Dear David,
--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "david_russell_watson"
<liberty@...> wrote:
> By the way last night I came across another etymology for
> Varuna, from 'The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-
> European Roots':
>
> wel-ยน. To see. 1. Suffixed zero-grade form *wl-id-
> in Germanic *wlituz, appearance, in Old Norse litr,
> appearance, color, dye, akin to the source of LITMUS.
> 2. Suffixed form *wel-uno- perhaps in Sanskrit Varuna,
> "seer, wise one", sovereign god: VARUNA.
> [Pok. 1. uel- 1136.]
>
> I think I may favor this one, considering Varuna's role
> in the Rig Veda, described by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty
> as:
>
> "a god whose primary role was watching over the deeds
> of men (as a sky god is well placed to do) and punishing
> those who violated the sacred law (rta) of which Varuna
> was the most important custodian."
This etymology, indeed, would nicely fit Varun.a's role as the
divine custiodian of the r.ta (socio-cosmic order) who watches, or
sees (PIE *wel-), all what human beings do by means of his thousand
eyes, the stars.
Yet, PIE *wel- 'to see' has apparently *no* reflexes in Indo-
Iranian -- see Pokorny's entry <*u_el-1> at
http://tinyurl.com/6r64ab
This is not the case with the two etymologies we have discussed so
far, viz., the ones based, respectively, on Pokorny's PIE roots
<*u_er-3> 'to turn, bend' and <*u_er-6> 'to talk, speak', both of
which *do* have reflexes in Indo-Iranian other than the IA theonym
Varun.a (whose derivation from either of these PIE roots is the
issue at stake).
But there's something even odder in your American Heritage
Dictionary etymology. The quote (copied above) you reproduced in
your message is *not* from the current online version of Calvert
Watkins' IE roots index at
http://www.bartleby.com/61/IEroots.html
Where is it from? Watkins' *wel-1 root is the following:
http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE564.html
Its meaning is 'to wish, will', not 'to see'as stated in your quote.
Is this entry from an older version of Watkins' index of IE roots,
or what?
Moreover, I am puzzled by the fact that the entry, supposedly
written by Watkins, you quote in your message directs to Pokorny's
entry <*u_el-1> 'to see', whose link is given by me above, and which
doesn't mention at all a "suffixed form *wel-uno-" (= *u_el-uno).
What a mess! *Who* is exactly the proponent of this etymology for
the name Varun.a?
Best wishes,
Francesco