Re: [tied] Sarasvati River

The Indo-Iranian suffixes -ma(n)t- and -va(n)t- have the same primary function. They form adjectives meaning "having/possessing ..." or "abounding in ...". In fact, they are variants of the same morpheme. The choice depends on dissimilatory requirements: as a rule, the variant -ma(n)t- is used with bases ending in -u-, -au- and -us-, e.g. Skt. pas'u-mant-, Iranian fs^u-mant- 'having livestock, herdsman'. Sarasvati (= saras-vat-i: < virtual *seles-wnt-i:) therefore means "marshy, forming many ponds" or the like.

Piotr

----- Original Message -----
From: S.Kalyanaraman

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 6:40 AM

Subject: Re: [tied] Sarasvati River

Can it not be -ma(n)t > -va(n)t? Lake-like? --- In cybalist@......, "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@......> wrote: > We've discussed it before. The suffix -va(n)t- (feminine -vati: < *-wnt-ih2) means "rich in, having a lot of". The most likely base seems to be the PIE s-neuter *sel-os/*sel-es- 'marshy lake, pond, pool'. I also considered *ser-es- 'flow, current' as a possibility, but the former name apparently describes the historical Sarasvati much better and I agree it's preferable as an analysis. > > Piotr > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: MCLSSAA2@... > To: cybalist@... > Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 5:29 PM > Subject: [tied] Sarasvati River > > What does "Sarasvati" mean if treated as a Sanksrit word?