--- In cybalist@..., tgpedersen@... wrote:
> Speaking of Polish nobility: I have always had difficulty
> etymologizing the name of Radziwil. -dzi- says it's Polish but what
> is it made up of?
>
> Torsten
The name is not properly Polish, rather an polonized one. As is
commonly known, a founder of this family was of Lithuanian origin. In
today's Lithuanian his name would look like <Ra~dvilas>, the
reconstructed Old Lithuanian form being *Ra`divilas, hence Polish
Radziwill (with rather unusual -a- instead of expected -o-). The name
is a typical IE nobility name - a characteristical dvandva with both
components (from a list of pre-defined ones) being rather mechanically
joined, so the question of it's semantics is not relevant. Something
like '(who) found (his) will or 'demonstrating his will': *rad-, cf.
Lith. ra`sti<*ra`d-te:i 'find' or ro'dyti 'to show' + *vil- 'a will'.
Sergei