Compare Germanic *mari (> Goth. mari:,
mari-saiws, ON marr, OE mere, OHG meri), which varies semantically between
'lake, marsh, mere' and 'sea' (cf. the similar ambiguity of Germanic *saiwa-).
"Marsh" derives from *mariska- 'mere-like'. Lithuanian mâre:s < *marejes
(pl.) means 'gulf'. It seems that *mor- underlies various boggy terms (Slavic
*mork-y, Germanic *mo:r-a- 'moor, swamp', and widespread rivernames
like Morava, Muresh, Maritsa, etc. The original Slavic *morje <
*mor-j-om may have been any large lake or wetland, such as the notorious
Pripyat' Marshes.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 7:46 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: Proto-Slavs and Slavs
bezrodny@...
wrote:
> -IMHO, Slavic <morje> has meaning of "lake" as well as
"sea".
> Ex. Old Russian "Chudskoe more" (Lake Ladoga).
But this
does not apply to small ponds, but rather to huge (see-like) lakes.
Which
lake could it be in the case of Proto-Slavs and their
homeland?