Talk:Syr Darya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Etymology of Iaxartes
Various etymologies have been suggested for the name "Iaxartes" (or preciously, Iaxartês)
I suppose that:
A. The first part, the the root "Iaks-", is derivated by name "S-akas" (i.e. Sacae, Sacians, or else Scythians).
The same root occurs in words:
- "Ukrayina" ( i.e. Ok(s)-raine)( = Ukraine, the modern European state)
- "Oxus" (i.e. Oks) ( = Amu Darya, ancient river, in Central Asia)
- "Euxinus Pontus" (i.e. Oks-inus pontus) ( = the modern Black Sea) etc.
B. The second part, "-arta", is derivated by ancient Persian word "arta" ( = great).
So, Iaxartes means "Great Oxos".
--IonnKorr 08:45, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
