Re: IRMIN

From: caraculiambro
Message: 13420
Date: 2002-04-22

--- In cybalist@..., "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> --- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:

> P:
> Arminius ....
> I can't propose a good etymology, since I don't know what the
> Germanic form of the name really was, but fantastical comparison
> with "aryaman-" or "Armenian" doesn't explain it either. You cannot
> base a sound etymology on the similarity of form alone.
>
> T:
> What are the other criteria that you want met?

(1) A decent formal match (rather than your _routine_ recourse to
folk-etymological distortion as an all-purpose evasion
stratagem). "Aryaman-" and "Arminius" may look similar, but is the
latter derivable from the former? Which Iranian language (if any) is
the supposed source?

(2) A plausible reason for utilising an exotic word as a Germanic
name. Your personal conviction, no matter how intense, will not make
other people believe that a Germanic chief should have been
called "Armenian" (if _that_'s your theory) -- there's no precedent
for anything like that. Is there any ancient gossip to the effect
that Arminius was somehow connected with Armenia?

(3) The name Arminius can't be _both_ "Armenian" and "Aryaman", so
which is it in your opinion? Why not the other? Why not something
else? Before you consider extraordinary etymologies, maybe ordinary
ones are worth trying first. Is it really impossible to etymologise
Arminius in Germanic or Celtic terms? I have myself rejected the
commonly cited equation "Arminius = Hermann" as impossible to defend
on formal grounds -- but that is something that _I_ say. Somebody
with your penchant for "irregular" explanations might come up with
all sorts of theories about prehistoric Cockneys dropping their
aitches and manipulating their vowels.

Piotr