Vanr (was: Re: [tied] Áss etc.)

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" wrote:

> As to this particular word, its origin likely separates it from the explanation above for native words (only in the historical sense), since it's likely borrowed from a non-Gmc language spoken by those who worshipped Ing, etc., before. I'd say con. w Väinämöinen; the sky god * waNyámö? > waN?ámöy > waN?áway > wanáway dis> wanáy [then ana. as if plural > 'gods of the _'].

That's an interesting idea, tho your derivation doesn't really need any m-deleting steps (the *-mo is suffixal, cf. the variant _Väinö_). Juggling palatalization isn't required either: Estonian has a more similar form _Vanemuine_, reshaped by association to _vana_ "old".

So I suppose that makes the Vanir the "old ones" - with simultaneously making them younger than the split of Northern/Southern Baltic-Finnic :)

(Also, he wasn't a sky god, you're thinking of Ilmarinen.)

John Vertical