Re: [tied] etymology of these two tribes?

07-09-03 21:14, Michael J Smith wrote:

> Does anyone know the etymology of the tribal names Sciri and Bastarnae,
> and whether they are Germanic, Celtic, Iranian, etc., because that would
> give some hint it seems as to whether they were originally Germanic, and
> thus contact with or notice by the Mediterranean world of
> Germanic-speakers could be said to have at least begun by about 250 B.C.
> I think someone said before that the name Bastarnae may imply mixed
> peoples among this tribe.

The etymology of "Sciri" is rather obvious: Germanic *ski:ra- < *skeira-
'clear, pure, noble' (OE sci:r, ON skírr, Goth skeirs; ModE <shire> in
this sense is obsolete, but <sheer> is a related word). That of
"Bastarnae" is more elusive (we've discussed the problem more than
once). It's tempting to explain it as 'bastard, of mixed breed', by
contrast to 'pure' but the etymology of <bastard> itself is difficult.
Try searching the archive.

Piotr