THAT WHICH RUNS RAPIDLY, FLOWS GENTLY, OR SPREADS WIDELY.

In the preceding chapter I have included the words from which I have not been able to extract any other sense than that of water. As I have before mentioned, it is probable that in some instances there may be fine shades of difference which would remove them out of that category, but whenever I have thought to have got upon the trace of another meaning, something has in each case turned up to disappoint the conditions.

In the present chapter, which comprehends the words which describe a river as that which runs rapidly, that which flows gently, that which spreads widely, there may still in some cases be something of an appellative sense, because there may be a general word to denote a rapid, a smooth, or a spreading stream.

Among the rivers noted for their rapidity is the Rhone. This is the characteristic remarked by all the Latin poets—

Testis Arar, Rhodanusque celer, magnusque Garumna.
Tibullus.

Qua Rhodanus raptim velocibus undis
In mare fert Ararim.
Silv. Ital.

Præcipitis Rhodani sic intercisa fluentis.
Ausonius.

I think that Donaldson and Mone are unquestionably wrong in making the name of this river Rho-dan-us, from a word dan, water. Still more unreasonable is a derivation in the Cod. Vind., from roth, violent, and dan, Celt. and Hebr. a judge! On this Zeuss (Gramm. Celt.) remarks—"The syllable an of the word Rhodanus is without doubt only derivative, and we have nothing here to do with a judge; nevertheless the meaning violent (currens, rapidus,) is not to be impugned." The word in question seems to be found in Welsh rhedu, to run, to race, Gael. roth, a wheel, &c. But there is a word of opposite meaning, Gael. reidh, smooth, which is liable to intermix. Also the Germ. roth, red, may come in, though I do not think that Förstemann has reason in placing all the German rivers to it.

1.	England.	The Rotha. Lake district.
	Germany.	Rot(aha), 8th cent. The Roth, two rivers, the Rott, three rivers, the Rod(au), the Rod(ach), and the Rott(ach), all seem to have had the same ancient name.
		Rad(aha) ant., now the Rod(ach).
	Holland.	The Rotte, by Rotterdam.
	Asia Min.	Rhodius ant.[37] Mysia.
2.	With the ending en.
	England.	The Rodden. Shropshire.
	France.	Rhodănus ant., now the Rhone.
	Germany.	The Rothaine near Strassburg, seems to have been formerly Rot(aha).
3.	With the ending ent.[38]
	Germany.	Radantia, 8th cent., now the Rednitz.
4.	With the ending er.
	England.	The Rother in Sussex.
		The Rother, joins the Thames at Rotherhithe.
5.	With the ending el.
	Germany.	Raotula, 8th cent., now the Rötel.

Allied to the last word is the Eng. race, and the many cognate words in the Indo-European languages which have the sense of rapid motion, as Welsh rhysu, &c.

1.	Scotland.	The Rasay. Rosshire.
	Ireland.	The Ross.
	Germany.	The Riss. Wirtemberg.
	Switzerland.	The Reuss. Joins the Aar.
	Russia.	The Rasa.
	Spain.	The Riaza.
	Asia Min.	Rhesus of Homer not identified.
	India.	Rasa, the Sanscrit name of a river not identified.
2.	With the ending el.
2.	Germany.	The Rossl(au). Joins the Elbe.
3.	With the ending et.
3.	Germany.	The Rezat. Joins the Rednitz.

From the Gael. garbh, Welsh garw, violent, Armstrong derives the name of the Garonne and other rivers.[39] The root seems to be found in Sansc. karv or karp, Latin carpo, &c., implying violent action. The Lat. carpo is applied by the poets to denote rapid progress, as of a river, through a country. So likewise more metaphorically to the manner in which a bold and steep mountain rises from the valley. As also one of our own poets has said—

Behind the valley topmost Gargarus
Stands up and takes the morning—

Hence this root is found in the names of mountains as well as rivers—e.g., the Carpathians (Carpātes), and the Isle of Carpăthus, which "consists for the most part of bare mountains, rising to a central height of 4,000 feet, with a steep and inaccessible coast."[40]

1.	Scotland.	Garf water, a burn in Lanarkshire.
		The Gryffe. Renfrew.
	Germany.	The Grabow. Pruss. Pom.
	Danub. Prov.	Carpis, Herodotus, see p. [73].
2.	With the ending en.
	Scotland.	The Girvan. Ayr.
	Italy.	The Carpino. Joins the Tiber.
		The Gravino. Naples.
3.	With the ending el.
	Italy.	Cerbalus [41] ant., now the Cervaro—here?

From the Sansc. su, to shoot forth, sûs, sûtis, rushing or darting, Gr. σουσις, cursus, I take to be the following. Among the derived words, the Gael. sûth, a billow, seems to be that which comes nearest to the sense required.

1.	Switzerland.	The Suss.
	Denmark.	The Suus(aa).
	Bohemia.	The Saz(awa). Joins the Moldau.
	Portugal.	The Souza.
	Siberia.	The Sos(va), two rivers.
	India.	The Sut(oodra), or Sutledge—here?[42]
2.	With the ending en.
	France.	The Suzon.
	Russia.	The Sosna, two rivers.

Probably to the above we may put a form sest, sost, found in the following.

1.	Germany.	The Soeste. Oldenburg.
	Italy.	Sessites ant., now the Sesia.
	Persia.	Soastus or Suastus ant.
2.	With the ending er.
	Russia.	The Sestra. Gov. Moskow.
	Germany.	The Soster(bach). Joins the Lippe.

To the above root I also place the following, corresponding more distinctly with Old High German schuzzen, Ang.-Sax. sceotan, Eng. shoot, Obs. Gael. and Ir. sciot, dart, arrow.[43]

1.	With the ending en.
	Germany.	Scuzna, 8th cent., now the Schussen.
		Scuzen ant., now the Schozach.
2.	With the ending er.
	Germany.	Scutara, 10th cent., now the Schutter, two rivers.
		Scuntra, 8th cent., now the Schondra and the Schunter.

From the Germ. jagen, to hunt, to drive or ride fast, Bender derives the name of the Jaxt, in the sense of swiftness, suggesting also a comparison with the ancient Jaxartes of Asia. Förstemann considers both suggestions doubtful, but the former seems to me to be reasonable enough. The older sense of jagen is found in the Sansc. yug, to dart forth, formed on the simple verb ya, to go. And appellatives are found in the Finnic words jokk, jöggi, a river. As for the Jaxartes, I am rather inclined to think that the more correct form would be Jazartes, and that it contains the word jezer, before referred to.

1.	Russia.	The Jug. Joins the Dwina.
2.	With the ending et.
	Italy.	Jactus ant. Affluent of the Po.
	Persia.	The Jaghatu.
	Germany.	The Jahde,[44] in Oldenburg.
3.	With the ending st.
3.	Germany.	Jagista ant., now the Jaxt or Jagst.

From the root vip, to move, p. [64], by the prefix s, is formed Old Norse svipa, Ang.-Sax. swîfan, Eng. sweep, &c. In these the sense varies between going fast and going round, and the same may be the case in the following names.

France.	The Suippe. Joins the Aisne.
Germany.	Suevus, 2nd cent., now the Warnow, or, according to Zeuss, the Oder.
Germany.	Suab(aha), 8th cent., now the Schwab(ach).

From the Obs. Gael. sgiap, sgiob, to move rapidly, Eng. skip, may be the following.

1.	England.	The Sheaf, by Sheffield.
	Germany.	Sciffa, 9th cent., now the Schupf.
	Asia Min.	Scopas ant., now the Aladan.
2.	With the ending en.
2.	England.	The Skippon. Joins the Wyre.

In the Gael. brais, impetuous, related perhaps to Lat. verso, we may find the root of the following.

1.	Germany.	The Birse. Prussia.
	Switzerland.	The Birse. Cant. Berne.
2.	With the ending en.
	Ireland.	The Brosna. Leinster.
	Transylvania.	The Burzen. Joins the Aluta.
	Pruss. Pol.	The Prosna.
3.	With the ending el.
	France.	The Bresle. Enters the English Channel.
4.	With the ending ent.
	Germany.	The Persante. Pruss. Pom.

From the Sansc. rab or rav, to dart forth, whence (in a somewhat changed sense) Eng. rave, French ravir, Lat. rabidus, &c. The original meaning of a ravine was a great flood, or as Cotgrave expresses it—"A ravine or inundation of water, which overwhelmeth all things that come in its way."

1.	Ireland.	The Robe. Connaught.
1.	India.	The Ravee or Iraotee—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	England.	Various small streams called Raven, Ravenbeck, &c.
	France.	The Roubion, affluent of the Rhone—here?

From the Sansc. math, to move, are derived, as I take it, Old High German muot, Mod. Germ. muth, Ang.-Sax. môd, courage or spirit, Welsh mwyth, swift, &c., to which I place the following.

1.	Switzerland.	The Muotta. Cant. Schwytz.
2.	Compounded with vey, stream or river.
2.	Wales.	The Muthvey. Three rivers.

The Sansc. sphar, sphurj, to burst forth, shews the root of a number of words such as spark, spring, spirt, spruce, spry, in which the sense of briskness or liveliness is more or less contained. But the Sansc. sphar or spar must be traced back to a simpler form spa or spe, as found in spew, to vomit, and in the word spa, now confined to medicinal springs.

1.	Scotland.	The Spey. Elgin.
2.	With the ending en.
	Scotland.	The Spean.
3.	With the ending er.
	Scotland.	The Spear.
	Germany.	Spira, 8th cent., now the Speier.
		The Spree. Joins the Havel.

Derived forms from the above root are also the following, which correspond more closely with Germ. sprütsen, Ang.-Sax. sprytan, Eng. spirt, Ital. sprizzare. And I think that most of these names are probably German.

England.	The Sprint, a small stream in Westmoreland.
Germany.	Sprazah, 9th cent., some stream in Lower Austria.
	The Sprotta in Silesia.
	Sprenzala, 8th cent., now the Sprenzel.
	Spurchine(bach),[45] 9th cent., now the Spirckel(bach).
Eu. Turkey.	The Spressa. Joins the Bosna.

In the preceding chapter I have treated of the root al, el, il, to go, and various of its derivations. There is another, alac, alc, ilc, which, as it seems most probably either to have the meaning of swiftness, as in the Lat. alacer, or of tortuousness, as in the Greek ἑλικος, I include in this place.

1.	Russia.	The Ilek. Joins the Ural.
	Sicily.	Halycus ant., now the Platani.
	Asia Minor.	Alces ant. Bithynia.
2.	Compounded with may, main, river.
	Siberia.	The Olekma. Joins the Lena.
	Germany.	Alkmana, 8th century, now the Altmühl.
	Greece.	Haliacmon ant., now the Vistritsa.

From the Welsh tarddu, to burst forth, we may take the following. There does not seem any connection between this and the root of dart (jaculum); the latter from the first signifies penetration, and in river-names comes before us in the oblique sense of clearness or transparency.

1.	Scotland.	The Tarth. Lanarkshire.
	Libya.	Darădus ant., now the Rio di Ouro.
	Armenia.	Daradax [46] ant. (Xenophon).
2.	With the ending er.
	France.	The Tardoire. Dep. Charente.
	Aust. Italy.	The Tartaro.
3.	With the ending es.
3.	Spain.	Tartessus ant., now the Guadalquiver.

With the Sansc. till, to move, to agitate, we may probably connect the Gael. dile and tuil, Welsh diluw, dylif, dylwch, a flood, deluge, as also Ang.-Sax. dilgian, German tilgen, to overthrow, destroy, &c. The Ang.-Sax. dêlan, Germ. thielen, to divide, in the sense of boundary, may however intermix in these names.

1.	England.	The Till. Northumberland.
	Ireland.	The Deel. Limerick.
	Germany.	The Dill. Nassau.
	Belgium.	Thilia, 9th cent., now the Dyle in Bravant.
	Switzerland.	The Thiele.
2.	With the ending en.
	Germany.	The Tollen. Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
3.	With the ending er.
	Scotland.	The Dillar burn. Lesmahagow.
4.	With the ending es.
	Germany.	The Tilse, by Tilsit.

With the two Welsh forms dylif and dylwch, deluge, we may perhaps connect the following, though for the former the Ang.-Sax. delfan, to dig, delf, a ditch, may also be suitable.

Germany.	Delv(unda), 9th century, now the Delven(au).
	Delchana, 11th century, now the Dalcke.

From the Gael. and Ir. taosg, to pour, tias, tide, flood, may be the following. Perhaps the special sense of cataract may come in, at least in some cases, as two of the under-noted rivers, the Tees and the Tosa, are noted for their falls.

1.	England.	The Tees. Durham.
	Switzerland.	The Töss. Cant. Zurich.
	Piedmont.	The Tosa.
	Russia.	The Tescha. Joins the Oka.
	Hungary.	Tysia ant., now the Theiss.
	Greece.	Tiasa ant. Laconia.
	India.	The Touse—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	Switzerland.	The Tessin or Ticino.
	Germany.	The Desna. Joins the Dnieper.
	France.	The Tacon. Dep. Jura.
3.	With the ending el.
3.	Germany.	Tussale (Genitive), 11th cent., now the Dussel by Düsseldorf.
4.	With the ending st.[47]
	England.	The Test. Hants.
	Germany.	The Dista. Prussia.
	India.	The Teesta—here?

From the Sansc. gad or gand, Ang.-Sax. geôtan, Suio-Goth. gjuta, Danish gyde, Old Norse giosa, Old High Ger. giezen, Obs. Gael. guis, all having the meaning of Eng. "gush," we get the following. The Gotha or Gœta of Sweden may probably derive its name from the well-known fall which it makes at Trolhætta. So also the Gaddada of Hindostan is noted for its falls; and the Giessbach is of European celebrity. But in some of the other names the sense may not extend beyond that of wandering, as we find it in Eng. gad, which I take to be also from this root. Or that of stream, as in Old High Germ. giozo, Gael. and Ir. gaisidh, rivulus.

1.	England.	The Gade. Herts.
	Scotland.	Gada ant.,[48] now the Jed by Jedburgh.
	Germany.	The Gose. Joins the Ocker.
		Geis(aha), 8th cent., now the Geisa.
		The Gande, Brunswick—here, or to can, cand, pure?
	Switzerland.	The Giess(bach). Lake of Brienz.
	Spain.	The Gata. Joins the Alagon.
	Sweden.	The Gotha or Gœta.
		The Gidea, enters the G. of Bothnia.
	Asia.	Gyndes (Herodotus), perhaps the Diala—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	Asia Minor.	Cydnus ant., now the Tersoos Chai.
3.	With the ending er.
	Persia.	The Gader.
	Sardinia.	Cædrius ant., now the Fiume dei Orosei.
4.	With the ending el.
	Germany.	Gisil(aha), 8th cent., now the Giesel—here?
5.	With the ending ed.
	India.	The Gaddada.
6.	Compounded with main, stream.
	Switzerland.	The Gadmen.

From the Sansc. arb or arv, to ravage or destroy, cognate with Lat. orbo, &c., may be the following. To the very marked characteristic of the Arve in Savoy I have referred at p. [6]. But there is a word of precisely opposite meaning, the Celt. arab, Welsh araf, gentle, which is very liable to intermix.

1.	France.	The Arve and the Erve.
	Germany.	Orb(aha), 11th cent., now the Orb.
	Sardinia.	The Arve and the Orbe.
	Hungary.	The Arva. Joins the Waag.
	Spain.	The Arva, three rivers, tributaries to the Ebro.
2.	With the ending en.
	Scotland.	The Irvine. Co. Ayr.
	France.	Arvenna ant., now the Orvanne.
3.	With the ending el.
3.	Germany.	Arbalo, 1st cent., now the Erpe.
4.	With the ending es.
4.	Asia Minor.	Harpăsus ant., now the Harpa.

In the Sansc. cal, to move, and the derivatives Sansc. calas, Gr. κελης, Obs. Gael. callaidh, Latin celer, all having the same meaning—the sense of rapidity seems sufficiently marked to include them in this chapter.

1.	Scotland.	The Gala. Roxburgh.
	Sicily.	Gela ant.[49]
	Illyria.	The Gail.
	Greece.	Callas ant., in Eubœa.
	As. Turkey.	The Chalus of Xenophon, now the Koweik.
2.	With the ending en.
	Ireland.	The Callan. Armagh.
3.	With the ending er = Lat. celer?
	Italy.	Calor ant., now the Calore.
4.	With the ending es = Sansc. calas, &c.?
	Germany.	Chalusus, 2nd cent., supposed to be the Trave.
		The Kels, in Bavaria.
	India.	The Cailas.

I am inclined to bring in here, as a derivative form of cal, and perhaps corresponding with the Obs. Gael. callaidh, celer, the forms caled, calt, gelt. That the Germ. kalt, Eng. cold, may intermix, is very probable, but I do not think that all the English rivers at any rate can be placed to it. There is more to be said for it in the case of the Caldew than of the others, for one of the two streams that form it is called the Cald-beck (i.e., cold brook), and it seems natural that the whole river should then assume the name of Caldew (cold river). Yet there may be nothing more in it than that the Saxons or Danes who succeeded to the name, adopted it in their own sense, and conformed to it. It is to be observed that although the form Caldew corresponds with the Germ. Chaldhowa, yet that the local pronunciation is invariably Cauda (=Calda), corresponding with the Scandinavian form. Upon the whole however, there is much doubt about this group; the form gelt Förstemann refers, as I myself had previously done, to Old Norse gelta, in the sense of resonare. In the following names I take the Kalit(va) of Russia, and the Celydnus and Celadon of Greece to approach the nearest to the original form.

1.	England.	The Gelt. Cumberland.
		The Chelt by Cheltenham—here?
		The Cald(ew). Cumberland.
	Germany.	The Cald(howa), (Adam Brem.), now seems to be called the Aue.
	Russia.	The Kalit(va). Joins the Donetz.
2.	With the ending en.
	Germany.	Gelten(aha), 11th cent., now the Geltn(ach).
	Greece.	Celydnus ant. Epirus.
	Greece.	Celadon ant. Elis.
3.	With the ending er.
	England.	The Calder. Three rivers.
	Scotland.	The Calder. Joins the Clyde.
	Belgium.	Galthera, 9th cent.

I am also inclined to bring in, as another derivative form of cal, the word calip, calb, kelp. The only appellatives I find for it are the word kelp, sea-weed, and the Scottish kelpie, a water-spirit, wherein, as in other words of the same sort, may perhaps lie a word for water. However, this can be considered as nothing more than a conjecture.

1.	Germany.	Kalb(aha), 8th cent., now the Kohlb(ach).
	Germany.	The Kulpa. Aust. Croatia.
	Hungary.	Colapis ant., affluent of the Drave.
	Spain.	The Chelva. Prov. Valentia.
	Portugal.	Callĭpus ant., now the Sadao.
	Asia Minor.	Calbis ant. Caria.
	Asia Minor.	Calpas ant. Bithynia.
2.	With the ending en.
2.	Scotland.	The Kelvin. Stirling.

The Sansc. car, to move, Lat. curro, like some other words of the same sort, branches out into two different meanings—that of going fast, and that of going round. Hence the river-names from this root have in some cases the sense of rapidity, and in others of tortuousness; and these two senses are somewhat at variance with each other, because tortuousness is more generally connected with slowness. Separating the two meanings as well as I can, I bring in the following here.

1.	Scotland.	The Garry. Perthshire.
1.	Scotland.	The Yarrow. Selkirkshire.
2.	With the ending en.
	England.	Garrhuenus ant., now the Yare.
	France.	Garumna or Garunna ant. The Garonne.
	France.	The Giron. Joins the Garonne.
	Greece.	Geranius ant., and Geron ant., two rivers of Elis, according to Strabo.
3.	With the ending es = Sansc. caras, swift, Lat. cursus, &c.
	France.	The Gers. Joins the Garonne.
	France.	Chares ant., now the Chiers.
	Germany.	The Kersch. Joins the Neckar.
	Italy.	The Garza, by Brescia.
	Hungary.	Gerăsus ant., now the Koros.
	Asia Minor.	The Caresus of Homer in the plain of Troy.
	Syria.	Cersus ant., now the Merkez.

There appear to be several words in which the sense of violence or rapidity is brought out by the preposition pra, pro, fro, in composition with a verb. Thus the Welsh ffre-uo, to gush, whence ffrau, a torrent, seems to correspond with the Sansc. pra-i, Lat. præ-eo, &c. Or perhaps we should take a verb with a stronger sense, say yu, to gush, and presume a Sansc. pra-yu = Welsh ffre-uo. In the Albanian πρό, a torrent, corresponding with Welsh ffrau, there seems, however, no trace of a verb.

1.	Wales.	The Fraw, by Aberfraw.
2.	With the ending en.
	Scotland.	The Froon. Falls into L. Lomond.
	Russia.	The Pronia.

The Welsh ffrydio, to stream, to gush, appears to be formed similarly from the preposition fra, joined with the verb eddu, to press on, to go, corresponding with Sansc. it, Latin ito, &c. Hence it would correspond with a Sansc. pra-it, Lat. præ-ito, &c. From the verb comes the appellative ffrwd, a torrent, corresponding with the Bohem. praud, of the same meaning.

Scotland.	The Forth. Co. Stirling.
Danub. Prov.	Porata (Herodotus). The Pruth.
Russia.	The Port(va). Gov. Kaluga.

I also bring in here, as much suggestively as determinately, the following.

Sansc. pra-pat, Lat. præ-peto, &c., to rush forth.
Russ. Pol.	The Pripet. Joins the Dnieper.
Bulgaria.	The Pravadi. Falls into the Black Sea.
Sansc. pra-cal, to rush forth, pra and cal, p. [112].
Prussia.	The Pregel. Enters the Frische-Haff.
Sansc. pra-li, Lat. pro-luo, &c., to overflow.
India.	The Purally.

According to the opinion of Zeuss and Gluck, the Danube, (ant. Danubius and Danuvius, Mod. Germ. Donau,) would come in here. These writers derive it from Gael. dan, Ir. dana, fortis, audax, in reference to its strong and impetuous current. This is no doubt the most striking characteristic of the river, but it might also not inappropriately be placed to the root tan, to extend, whence the names of some other large rivers. Gluck considers the ending vius to be simply derivative, and suggests that the Germans, with a natural striving after a meaning, altered this derivative ending into their word ava, aha, ach, or au, signifying river. Though Gluck is a writer for whose opinion I have great respect, and though this is the principle for which I myself have been all along contending, yet I am rather inclined to think that in Danuvius, as in Conovius (the Conway), there is contained a definite appellative, qualified by a prefixed adjective: this seems to me to be brought out more clearly in the Medway, and in the names connected with it.

The word Ister, which, according to Zeuss, is the Thracian name of the Danube, I have elsewhere referred to the Armorican ster, a river. Not that I mean to infer therefrom that the name is Celtic, because ster is only a particular form of an Indo-European word sur. If we refer the prefix is to the Old Norse isia, proruere, then Ister would have the same meaning as that given above to Danubius. But the derivation of Mone, who explains it by y, the Welsh definite article, and ster, a river, making Ister = "The river," I hold with Gluck to be—like other derivations proceeding on the same principle—opposed to all sound philology.

Among the rivers noted for the slowness of their course, the most conspicuous is the Arar or Saone. Cæsar (de Bell. Gall.) describes it as flowing "with such incredible gentleness that the eye can scarcely judge which way it is going." Seneca adopts it as a type of indecision—"the Arar in doubt which way to flow." Eumenius multiplies his epithets—"segnis et cunctabundus amnis, tardusque." The name Sauconna, Sagonna, Saonna, Saone, does not appear before the 4th cent., yet there does not seem any reason to doubt that it is as old as the other. Zeuss (Die Deutschen) and the Editor of "Smith's Ancient Geography" take this as the true Gallic name. And though Armstrong explains both the Arar and the Saone from the Celtic—referring the former to the Obs. Gael. ar, slow, and the latter to Gael. sogh, tranquil or placid, in which he may probably be correct, yet it by no means follows that the name of the Arar is Celtic, for ar is an ancient root of the Indo-European speech. To the same root as the Saone I also put the Seine (Sequăna), and the Segre (Sicŏris), comparing them with Lat. seg-nis. The former of these rivers is navigable for 350 miles out of 414, and the latter is noted in Lucian as "stagnantem Sicorim." Some other rivers, in which the characteristic is less distinct, I also venture to place here, separating this root as well as I can from another p. [58].

1.	Germany.	Siga, 10th cent. The Sieg.
	Russia.	The Soja. Joins the Dnieper.
2.	With the ending en.
	France.	Sauconna ant. The Saône.
		Sequana ant. The Seine.
		The Seugne. Dep. Charente-Inf.
	Russia.	The Suchona. Joins the Dwina.
3.	With the ending er.
	Spain.	Sicoris ant. The Segre.
		The Segura. Enters the Med. Sea.

Perhaps allied in its root to the last is the Gael. saimh, quiet, tranquil, to which I put the following.

1.	Belgium.	The Semoy.
	Russia.	The Sem or Seim. Joins the Desna.
		Saima, a lake in Finland.
	Asia Minor.	The Simois of Homer—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	Switzerland.	The Simmen, in the Simmen-Thal.
3.	With the ending er.
	France.	Samara, ant., now the Somme.
		The Sambre, ant. Sabis.
	Germany.	The Simmer. Joins the Nahe.
	Russia.	The Samara. Two rivers.
4.	With the ending et.
	Germany.	Semita, 8th cent. The Sempt.

In the Gael. ar, slow, (whence the Arar, p. [118],) is to be found, as I take it, the root of the Welsh araf, mild, gentle. From this Zeuss (Gramm. Celt.), derives the name of the Arrăbo, now the Raab. This root is liable to mix with another, arv, p. [109], of precisely opposite meaning.

Hungary.	Arrabo ant., now the Raab.
India.	Arabis ant., now the Purally.
Ireland.	The Arob(eg),[50] Co. Cork—here?

I bring in here the word aram or arm, which, both in the names of rivers, and in the ancient names of men, as the German hero Arminius, needs explanation. The authority of Dr. Donaldson may probably have been the cause of the reproduction, even in some of the latest English works, of the mistake of confounding the name Armin, Ermin, or Irmin, with the word hermann, warrior, (from her, army, mann, homo). That it is not so is shown by its appearance in the ancient names of women, as Ermina, Hermena, and Irmina,[51] (daughter of Dagobert the 2nd). And by the manner in which it forms compounds, as Armenfred, Irminric, Irminger,[52] Ermingaud, Irminher, &c. For we may take it as a certain rule that no word, itself a compound, forms other compounds in ancient names. Indeed, the last of the five names, Irminher, (which is found as early as the 7th cent.), is formed from the word her, army, so that, according to the above theory, it would be Her-mann-her. The fact then, as I take it, is that, both in the names of rivers and of men, the root is simply arm or irm, and armin or irmin an extended form, like those found all throughout these pages. As to its etymology, the word aram, arm, in the Teutonic dialects signifying poor or weak, is in itself unsuitable, but I think that the original meaning may perhaps rather have been mild or gentle. The root seems to be found in the Gael. ar, slow; and aram may be a corresponding word to the Welsh araf. Baxter, who, though his general system of river-names I hold to be fallacious, was, for his time, no contemptible etymologist, suggests something of the sort.

1.	England.	The Arme. Devon.
	Russia.	The Urjum(ka)—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	Italy.	Ariminus ant., now the Marecchia.
		The Armine.
3.	With the ending es.
	Germany.	Armisia ant., now the Erms.

In this place I am inclined to bring in the Medway, and some other names connected with it. Among the various derivations which have been suggested for this name, that of Grimm deserves the first place, though I much fear that it is too poetical to be true. He observes, (Gesch. d. Deutsch. Sprach.), comparing it with another name—"In Carl's campaign, A.D. 779, there is a place mentioned in the vicinity of the Weser, called Medofulli, Midufulli; medoful means poculum mulsi, (Hel. 62, 10); it appears to have been a river, which at present bears some other name. Of just a similar meaning is the name of the river Medway flowing through the county of Kent into the Thames—i.e., Ang.-Sax. Meadovaege, Medevaege Medvaege (Cod. Dip.), from vaege, Old Sax. wêgi, Old Norse veig, poculum.... I suggest here a mythological reference: as the rivers of the Greeks and Romans streamed from the horn or the urn of the river-god, so may also the rivers and brooks of our ancestors, in a similar mythic fashion, have sprung from the over-turned mead-cup."

It is a pity to disturb so poetical a theory, coming too as it does from the highest authority, but I much fear that on a comparison of this name with all its related forms, it can hardly be substantiated. For the word does not stand alone—the prefix med is found in several names in which the second part can hardly be taken to mean poculum, and the ending way is found in several names of which the former part cannot mean mulsum. In any case, it seems to me that a Saxon derivation can hardly be sustained. For Medoăcus, (=Medwacus), occurs as the ancient name of a river in Venetia—this appears to be precisely the same name as that of the Medwag or Medway—and in Venetia we can account for a Celtic element, but not for a German. In Nennius the name stands as Meguaid or Megwed; and comparing this with a river called the Medvied(itza) or Medviet(za) in Russia, it would seem rather probable that the form is not altogether false, but that only it should be Medwed instead of Megwed. In that case it would probably be only another form of Medweg, for d and g sometimes interchange in the Celtic dialects, as in the Gaelic uidh and uigh, via, a word which indeed I take to be related to the one in question. Again, in the Meduāna of France and the English Medwin, we have a third form of ending, wân or win. And this may probably only be one of those extended forms in n so common in the Celtic languages.[53] So that the endings way, wân, wied, in Medway, Meduāna, Medvied(itza), may be slightly differing forms of a common appellative (p.p. [62], [63]), qualified by the prefix med, which we have next to consider. In Gibson's "Etymological Geography" med is explained as medius—Medway = medium flumen—the river flowing through the middle of the county of Kent—and this I think is the general acceptation. In the case of the Medina, (ant. Mede), which divides the Isle of Wight into two equal parts, I should readily accept such a derivation, but in the case of the Medway it seems to me a feature scarcely sufficiently obvious to give the name. And I should on the whole prefer a derivation from the same root as mead, mulsum, viz., Sansc. mid, to soften, Lat. mitis, Gael. meath, soft, mild—finding in Old Norse mida, to move slowly or softly, the word most nearly approximating to the sense, and thus deriving the name of the Medway from its gentle flow.

Nevertheless it must be observed that as well as the supposed river Medofulli referred to as above by Grimm, we find in a charter of the 10th cent., a river called Medemelacha, which seems evidently to contain the Gael. mealach, sweet, and to mean "sweet as mead." This river is near Medemblik on the Zuyder-zee, and I suppose that the name of the place is corrupted from it.

The following names I place here, though with uncertainty in the case of some of them.

1.	France.	The Midou. Dep. Landes.
	Persia.	Medus ant., now the Pulwan.
2.	With the ending en.
	Russia.	The Medin(ka). Gov. Kaluga.
3.	Compounded with way, wân, wied, see above.
	England.	The Medway. Kent.
		The Medwin.
	France.	Meduāna ant., now the Mayenne.
	Italy.	Medoăcus ant., now the Brenta.
	Russia.	The Medvied(itza).
4.	Compounded with ma, river, p. [60].
	Germany?	Metema, in a charter of the 11th cent.

I think, upon the whole, that the general meaning of the root lam, lem, lim, is smoothness. Though the root-meaning seems rather that of clamminess or adhesiveness, as found in Sansc. limpas, Gr. λιπος, Lat. limus, Old Sax. lêmo, Mod. Germ. lehm, Eng. lime, &c.[54] In the Gr. λιμνη, lake, the sense becomes that of smooth or standing water: this, as I take it, is in effect the word found in the Lake Leman, Loch Lomond, &c. Though the word most immediately concerned is the Gaelic liobh, liomh, Welsh llyfnu, to smooth; and the Loch Lomond, (properly Lomon), was also formerly called, as the river which issues from it is still, Leven, being just another form of the same word—v and m interchanging as elsewhere noticed. Hence the Welsh llifo, to pour, p. [46], might be apt to intermix in the following. The Lat. lambo, the primitive meaning of which is to lick, is applied to the gentle washing of a river against its banks—"Quæ loca lambit Hydaspes,"—Horace. Dugdale observes that "at this day divers of those artificial rivers in Cambridgeshire, anciently cut to drain the fens, bear the name of Leam, being all muddy channels through which the water hath a dull or slow passage." In the following names the sense may be sometimes then that of muddiness, though in general, as I take it, that of sluggishness.

1.	England.	The Leam by Leamington.
	England.	The Lyme. Dorsetshire.
	Germany.	Lamma, 11th cent. The Lamme.
		Laim(aha), 8th cent. Not identified.
		Lemphia, 8th cent. The Lempe.
	Russia.	The Lama. Joins the Volga.
	Russia.	The Lam(ov). Gov. Penza.
	Italy.	The Lima. Joins the Serchio.
	Spain.	Limæa ant., now the Lima.
	Asia Minor.	Lamus ant., in Cilicia.
2.	With the ending en.
	England.	The Leman. Devonshire.
	England.	The Limen in Kent. (Limeneâ Cod. Dip.)
	Scotland.	Loch Lomond, formerly also called Leven.
	Switzerland.	Lake Leman, or the Lake of Geneva, (ant. Lemannus.)
	Italy.	The Lamone in Tuscany.
3.	With the ending er.
	Germany.	Lamer, 11th cent. The Lammer.
	Italy.	The Lambro.
	Asia Minor.	Limyrus ant., in Lycia.
4.	With the ending et.
4.	Switzerland.	The Limmat. Cant. Zurich.

From the above form lam, lem, lim, I take to be formed by metathesis alm, elm, ilm. And the lake Ilmen in Russia I take to be in effect the same word as the lake Leman in Switzerland. In the name of another lake in Russia, the Karduanskoi-ilmen, it seems to occur as an appellative. A certain amount of doubt is imported by the coincidence of two names in which we find a sacred character—the river Almo, which was sacred to Cybele, and a sacred fountain Olmius mentioned in Hesiod. The coincidence, however, may be only accidental.

1.	England.	The Alme. Devonshire.
		The Helme. Sussex.
		Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight?
	Germany.	Ilma, 8th cent. The Ilm, two rivers.
	Germany.	The Helme in Prussia.
	Holland.	The Alm in Brabant.
	Norway.	The Alma.
	Spain.	The Alhama. Prov. Navarra.
	Italy.	The Almo near Rome.
	Russia.	The Alma in the Crimea.
	Siberia.	The Illim.
	Greece.	Olmeius ant. Bœotia.
2.	With the ending en.
	Germany.	The Ilmen(au). Joins the Elbe.
	Russia.	Ilmen. Lake.
3.	With the ending el.
3.	Holland.	The Almelo. Prov. Overijssel.

Perhaps from the Gael. foil, slow, gentle, we may get the following.

1.	England.	The Fal by Falmouth.
	Ireland.	The Foil(agh). Cork.
		The Feale. Munster.
2.	With the ending en.
	Scotland.	The Fillan. Perthshire.
3.	With the ending es.
	Germany.	Filisa, 8th cent. The Fils and the Vils.

In the third division of this chapter I put the names in which the sense of spreading seems to be found. This sense may have three different acceptations—first, that, generally, of a wide river—secondly, that of a river relatively broad and shallow—thirdly, that of a river forming an estuary at its mouth.

I bring in here the Padus or Po, which, by Metrodorus Scepsius, a Greek author quoted by Pliny, has been derived from the pine-trees, "called in the Gallic tongue padi," of which there were a number about its source. A derivation like this jars with common sense, for it is unreasonable to suppose that the Gauls, coming upon this fine river, gave it no name until they had tracked it up to its source, and there made the not very notable discovery that it was surrounded by pine-trees. Much more probable is it that they came first upon its mouth, and much more striking would be the appearance that would be presented to them. For, as Niebuhr observes, "the basin of the Po, and of the rivers emptying themselves into it was originally a vast bay of the sea," which by gradual embanking was confined within its present channels. As then the mouth of the Padus was a vast estuary, so in the Gael. badh, a bay or estuary, I find the explanation of the name. The root, I apprehend, is Sansc. pat, Lat. pateo, pando, &c., to spread, and hence, I take it, the name Bander, of several small bays on the S.W. coast of Asia, of Bantry Bay in Ireland, and of Boderia, the name given by Ptolemy to the Firth of Forth.

1.	Italy.	Padus ant. The Po.
	Germany.	Bada, 9th cent., now the Bode.
2.	With the ending en.
	Ireland.	The Bandon. Co. Cork. (Forms a considerable estuary).
	Italy.	Pantanus ant., now the Lake of Lesina, a salt lagoon on the Adriatic.
3.	With the ending er.
	Germany.	Patra, 9th cent., now the Pader.
4.	With the ending es.
	Hungary.	Pathissus ant., now the Temes.[55]

In the Sansc. parth, to spread or extend, we may perhaps find the origin of the following. Can the name of the Parthians be hence derived, in reference to their well-known mode of fighting?

1.	Germany.	The Parde. Joins the Elster.
		The Bord, in Moravia—here?
2.	With the ending en.
	Asia Minor.	Parthenius ant.—here?[56]

In the sense of "that which spreads" I am inclined to bring in the root ta, tav, tan, tam. While in the Gaelic we find tain, and the Obs. ta, water, taif, sea—in the Welsh we have the verbs taenu and tafu, to expand or spread. The latter, I think, must contain the root-meaning; and the appellatives must rather signify water of a spreading character. In this sense we find the words to, tû, tau, in the Hungarian dialects signifying a lake. The Sansc. has tan, to extend, but we must presume a simpler form ta, corresponding with the above Obs. Gael. word for water. Mone explains tab, as in Tabuda (the Scheldt), as "a broad river, especially one with a broad mouth." This sense no doubt obtains in many of the names of this group, for, as well as the Scheldt; the Tay, Taw, Teign, and Tamar, all have this character in a more or less notable degree. In other cases the sense may be that of comparative broadness—thus the Timavus, though little more than a mile long, is 50 yards broad close to its source. So the characteristic of the Dane, as noticed by the county topographers, is that it is "broad and shallow." And the feature which strikes the topographer is of course that which would naturally give the name. There are, however, some other roots which might intermix, as Sansc. tan, resonare, Lat. tono, Germ. tönen, &c. Also Gael. and Ir. taam, to pour; Gael. and Ir. tom, to bathe, Welsh and Ir. ton, unda.

The form Ta, Tab, Tav.
1.	England.	The Tavy and the Taw. Devon.
	England.	Deva ant., the Dee—here?
	Scotland.	Tavus ant. The Tay.
	Scotland.	The Dee, two rivers—here?
	Wales.	The Taw, the Tivy, and the Tave.
	Ireland.	The Tay. Waterford.
	Ireland.	Loch Ta in Wexford.
	France.	The Dive, Dep. Vienne—here?
	Germany.	The Thaya in Moravia.
	Spain.	The Deva by Placentia—here?
2.	With the ending d or t.
	Scotland.	The Teviot in Roxburghshire—here?
	Holland.	Tabuda ant., now the Scheldt.
	Siberia.	The Tavda.
	India.	The Taptee—here?
The form Tan, Tam.
1.	England.	The Teign and the Teane.
		The Dane and the Deane.
		The Tame, three rivers.
	Scotland.	The Tema. Selkirkshire.
	Scotland.	Danus ant., now the Don.
	France.	Danus ant., now the Ain.
	France.	The Dahme and the Déaume.
	Norway.	The Tana.
	Italy.	Timavus ant., now the Timao.
	Russia.	Tanais ant., now the Don.
	Russia.	The Tim and the Tom.
	Greece.	Tanus ant., now the Luku.
2.	With the ending er.
	England.	The Tamar. Cornwall.
	Belgium.	The Demer.
	Italy.	Tanarus ant., now the Tanaro.
	Spain.	Tamaris ant., now the Tambre.
	Syria.	Tamyras ant., (Strabo)—here?
3.	With the ending d.
	England.	Tamede (Cod. Dip.), now the Teme.
	Mauretania.	Tamuda ant. (Pliny.)
4.	With the ending es.
	England.	The Thames. Tamesis (Cæsar), Tamesa (Tacitus), Tamese, Temis (Cod. Dip.), Welsh Tain.
	Hungary.	The Temes ant. Pathisus, (see note p. [132]).

From the root tan, to extend, we may probably also derive the word tang found in Hung. tenger, sea, Ostiakic (an Ugric dialect of the Finnic class) tangat, river, and in the Dan. tang, sea-weed, which probably contains a trace of an older sense.

1.	Holland.	The Donge in Brabant.
1.	Norway.	The Tengs.
2.	With the ending er.
	Germany.	Tongera, 10th cent., now the Tanger.
	Italy.	Tanager ant., now the Tanagro—here?