Piotr wrote:
> I don't think that cognates of *arja- and *a:r(i)ja- are
> attested in IE branches other than Indo-Iranian, or that an
> original meaning like "noble, honourable" or "high, lofty,
> etc." can be attributed to these terms. The idea that other
> IE groups (the Irish, in particular) called themselves the
> Aryas in ancient times is a 19th-century myth.
What would you then make of Gaulish Ariios and Ariomanus (seems to look an
awful lot like Vedic Aryaman) as well as Irish Aire and perhaps even Eremon
(may be the Irish equivalent of Gaulish Ariomanus, as Old Irish er- can
occasionally stand for air-)? What of Old Norse nom. pl. arjoster which
Pokorny has as "Vornehmsten"?
Old Irish Aire definitely meant "lord/chief", but can also mean, in a legal
sense, every freeman, commoner and noble that possesses independent legal
status.
I guess the question is whether or not Gaulish Ariios and Irish Aire come
from PIE *aryo- or perhaps from PIE *Peri-. I do not think that the original
PIE speakers called themselves "Aryans," but it does seem likely that they
had a legal term for "Freemen".
-Chris Gwinn