Arachosia is Hellenised *haraxWati: (Av.
haraxvaiti:) < *saras-wati:, where *-wat-i: is the female counterpart of
*-want- (*-mant-) '-having', and *saras- is PIE *sel-es- 'pool' or perhaps
*ser-es- 'current'.
Ariana is based on Avestan haroiyu-/hare-
(modern Hari-rud), Sanskrit sarayu-, possibly derived from the same root (*ser-)
as Sarasvati, though not _directly_ related.
The names Khorasan and Khwarizm are
unrelated to Sarasvati, though I can't tell you at the moment what the exact
etymology is (they derive from something with initial *xW- < *sw-, at any
rate).
Helmand, by the way, is etymologically
*haitu-mant- 'having bridges' (cf. Avestan haetu-, Skt. setu-), hence also its
Classical name Etymander.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: [tied] Afghanistan.
Are Arachosia (haraxvaiti:) , Khorasan and Khwarazm
(Khorezm) cognates?
Does Ariana (Haroyu) bear on them?