--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:>
Archaic versions of Poseidon's name include uncontracted
<poseidao:n>, <poteidawo:n>, <poti:dao:n> and the like.
>
> My own view, BTW, is that the "PIE word" in question, insofar as it
is reconstructable at all, is *d(a)h2nu-s ('[big] river'?) with the
adjectival derivative *dah2neu-jo-s. I'm rather sceptical of deriving
too much from it.
Pardon me if I go over ground already covered. I will cite the
Sanskrit lexemes and tradition of India which gives two distinct
streams of semantics related to danu, da_nu.
One is clearly relatable to (big) river if the following lexeme is
relevant: da_nu = a fluid, drop, dew (Sanskrit).
In the context of da_nava in opposition to deva, here are some
cognate lexical entries, again from Sanskrit:
da_nu = victor, conqueror, valiant; a class of demons
danu = daughter of Daks.a, mother of da_nava-s. danu is also the name
of a son of s'ri_ (also called da_nava, originally very handsome, but
changed into a monster by Indra for having offended him.