--- Bhante Sujato <sujato@...> skrev::

> Eventually, the two were
> fused, and
> became 'Ajita-metteya', a term which is exactly
> parallel with that
> other great saviour, Mithras Invictus.

There is also a phonetic similarity between "Metteyya"
and "Messiah" (and between "Vesak" and "Pesach", for
that matter). A historical coincidence, I suppose -
but folk etymologies could probably build something on
it.

--- Bhante Sujato <sujato@...> skrev::

> Indeed. And i can well imagine a local worthy making
> notes for an
> after-dinner speech on the subject of , say,
> anti-corruption, jotting
> down, 'Washington = washing-town'.
>
> But would anyone, compiling these notes later,
> actually take this
> seriously as an etymology?

Well, you never know the knowledge of future linguists
- folk etymologies appear all the time. In my own
mother tongue, "hängmatta" means literally "hanging
carpet" - but historically, the word comes through
Dutch "hangmat" from Caribbean "hamaqa", and the fact
that a hammock actually *is* a hanging carpet makes
that word my contry's most well-integrated immigrant.

Gunnar

gunnargallmo@...