--- In cybalist@..., "David Russell Watson" <liberty@...> wrote:
> --- In cybalist@..., "kalyan97" <kalyan97@...> wrote:> >
> > The word, 'ari' is defined in Monier Williams as: a faithful or
> > devoted or pious man.> > I consider this definition to have been
overturned. I've attached> a longer quote from Benveniste which in
part explains why it's> unsatisfactory.
This leads to an interesting point. Ultimately, semantics will decide
on the use of the term, a_rya ONLY in IIr and Indo-Aryan (and not in
other IE languages).
At the end of the long essay, Beneviste notes (p. 304): "...to decide
whether the form ari- belongs to the Indo-European vocabulary or
whether it is limited to Indo-Iranian. Scholars have often suggested
that ari may be connected with the prefix ari-, which in Sanskrit
denotes a degree of excellence..."
So, a_rya may not call themselves the 'hospitable ones' but surely
can be proud of themselves and designate themselves as 'the excellent
ones'?