--- In cybalist@..., S.Tarasovas@... wrote:
> --- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> > What?? Attila is the Gothic word for "daddy", from atta 'father'
> with the same suffix that we see in Wulfila ("little wolf") -- a
> Germanic nickname given him by the Goths. Where is "Attila"
attested
> as a name of the Volga??
> >
> > Piotr
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: tgpedersen@...
> > To: cybalist@...
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 12:02 PM
> > Subject: [tied] Re: Language - Area - Routes
> >
> >
> > Hemming then presumes a connection with the rivers Don and Dniepr.
> > (eg. "Attila" means "River Volga", and he was born there)
>
> Volga's Turkic name sounds like Atil (if I recollect correctly).
>
> Sergei
Phew! Thank you, Sergei. Mr Hemming isn't very good at providing
references.
Actually I discovered from the library that the pseudonym was for
Jon Galster. He was my uncle. I had suspected as much for some years.
So Piotr is not entirely wrong in ascribing the same opinion to us.
I did sneer approppriately at his etymologies like a good linguist
should for many years:
"Sam" was a sun-God worshipped by ancient peoples: Saami, Semites,
Samoyeds, the Babylian god Shamash, Samson (his hair = the rays of
the sun), the island of Samsø in Denmark. What do you say to such
loose canons? At least I know that Samo-yed was Russian "self-eater"
(whatever that was, cannibalistic or koprophagous).
Later I discovered Samo-yed was a Russian Volksetymolgie for a native
word beginning with *Sam-.
And later I thought Suomi, Saami, Samland, Sams-ø; the two latter are
perfect areas for the relative survival of a relic people, such as
Saami being driven North.
Hm!
As we say here: Blind høne kan også (also) finde et korn.
Torsten