--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, yours truly wrote:
>
>
> I know that the Sanskrit Rta, Sanskrit Ritu, and Avestan Asha all
> ultimately derive from the PIE root *Ar- "to fit together" but what
I
> am unsure about are the intermediate stages between *Ar- and the
> finished terms.
>
> Could anyone clarify whether the terms Rta/Ritu/Asha stem from the
> suffixed form *ar-ti- from which we get artisan and the Greek
> artios 'fitting'?
> Or do they stem from the variant form *re- (which gives rate,
ratio,
> rede) or possibly the variant form *rei (from which come rite and
> arithmos)??
I have read that the Avestan term Asha began as Arta and was softened
to arsha and subsequently "asha"; and is also found in the forms:
arsh, eresh, arta, ereta.
The term ARTA is found in names of Mitanni and Iranian descent:
There are the Mitanni Kings Artatama (1440-1420) and Artashumara
(1395 to 1385)
Much later we find a host of names which are of Iranian origin:
Artaxerxes I king of Persia 464425 BC
Artasata, Persian satrap of Armenia - became king of Persia under the
name Darius III 336-330 BC
King Artabazanes of the Medes 220 BC
Artaxias of Armenia 189-164 BC
Artabanus I of the Parthian Empire 127 to 124 BC
I am unaware of any earlier Hittite, Anatolian, or Scythian evidence.
Seeing the term Arta existing among the Mitanni and Iranian tribes I
*ASSUME* that the etymology of the Sanskrit Rta stems from one of the
suffixed forms of *Ar- such as *ar-ti, *ar-tu-, *ar-to-, or even *ar-
tio-.
Of course my assumption may be completely off base.
I am searching for 3 things:
1) Confirmation or correction in regards to the etymology of
Rta/Arta/Asha.
2) What are the nearest Sanskrit and Avestan linguistic relatives and
what do those related words mean?
3) What European or Mediterranean terms developed from the most
recent shared PIE common ancestor? (Such as did the Greek term Arete
derive from the same suffixed PIE root which gave rise to Arta?)
Any help at all would mean a great deal to me!
Sincerely,
Aydan