Re: Nereus, Nerthus, Njord and a few other thoughts part 1

At 12:35:12 PM on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, A. wrote:

[...]

> The Norse Vanic aquatic deity Njord is supposed to be
> linguistically related to Nerthus (via the Proto-Gmc
> Nerthuz).

> If we can connect Nerthuz with Nereus we might then assume
> a rather precise match between Njord & Nereus.

> C. Gwinn stated:
> "There likely is a connection between Nereus and the Irish
> Nera (who seems to be a late reflection of the Gaulish god
> Nerios, the tutelary divinity of the healing waters at
> Neris-les-Bains, France)."

[...]

> In light of this evidence does it seem valid to suggest
> that all are derived from *Ner(1)- , meaning "under"?

Why not a basis in the cluster *h2ner- 'man', *h2ner-to-
'virile, strong', etc.?

Brian