Re: Pliny's "Guthalus"

Piotr wrote: (Mon Sep 30, 2002  10:46 am)
<<Sorry, the meaning is simply 'Gautish River' in Scandinavian, of course,
though etymologically this "river" word _is_ the same as <Elbe>.>>

This is not necessarily so, either. Just as Go:teburg was not named for
"Gutae/Gauti/Guthi" , it's not clear that Go:te A:lv was named for those
people either. Just as likely the word had an earlier, somewhat economically
or culturally important meaning that would name the various areas and then
the people who lived there. If so, the Go:te name for the river may be a
very old one. Or possibly some Scandinavian clerics simply took the name
from Pliny and attached it to a river they thought deserved it. We really
don't know.

The whole matter of Elbe equals "river" is another story. Obviously, the
word does not always apply to all rivers, but perhaps only certain kinds.
And, as happens with river/brook words, it may have sometimes referred to
what was going on on its shores or navigation as to the river itself. See,
e.g., Latin, alveus, the hull of a ship, a channel, a canal, a hollow or
cavity.

Regards,
S. Long