil_, slow, gentle, we may get the following.
1. _England._ The FAL by Falmouth.
_Ireland._ The FOIL(AGH). Cork.
The FEALE. Munster.
2. _With the ending en._
_Scotland._ The FILLAN. Perthshire.
3. _With the ending es._
_Germany._ FILISA, 8th cent. The FILS and the VILS.
In the third division of this chapter I put the names in which the sense
of spreading seems to be found. This sense may have three different
acceptations--first, that, generally, of a wide river--secondly, that of
a river relatively broad and shallow--thirdly, that of a river forming
an estuary at its mouth.
I bring in here the Padus or Po, which, by Metrodorus Scepsius, a Greek
author quoted by Pliny, has been derived from the pine-trees, "called in
the Gallic tongue _padi_," of which there were a number about its
source. A derivation like this jars with common sense, for it is
unreasonable to suppose that the Gauls, coming upon this fine river,
gave it no name until they had tracked it up to its source, and there
made the not very notable discovery that it was surrounded by
pine-trees. Much more probable is it that they came first upon its
mouth, and much more striking would be the appearance that would be
presented to them. For, as Niebuhr observes, "the basin of the Po, and
of the rivers emptying themselves into it was originally a vast bay of
the sea," which by gradual embanking was confined within its present
channels. As then the mouth of the Padus was a vast estuary, so in the
Gael. _badh_, a bay or estuary, I find the explanation of the name. The
root, I apprehend, is Sansc. _pat_, Lat. _pateo_, _pando_, &c., to
spread, and hence, I take it, the name Bander, of several small bays on
the S.W. coast of Asia, of Bantry Bay in Ireland, and of Boderia, the
name given by Ptolemy to the Firth of Forth.
1. _Italy._ PADUS ant. The Po.
_Germany._ BADA, 9th cent., now the BODE.
2. _With the ending en._
_Ireland._ The BANDON. Co. Cork. (Forms a considerable estuary).
_Italy._ PANTANUS ant., now the Lake of Lesina, a salt lagoon
on the Adriatic.
3. _With the ending er._
_Germany._ PATRA, 9th cent., now the PADER.
4. _With the ending es._
_Hungary._ PATHISSUS ant., now the TEMES.[55]
In the Sansc. _parth_, to spread or extend, we may perhaps find the
origin of the following. Can the name of the Parthians be hence derived,
in reference to their well-known mode of fighting?
1. _Germany._ The PARDE. Joins the Elster.
The BORD, in Moravia--here?
2. _With the ending en._
_Asia Minor._ PARTHENIUS ant.--here?[56]
In the sense of "that which spreads" I am inclined to bring in the root
_ta_, _tav_, _tan_, _tam_. While in the Gaelic we find _tain_, and the
Obs. _ta_, water, _taif_, sea--in the Welsh we have the verbs _taenu_
and _tafu_, to expand or spread. The latter, I think, must contain the
root-meaning; and the appellatives must rather signify water of a
spreading character. In this sense we find the words _to_, _tû_, _tau_,
in the Hungarian dialects signifying a lake. The Sansc. has _tan_, to
extend, but we must presume a simpler form _ta_, corresponding with the
above Obs. Gael. word for water. Mone explains _tab_, as in Tabuda (the
Scheldt), as "a broad river, especially one with a broad mouth." This
sense no doubt obtains in many of the names of this group, for, as well
as the Scheldt; the Tay, Taw, Teign, and Tamar, all have this character
in a more or less notable degree. In other cases the sense may be that
of comparative broadness--thus the Timavus, though little more than a
mile long, is 50 yards broad close to its source. So the characteristic
of the Dane, as noticed by the county topographers, is that it is "broad
and shallow." And the feature which strikes the topographer is of course
that which would naturally give the name. There are, however, some other
roots which might intermix, as Sansc. _tan_, resonare, Lat. _tono_,
Germ. _tönen_, &c. Also Gael. and Ir. _taam_, to pour; Gael. and Ir.
_tom_, to bathe, Welsh and Ir. _ton_, unda.
_The form Ta, Tab, Tav._
1. _England._ The TAVY and the TAW. Devon.
DEVA ant., the DEE--here?
_Scotland._ TAVUS ant. The TAY.
The DEE, two rivers--here?
_Wales._ The TAW, the TIVY, and the TAVE.
_Ireland._ The TAY. Waterford.
Loch TA in Wexford.
_France._ The DIVE, Dep. Vienne--here?
_Germany._ The THAYA in Moravia.
_Spain._ The DEVA by Placentia--here?
2. _With the ending d or t._
_Scotland._ The TEVIOT in Roxburghshire--here?
_Holland._ TABUDA ant., now the Scheldt.
_Siberia._ The TAVDA.
_India._ The TAPTEE--here?
_The form Tan, Tam._
1. _England._ The TEIGN and the TEANE.
The DANE and the DEANE.
The TAME, three rivers.
_Scotland._ The TEMA. Selkirkshire.
DANUS ant., now the DON.
_France._ DANUS ant., now the Ain.
The DAHME and the DÉAUME.
_Norway._ The TANA.
_Italy._ TIMAVUS ant., now the TIMAO.
_Russia._ TANAIS ant., now the DON.
The TIM and the TOM.
_Greece._ TANUS ant., now the Luku.
2. _With the ending er._
_England._ The TAMAR. Cornwall.
_Belgium._ The DEMER.
_Italy._ TANARUS ant., now the TANARO.
_Spain._ TAMARIS ant., now the TAMBRE.
_Syria._ TAMYRAS ant., (Strabo)--here?
3. _With the ending d._
_England._ TAMEDE (_Cod. Dip._), now the TEME.
_Mauretania._ TAMUDA ant. (_Pliny._)
4. _With the ending es._
_England._ The THAMES. Tamesis (_Cæsar_), Tamesa (_Tacitus_),
Tamese, Temis (_Cod. Dip._), Welsh Tain.
_Hungary._ The TEMES ant. Pathisus, (_see note p. 132_).
From the root _tan_, to extend, we may probably also derive the word
_tang_ found in Hung. _tenger_, sea, Ostiakic (an Ugric dialect of the
Finnic class) _tangat_, river, and in the Dan. _tang_, sea-weed, which
probably contains a trace of an older sense.
1. _Holland._ The DONGE in Brabant.
_Norway._ The TENGS.
2. _With the ending er._
_Germany._ TONGERA, 10th cent., now the TANGER.
_Italy._ TANAGER ant., now the TANAGRO--here?
FOOTNOTES:
[37] This, one of the Homeric rivers, was not identified in the time of
Pliny.
[38] Perhaps formed from _et_ by a phonetic _n_. So the Eamont in
Cumberland seems to have been called in the time of Leland the Eamot.
[39] It will be seen, however, that while admitting this root, I do not
place Garonne to it.
[40] Smith's Ancient Geography.
[41] This river of Apulia, though small in summer, is exceedingly
violent in winter.
[42] "In its upper part it is a raging torrent." _Johnston's Gazetteer._
[43] The derivation of Mone, who makes _scuz_ and _scut_ altered forms
of _srot_ or _srut_, is not to be entertained.
[44] I am not sure that the Jahde of Oldenburg does not contain the more
definite idea of a horse (Eng. _jade_, North. Eng. _yawd_). There are
three rivers near together, the Haase, the Hunte, and the Jahde. It
rather seems as if the popular fancy had got up the idea of a hunt, and
named them as the Hare, the Hound, and the Horse.
[45] Förstemann derives this, along with some other local names, from
Old High Germ. _spurcha_, the juniper-tree. But I think that the stream
at least is to be explained better from the Sansc. _sphurj_, to burst
forth, Lat. _spargo_.
[46] The ending _x_ I take to be a Græcism for _s_.
[47] In these names we may perhaps think of the Bohem. _dest_, rain. The
Teesta is much swollen in the rainy season, but perhaps not more so than
most of the other rivers of Hindostan. In Hamilton's East Indian
Gazetteer, it is explained as "_tishta_, standing still,"--a derivation
which seems hardly to agree with the subsequent description of its
"quick stream."
[48] Hence Baxter derives the name of the Gadeni--"Quid enim Gadeni nisi
ad Gadam amnem geniti?"
[49] The Gela is at times a very violent stream, as the following
description of Ovid bears witness.
"Et te vorticibus non adeunde Gela."
_Fasti. 4, 470._
[50] This ending may be the same as the Scotch _eck_ or _ick_, p. 25.
[51] Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch. (Vol. 1. Personennamen).
[52] The names ARMINE and ARMINGER, (of which IREMONGER may be a
corruption), occur in Lower's Patronymica Britannica. And ARMINGAUD is
one of the many names of German or Frankish origin still found in
France.
[53] E. G. Welsh _lli_, _llion_, stream, _llif_, _llifon_, flood,
_srann_, _srannan_, humming, &c.
[54] Hence perhaps Lemanaghan, a parish of Leinster, which consists
chiefly of bog.
[55] The names Pathissus and Temes I take to have the same meaning. I
know no reason for supposing that the one name is less ancient than the
other.
[56] The derivation of Strabo, from _parthenos_, virgin, in reference to
the flowers on its banks, seems rather far-fetched.