Janeen Grohsmeyer wrote:
> Do the constellations and star-lore of the Greeks, Aryans, Celts, and other
> PIE-language groups show any similiarities? If so, have the PIE names for
> the constellations been reconstructed? How about the PIE names for the
> pantheon?
>
>
Here is a list of PIE words that contain the name of a constellaion.
*argu- for Archer arrow [this one is not in the AHD CD dictionary ], Sagitta
or Sagittarius the Archer.
*as- To burn, glow. Ara the Altar.
*derk- To see. Draco the Dragon.
*dhghem- Earth. for chameleon, Well-Hidden.
*ekwo- Horse. probably for Equus the Foal.
*ger[a]-2 To cry hoarsely; for Grus the Crane, and Corvus the Crow. This
reconstructed word constantly puzzles me. Other than being birds, these two
bear little similarity. A Crane does not crow. A Crane is a wading bird... A
Crow lives on dry land and mythologically condemned to thirst...This one
doesn't fit neatly into my idea that each constellation has it's own specific
family of words.
*gn[ó]- To know. Norma. The Level and Square.
*gwher- To heat, warm. Fornax Chemica, The Chemical Furnace.
*gwou- Ox, bull, cow. Bootes, the Herdsman (a farmer).
*ka[a]-id- To strike. Caelum, the sculptor's chisel.
*kent- To prick, jab. This is generally accepted to be Centaurus, the Centaur.
*ker-1 Horn, head; Unicorn, the Unicorn.
*ker[a]- To mix, confuse, cook. Crater, the Cup.
*leuk- Light, brightness. Lynx, the Lynx.
*n[á]u- Boat. Argo the Ship.
*oi-no- One, unique. Unicorn, the Unicorn.
*okt[ó](u) Eight. Octans, Hadley's Octant (an instrument to determine stellar
positions).
*or- Large bird. Aquila, the eagle.
*[ó]s- Mouth. Auriga, the Charioteer.
*peig- To cut, mark (by incision). Pictor the Painter's Easel
*pet[a]- To spread. Circinus, a Compass for drawing circles
*segh- To hold. Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, the Snake Charmer.
*skei- To cut, split. Scutum Sobiescianum. Sobieski's Shield.
*sker-² Also ker-. To turn, bend. Corona the Crown.
*spek- To observe. Telescopium the Telescope.
*s[ú]- Pig. Hyades in Taurus.
*tauro- Bull. Taurus.
*trei- Three. Triangulum the Triangle.
*wed-¹ Water; wet. Hydra and Hydrous Watersnakes.
*w[l]kwo- Wolf. Lupus
The features and mythological characters associated with the constellations,
and their prominent characteristics, lead to other word-stems. Some
possibilities;
*bher-1 To carry; also to bear children. Ursa Major.
*gen[a]- To give birth, beget; Cepheus the King.
*bhr[á]ter- Brother, male agnate. Gemini, the Twins.
*bher1- to carry. Ursa Major, the Greater Bear.
*arg- to shine, maybe for Argo the Ship.
*gerbh- To scratch. Cancer, the Crab.
*gwen- Woman. Cassiopeia the Queen.
*kas- Gray. Lepus, the Hare.
*kers- To run. Auriga the Chariot.
*kleu- To hear. Hercules, the Kneeling Man, 12 labors.
*wegh- To go, transport in a vehicle. wagon Ursa Major.
*swen- To sound. Cygnus the Swan.
*maghu- Young person of either sex. Virgo.
*[r]tko- Bear. Ursa, Arcturus in Bootes, the Bear-Guide.
*rep- To snatch. Corvus the Raven.
*rei- To flow, run. Eridanus the River.
*ghes- Hand. for Chiron who is associated with Centaurus.
Most of our stars were named by the Arabs, out of 290 named stars, only about
thirty of them were named by others. Here is a list PIE words with starnames.
*dh[é]- To set, put. Latin facies. Facies is the nebula in the Archer's face.
*leb- To lick; lip. Labrum, delta star of Crater, the Cup.
*kwon- Dog. Procyon, alpha star of Ursa Minor.
*tel[a]- To lift, support, weigh; Atlas in Taurus.
*m[á]-² Mother. Maia in the Pleiades, of the Taurus constellation. also meg-
Great, Maia.
*pel[a]-¹ To fill; with derivatives referring to abundance and multitude.
Pleiades in Taurus.
*gembh- Tooth, nail. Gemma another name for Alphecca alpha star in Corona
Borealis, the Crown.
*man-² Hand. Manubrium omicron star of Sagittarius.
*reg- To move in a straight line. Regulus the alpha star of Leo.
*wer-³; To perceive, watch out for. Arcturus the Bear-Warden
*med- To take appropriate measures. Medusa linked with beta star of Perseus;
Algol.
My dictionary, AHD on CD, does not contain all the PIE words, so obviously the
list above is not complete.
See tmy website for a list of constellations and stars
http://www.winshop.com.au/annew/
Anne Wright