FOOTNOTES:

Scotland.TheForth. Co. Stirling.Danub. Prov.Porata(Herodotus). ThePruth.Russia.ThePort(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.ThePripet. Joins the Dnieper.Bulgaria.ThePravadi. Falls into the Black Sea.Sansc. pra-cal, to rush forth, pra and cal, p.112.Prussia.ThePregel. Enters the Frische-Haff.Sansc. pra-li, Lat. pro-luo, &c., to overflow.India.ThePurally.

According to the opinion of Zeuss and Gluck, theDanube, (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 roottan, to extend, whence the names of some other large rivers. Gluck considers the endingviusto be simply derivative, and suggests that the Germans, with a natural striving after a meaning, altered this derivative ending into their wordava,aha,ach, orau, 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 clearlyin 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 Armoricanster, a river. Not that I mean to infer therefrom that the name is Celtic, becausesteris only a particular form of an Indo-European wordsur. If we refer the prefixisto the Old Norseisia, proruere, then Ister would have the same meaning as that given above to Danubius. But the derivation of Mone, who explains it byy, the Welsh definite article, andster, 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 asa 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, foraris an ancient root of the Indo-European speech. To the same root as the Saone I also put the Seine (Sequăna), and the Segre (Sicŏris), 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." Someother 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. TheSieg.Russia.TheSoja. Joins the Dnieper.2.With the ending en.France.Sauconnaant. TheSaône.Sequanaant. TheSeine.TheSeugne. Dep. Charente-Inf.Russia.TheSuchona. Joins the Dwina.3.With the ending er.Spain.Sicorisant. TheSegre.TheSegura. 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.TheSemoy.Russia.TheSemorSeim. Joins the Desna.Saima, a lake in Finland.Asia Minor.TheSimoisof Homer—here?2.With the ending en.Switzerland.TheSimmen, in the Simmen-Thal.3.With the ending er.France.Samara, ant., now theSomme.TheSambre, ant. Sabis.Germany.TheSimmer. Joins the Nahe.Russia.TheSamara. Two rivers.4.With the ending et.Germany.Semita, 8th cent. TheSempt.

In the Gael.ar, slow, (whence the Arar, p.118,) is to be found, as I take it, the root of the Welsharaf, mild, gentle. From this Zeuss (Gramm. Celt.), derives the name of the Arrăbo, now the Raab. This root is liable to mix with another,arv, p.109, of precisely opposite meaning.

Hungary.Arraboant., now the Raab.India.Arabisant., now the Purally.Ireland.TheArob(eg),[50]Co. Cork—here?

I bring in here the wordaramorarm, 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 wordhermann, warrior, (fromher, 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 wordher, 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 simplyarmorirm, andarminorirminan extended form, like those found all throughout these pages. As to its etymology, the wordaram,arm, in the Teutonic dialects signifying poor or weak, is initself 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; andarammay be a corresponding word to the Welsharaf. 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.TheArme. Devon.Russia.TheUrjum(ka)—here?2.With the ending en.Italy.Ariminusant., now the Marecchia.TheArmine.3.With the ending es.Germany.Armisiaant., now theErms.

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—"InCarl's campaign,A.D.779, there is a place mentioned in the vicinity of the Weser, called Medofulli, Midufulli;medofulmeans 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.), fromvaege, Old Sax.wêgi, Old Norseveig, 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 prefixmedisfound in several names in which the second part can hardly be taken to mean poculum, and the endingwayis 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 Medoăcus, (=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, fordandgsometimes interchange in the Celtic dialects, as in the Gaelicuidhanduigh, via, a word which indeed I take to be related to the one in question. Again, in the Meduānaof France and the English Medwin, we have a third form of ending,wânorwin. And this may probably only be one of those extended forms innso common in the Celtic languages.[53]So that the endingsway,wân,wied, in Medway, Meduāna, Medvied(itza), may be slightly differing forms of a common appellative (p.p.62,63), qualified by the prefixmed, which we have next to consider. In Gibson's "Etymological Geography"medis explained asmedius—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 derivationfrom the same root as mead, mulsum, viz., Sansc.mid, to soften, Lat.mitis, Gael.meath, soft, mild—finding in Old Norsemida, 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.TheMidou. Dep. Landes.Persia.Medusant., now the Pulwan.2.With the ending en.Russia.TheMedin(ka). Gov. Kaluga.3.Compounded with way, wân, wied, see above.England.TheMedway. Kent.TheMedwin.France.Meduānaant., now the Mayenne.Italy.Medoăcusant., now the Brenta.Russia.TheMedvied(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 rootlam,lem,lim, is smoothness. Though the root-meaning seems rather that of clamminess or adhesiveness, as found in Sansc.limpas, Gr.λιπος, Lat.limus, Old Sax.lêmo, Mod. Germ.lehm, Eng.lime, &c.[54]In the Gr.λιμνη, 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 Gaelicliobh,liomh, Welshllyfnu, 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—vandminterchangingas elsewhere noticed. Hence the Welshllifo, 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.TheLeamby Leamington.TheLyme. Dorsetshire.Germany.Lamma, 11th cent. TheLamme.Laim(aha), 8th cent. Not identified.Lemphia, 8th cent. TheLempe.Russia.TheLama. Joins the Volga.TheLam(ov). Gov. Penza.Italy.TheLima. Joins the Serchio.Spain.Limæaant., now theLima.Asia Minor.Lamusant., in Cilicia.2.With the ending en.England.TheLeman. Devonshire.TheLimenin Kent. (LimeneâCod. Dip.)Scotland.LochLomond, formerly also calledLeven.Switzerland.LakeLeman, or the Lake of Geneva, (ant.Lemannus.)Italy.TheLamonein Tuscany.3.With the ending er.Germany.Lamer, 11th cent. TheLammer.Italy.TheLambro.Asia Minor.Limyrusant., in Lycia.4.With the ending et.Switzerland.TheLimmat. Cant. Zurich.

From the above formlam,lem,lim, I take to be formed by metathesisalm,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 toCybele, and a sacred fountain Olmius mentioned in Hesiod. The coincidence, however, may be only accidental.

1.England.TheAlme. Devonshire.TheHelme. Sussex.AlumBay in the Isle of Wight?Germany.Ilma, 8th cent. TheIlm, two rivers.TheHelmein Prussia.Holland.TheAlmin Brabant.Norway.TheAlma.Spain.TheAlhama. Prov. Navarra.Italy.TheAlmonear Rome.Russia.TheAlmain the Crimea.Siberia.TheIllim.Greece.Olmeiusant. Bœotia.2.With the ending en.Germany.TheIlmen(au). Joins the Elbe.Russia.Ilmen. Lake.3.With the ending el.Holland.TheAlmelo. Prov. Overijssel.

Perhaps from the Gael.foil, slow, gentle, we may get the following.

1.England.TheFalby Falmouth.Ireland.TheFoil(agh). Cork.TheFeale. Munster.2.With the ending en.Scotland.TheFillan. Perthshire.3.With the ending es.Germany.Filisa, 8th cent. TheFilsand theVils.

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 tonguepadi," 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.Padusant. The Po.Germany.Bada, 9th cent., now theBode.2.With the ending en.Ireland.TheBandon. Co. Cork. (Forms a considerable estuary).Italy.Pantanusant., now the Lake of Lesina, a salt lagoon on the Adriatic.3.With the ending er.Germany.Patra, 9th cent., now thePader.4.With the ending es.Hungary.Pathissusant., now theTemes.[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.TheParde. Joins the Elster.TheBord, in Moravia—here?2.With the ending en.Asia Minor.Partheniusant.—here?[56]

In the sense of "that which spreads" I am inclined to bring in the rootta,tav,tan,tam. While in the Gaelic we findtain, and the Obs.ta, water,taif, sea—in the Welsh we have the verbstaenuandtafu, 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 wordsto,tû,tau, in the Hungarian dialects signifying a lake. The Sansc. hastan, to extend, but we must presume a simpler formta, corresponding with the above Obs. Gael. word for water.Mone explainstab, 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.TheTavyand theTaw. Devon.Devaant., theDee—here?Scotland.Tavusant. TheTay.TheDee, two rivers—here?Wales.TheTaw, theTivy, and theTave.Ireland.TheTay. Waterford.LochTain Wexford.France.TheDive, Dep. Vienne—here?Germany.TheThayain Moravia.Spain.TheDevaby Placentia—here?2.With the ending d or t.Scotland.TheTeviotin Roxburghshire—here?Holland.Tabudaant., now the Scheldt.Siberia.TheTavda.India.TheTaptee—here?The form Tan, Tam.1.England.TheTeignand theTeane.TheDaneand theDeane.TheTame, three rivers.Scotland.TheTema. Selkirkshire.Danusant., now theDon.France.Danusant., now the Ain.TheDahmeand theDéaume.Norway.TheTana.Italy.Timavusant., now theTimao.Russia.Tanaisant., now theDon.TheTimand theTom.Greece.Tanusant., now the Luku.2.With the ending er.England.TheTamar. Cornwall.Belgium.TheDemer.Italy.Tanarusant., now theTanaro.Spain.Tamarisant., now theTambre.Syria.Tamyrasant., (Strabo)—here?3.With the ending d.England.Tamede(Cod. Dip.), now theTeme.Mauretania.Tamudaant. (Pliny.)4.With the ending es.England.TheThames. Tamesis (Cæsar), Tamesa (Tacitus), Tamese, Temis (Cod. Dip.), Welsh Tain.Hungary.TheTemesant. Pathisus, (see note p.132).

From the roottan, to extend, we may probably also derive the wordtangfound 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.TheDongein Brabant.Norway.TheTengs.2.With the ending er.Germany.Tongera, 10th cent., now theTanger.Italy.Tanagerant., now theTanagro—here?

FOOTNOTES:[37]This, one of the Homeric rivers, was not identified in the time of Pliny.[38]Perhaps formed frometby a phoneticn. 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 makesscuzandscutaltered forms ofsrotorsrut, 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 endingxI take to be a Græcism fors.[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 Scotcheckorick, p.25.[51]Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch. (Vol. 1. Personennamen).[52]The namesArmineandArminger, (of whichIremongermay be a corruption), occur in Lower's Patronymica Britannica. AndArmingaudis one of the many names of German or Frankish origin still found in France.[53]E. G. Welshlli,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, fromparthenos, virgin, in reference to the flowers on its banks, seems rather far-fetched.

[37]This, one of the Homeric rivers, was not identified in the time of Pliny.

[38]Perhaps formed frometby a phoneticn. 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 makesscuzandscutaltered forms ofsrotorsrut, 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 endingxI take to be a Græcism fors.

[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.

[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 Scotcheckorick, p.25.

[51]Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch. (Vol. 1. Personennamen).

[52]The namesArmineandArminger, (of whichIremongermay be a corruption), occur in Lower's Patronymica Britannica. AndArmingaudis one of the many names of German or Frankish origin still found in France.

[53]E. G. Welshlli,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, fromparthenos, virgin, in reference to the flowers on its banks, seems rather far-fetched.

In the inscription of Pul found at Nineveh, as deciphered in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, vol. 19, pt. 2, the Euphrates is called the Irat, which is conjectured by the translator to have been a local name. It seems to be from the Sansc.irat(=Latinerrans, Eng.errant), from the verbir, Lat.erro, to wander. The same word seems to be found in the Irati of Spain—perhaps also in the Orontes (=Irantes=Irates), of Syria. Possibly also in the Erid-anus or Po, though I am rather inclined to agree with Latham that the word contained therein is onlyridan.[57]Perhaps then the form Irt or Urt inriver-names may be a contracted form ofirat, as we find it in the Germ.irrthum, a mistake.

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