Re: Rut(h)eni

--- In cybalist@..., tgpedersen@... wrote:

> --- In cybalist@..., S.Tarasovas@... wrote:

>> [snip]
>> The mentioned part of today's West Ukraine was called VelynI in

Old

>> Russian and Wol/yn' in Polish. One of the most prominent cities of
>> VolynI was Galic^I (Old Russian), Ga'litza (Medieval Greek), hence
>> Ukr. Galic^ina', Medieval Latin Galicia as a second and later name

of

>> this country. There are no plausible etymologies for these two
>> toponyms, but both of them strongly associate with some Celtic
>> ethonyms (Wel-, Gal- etc.). What if the remnants of the former
>> *Celtic* (not Germanic or Slavic) substratum existed in this part

of

>> Carpathian mountains up to the arrival of Slavs?

>
> And what do you make of Lat-gal- and Sem-gal- then?
>

The Proto-Baltic root *gal- means 'end' > 'territory', hence *lat-gal-
'living in the basin of Lata (river)', *z'eim-gal- 'living in the
northern [z^eim- 'cold;winter;north'] end' (indeed one of the
northernmost Baltic tribes) and even *gal-ind- 'borderes' (1. one of
the westernmost; 2. one of the easternmost Baltic tribes).

Sem-gal is something new to me, I think this is some corruption of
z'eim-gal-.

I guess this Baltic root is hardly related to the Celtic gal- (if
this root ever existed in Celtic, I'm nearly sure the real form was
different, I just don't know).

Sergei