Ariovistus was not an "Aryan"

From: Francesco Brighenti
Message: 48784
Date: 2007-05-30

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Francesco Brighenti"
> <frabrig@...> wrote:
>
> > Also, one should bear in mind that a consensus has emerged among
> > Indo-Europeanists in recent years, that the Proto-Indo-Iranian
> > terms *ari-, *arya-/a:rya- and derivatives have no reflexes in
> > other branches of IE.
>
> Are you sure Ariovist knew that?


I think we can exclude that the Ario- segment in the Latinized
anthroponym Ariovistus may be related to Proto-Indo-Iranian *ari- >
*arya-/a:rya-. Ario- (< *Hario- according to Pokorny p. 67) is most
likely from Germanic *harjaz 'army'. The article on Ariovistus in
Wikipedia is very informative in this respect. It contains this
useful warning in particular:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariovistus#Etymology
"Beginning with Friedrich Schlegel, one theory identified Ario- with
Aryan connecting it with German Ehre, 'honor'. The theory has not
been substantiated in the 150 and more years since its inception by
Schlegel; meanwhile it became a brick in the ideological temple
erected by the Nazi party in Germany (now outlawed) and their
adherents then and now abroad."

Regards,
Francesco