At 17:42 28.03.2005 +0200, you wrote:

>--- "Kåre A. Lie" <alberlie@...> wrote:
>
> > I did some further checking, and found the following
> > in Basham, "The Wonder
> > That Was India", p. 386:
>
>Which proves that whenever you think you know
>something, reality turns up to be more complicated; I
>was thinking of the later vina, and didn't know that
>the word had changed its meaning, as words quite often
>do. (You may see a picture of the modern vina - or
>veena - at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veena>) or,
>for Kåre, <http://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vina>; but
>perhaps he is on the other side in the Norwegian
>Language Battle?)

There is no battle ... only a friendly quarrel ... ;-)

>In the New Testament, on the other hand, the harp is
>at least in one place a translation of the Greek
>"kithara", which was not a harp but the professional
>form of the lyre - see
><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kithara>.

Yes, there are many instances of how the meaning of words change over time.
Since we are talking of harps, it seems that in Viking age Scandinavia the
word "harpa" was used about any plucked string instrument. There is a story
about Gunnar, who was captured by his enemies. His arms were tied, and he
was thown into a snake pit. But a friend managed to throw a harp down to
him, and Gunnar played the harp with is toes so skilfully that all the
snakes were lulled to sleep, all except the largest and nastiest viper, who
bit him so that he died after all.

The story was popular, and it was illustrated in wood carvings on stave
churches. But if we look closely at those carvings, we see that the
instrument Gunnar is playing with his toes, is not what we today would call
a harp, but a lyre.

You can find an illustration of this on my Viking music page,
http://www.lienet.no/Vikings.htm

Examples like this teach us that a modern harp is not always a Viking harp,
a modern vii.naa is not necessarily an ancient vii.naa, and the standard
modern meaning of sara.na.m gacchaami is not necessarily the old or the
only meaning of the expression ... :-)

Best regards,

Kåre A. Lie
http://www.lienet.no/