Re: [tied] Old Rus' of the many "nationes"

--- In cybalist@..., "Alexander Stolbov" <astolbov@...> wrote:

> [A.]
> IFAIK, the stem of this word is common IE, not a Celtic innovation.

So we

> may expect to find reflexes of it in Balto-Slavic as well. No need

to

> explain everything as borrowings.

Yes I know. But I wonder how would you derive, eg, Slavic
*DunajI/DunavU ofrom *da:nu? Something beginnig with *Dan- is
expected. Baltic *dun- (or even *dan-, though it seemes to be of
secondary origin) can hardly continue *da:nu- as well.

>
> BTW, in Northern Russian dialects "dunaj" means "brook, small

stream".

> In the basin of Dnieper there are a lot of rivers with names

Dunaets and

> Dunavets.

I know ('brook, small stream' is attested in Baltic as well). And do
you know how it's usually explained? As a result of some strong
influence from and/or memory of the Danubian region. I don't want to
say I buy this explanation', but, if those are not a Baltisms, one
should operate PIE *dau-n-:*dou-n-

> Besides, Dunai is presented in Russian folklore too, as a special

river,

> often without binding with any historical events.
>
> >
> > The Dnieper is first mentioned in a Greek source in the form
> > Da'napris.
>
> [A.]
> Do you mean Periplus Ponti Euxini? Unfortunately I know almost

nothing about

> this source. In which context Danapris was mentioned there?

I mean that Vasmer mentions this in the dictionary we both seem to
have. The name says nothing to me as well, but Vasmer was an expert
in Greek-renderings of the Pontic hydronymy, so I can hardly believe
it wasn't really the first mentioning of the hydronym in question.

> [A.]
> Yes, I see. Thank you for the detailed explanations.

My explanation is far from being clear and detailed. What I actually
wanted to demonstrate is that it's not easy to find a rock-solid
"pro" or "contra"-explanation.

> Is there essentially more plausible etymology for this hydronyme?
> (I know the *Danu-apara - "the river behind" proposal, but guess

that this

> could satisfy a poet, not a linguist)

I don't know. Probably I will post something more informative in some
hours.

Sergei