Danube and Dnieper in Baltic and Slavic

(This is an update on the Danube/Dnieper problem in Baltic and Slavic.
The word-list is placed in the end of the message.)


Two possible (mutually exclusive) scenarios exist.

I. Baltic and Slavic Danube-words (and appropriate common nouns) are
borrowings. Baltic appellatives <*du(:)n-/*daun-(?) (those not
directly related to the Danube-word) may present PIE legacy (see
below) or be of a secondary origin (transformation of the Danube-
word).

For instance, Georgiev explains the process which lead to the
appearence of the Danube-word in Slavic as follows:
<Georgiev>
The upper reaches of the Danube bore a Celtic name: *Da:nuvius < PIE
*da:nuw-jo-, the central part - Daco-Mesian *Da:navi(s) < PIE *da:now-
jo-, he assumes that long stressed a: > o: and, a bit later,
intervocalic v > [zero] in Daco-Mesian (I don't know the reason since
I have only second-hand information), hence *Do:navi(s) > *Do:nai(s).
Since Common Slavic at the time the borrowing occured didn't have
/o:/, it was reflexed as Slavic *u, hence *Do:navi(s) > *DunavI and
*Do:nai(s)>*DunajI.
<Georgiev/>

Appropriate Slavic appellatives are of metaphoric origin, *DunajI-
like proper nouns, not designating the Danube proper - of secondary
origin. Baltic borrows from Slavic (less probably from Germanic,
where o: > u: was also possible), so /u_/-vocalism is normal and
primary, /u/ is secondary. The fact that in Baltic the words in
question are attested mostly in folklore indicates that they were
borrowed from Slavic mostly in their metaphoric ("myphological")
meaning. This is also supported by the fact that in Lithuanian folk
songs the Danube-words are mutually interchangable with common names
('river','lake','gulf','sea') and obvious proper names (Neman-word,
Dnieper-word). Neman-word in Lithuanian and Vistula-word in Polish
can act as common nouns with *dunajI/du(:)na(:)j-like meanings.
The Slavic Dnieper-word is a (Iranian?) borrowing, the appropriate
Baltic forms borrowed both from pre-Slavic (Iranian?) and Slavic
archetypes.

II. Both Baltic and Slavic words in question derive from PIE directly
(not borrowed) and have nothing to do with the Danube (late
contamination is possible). PIE root may be *dHeu-/*dHou-/*dHu- 'run,
flow', supported by Lith. dunti,dune'.ti,dunytu (with a bit of
semantic stretch) (though not supported by Lith. du(_)nas/du(_)nu`s).
-n- would be a normal stem-forming extension of the root, suffixes *-a
(:)j-u-/-a- and *-aw-a: and are normal for Baltic and *-aj-I is not
impossible in Slavic (I don't know about *-av-I/-U).
At any rate, it seemes to be impossible to reconstruct a Baltic
archetype for Danapris/*DUne^prU etc.


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If not otherwise indicated, the words are Lithuanian.

A. *dun-/du:n-

du(_)nas/du(_)nu`s 'in folk songs: deep;wide (of water bodies)'
(Latvian cognates reportedly exist)

[Danube-words]

[common nouns]
duna~jus/du(_)no~jus/dunoje.lis/du_nele. '1. a lot/(large) body of
water 2. a deep'
du_nave.lis/dunava 'id.'
(Latv. dunajs 'id.', dun,avas 'rivulet;spring;ice-free water')
(Slavic *dunajI/dunavI/dunavU 'river,stream,deep,riverbed;an unknown
or distant river, which is reportedly very deep and
rapid;'pond,channel,standing water;deep pit filled with
water;spring,brook;the depth of water;water body;water marking the
world's end'
du_nojo/a,du_no~,dun(o/a)lai~s^ki 'a folk songs' refrain'
du_noje.le. 'a she-fox (in folk songs only)'

[proper nouns]
Duno~jus,Duna~jus 'river-name'; Du(_)no~jus 'lake-name'
(Latv. Dunajs,Dunaji,Dunaj-pl,ava '(water-)meadow-name', Dunava
'river-name')
(OPruss Dunow)
(Slav. *DunajI/DunavU/DunavIcI/DunajIcI/DunavIcI etc)

[Dnieper-words]
Dnie~pras,Donie~pras,Dunepre.~lis 'river-name', Dune.~prai,Dune.~pras
'(water-)meadow-name'
(Slavic *Dune^prU/*DIne^prU)

(su-)dunti (3 pers. praes. ind. du_na) 'dry out (of river)'
(nu-,is^-)dune'.ti (3 pers. praes. ind. du`na) 'stale (of beer etc),
run dry'
(nu-)dunyti 'drive (out),remove'; du`ninti 'shoot game',apdu`ninti
'deceive'

dunu'oti,dune.ku'oti/dunioku'oti/dunoku'oti 'move back and forth
(esp. in the distance/darkness),loom,flit'
dunele. 'reed mace (Typha)'

B. *da(:)un-/doun-

dauna 'datura'
dauni 'deep (in folk songs)' (if not of a secondary origin)

C. *do:un-
[formally fits du'ona 'bread']

D. *djaun-(< *deun-)
[none]

E. Of a secondary origin?

donas '=dunas'
dujone.~lis/duju_'nas/donajus/danojus/donuje.lis/donoje.lis/duinoje.li
s/duinaje.lis '=dunojus'
daina, dauni 'deep (in folk songs)'

Sergei