> > I found this origin most interesting,
> > Are there other terms among the various Germanic tongues that
carry
> > the original meaning of "vital force" or "eternity"?
>
> I've already cited most of them. They also form compounds, e.g. ON
> langæ:r, which corresponds exactly to Lat. longaevus.
>
Dutch eeuw "age; century", German ewig, Dutch eeuwig "eternal".
But consider
avil-s gen. "of age" Etruscan
avi-s gen. id. Lemnian
H.-y-w- "live" Semitic
H.aywa perf. "lived" Ethiopian
-yw- > -yy-
H.aya: id. Hebrew
H.ayya id. Arabic
H.ayyuN "living, having life, alive,
quick, lively,
(applied to God) deathless" Arabic
H.ay "living, fresh,
(of water) running" Hebrew
H.ayyi:m pl. "life" Hebrew
H.ayyatuN "live thing, serpent" Arabic
H.ayya: "animal, life, soul" Arabic
ta-HiyyatuN "continuance, endurance,
everlasting existence" Arabic
H.aya:tuN "life" Arabic
H.ayawa:nuN "animal,
animated/live/everlasting thing,
ever-flowing well" Arabic
H.aywa:nuN "living creature, animal" Arabic
which makes one suspect it's a loanword (some religious term) in IE.
Torsten