Re: What color is the Rother?

From: Rick McCallister
Message: 70165
Date: 2012-10-10

Actually "red" rivers are often green, something about the red clay underneath often gives them a green cast. But rother does look like ruther- attested in Scots Rutherford

From: dgkilday57 <dgkilday57@...>
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 8:59 PM
Subject: [tied] What color is the Rother?
 
The river Rother of Derbyshire (Roder, -ir, -yr, -ur 13th cent., Rudde 1330, Rodelle 1330, Rother 1577) is explained by Ekwall (English River-Names 348) as 'chief river', British *dubro- 'water' with intensive *ro- from *pro-. Cameron (Place-Names of Derbyshire 15) agrees with this analysis but suggests 'great river' as a better translation.

I have never been there, but maps suggest that the Rother is not a particularly great river, nor the chief river of Derbyshire. Also, the contraction of the name required is rather violent, since Dubris is still Dover. I wonder whether the meaning of Rother is rather 'red', a rhotic extension of zero-grade *h1rudH- as in Greek and Latin (or with an intervening laryngeal in Sanskrit).

I cannot find such a Celtic formation in Matasovic', but this name need not be Celtic. In disagreeing with Ekwall on the Wye, Jackson considered a Celtic etymology unlikely and pointed out that there were people in Britain before the Celts.

But if the Rother is green, it will embarrass my explanation.

DGK