The following names have been generally supposed to be derived from Welsh cledd or cleddeu, sword, and to be applied metaphorically to a river. But I think it will be seen from the Sansc. klid, to water, whence klaidan, flux, Gr. κλύδων, fluctus, unda, Ang.-Sax. glade, a river, brook, that the meaning of water lies at the very bottom of the word. Perhaps, however, as the senses of a running stream and of a sharp point often run parallel to each other, there may be in this case a relationship between them.
| 1. | Scotland. | The Clyde. (Clota, Ptolemy.) |
| Wales. | The Cloyd, the Clwyd, and the Cleddeu. | |
| Ireland. | The Glyde. | |
| Greece. | Cladeus ant.—here? | |
| Umbria. | Clit(umnus)[30] ant.—here? | |
| 2. | With the ending en. | |
| Germany. | The Klodn(itz). Pruss. Silesia. | |
| 3. | With the ending er. | |
| Greece. | The Clitora in Arcadia, on which stood the ancient Clitorium. | |
| Asia Min. | Cludros ant., in Caria. | |
There are two Sanscrit roots from which the word ag, ang, ing, in river-names might be deduced. One is the verb ag or aj, to move, whence anjas, movement, (or the verb ac or anc, to traverse), and the other is the verb ag or ang, to contract, whence Latin anguis, snake, anguilla, eel, Eng. angle, &c. The sense then might be either the ordinary one of motion, the root-meaning of most river names, or it might be the special sense of tortuousness. But as the only appellative I can find is the word anger, a river, in the Tcheremissian dialect of the Finnic (Bonaparte polyglott), I think it safer to follow the most common sense, though the other may not improbably intermix. The derivation of Mone, from Welsh eog, salmon, I do not think of.
| 1. | With the ending en. | |
| Germany. | Ankin(aha), 8th cent., now the Eckn(ach). | |
| France. | The Ingon. Dep. Somme. | |
| 2. | With the ending er. | |
| England. | The Anker. Leicestershire. | |
| Germany. | Ackara, 10th cent. The Agger. | |
| Agara, 8th cent. The Eger. | ||
| The Angerap (ap, water), Prussia. | ||
| Siberia. | The Angera. | |
| Italy. | Acaris ant. The Agri. | |
| Servia? | Angrus (Herodotus). | |
| India. | The Aghor—here? | |
| 3. | With the ending el. | |
| Germany. | The Angel, three rivers (Baden, Westphalia, and Bohemia). | |
| Russia. | The Ingul. Joins the Bug. | |
| 4. | With the ending st. | |
| Germany. | Agasta,[31] 8th cent., now the Aiss. | |
From the Sansc. pî, to drink, also to give to drink, to water, Gr. πιω, πινω, we may get a form pin in river-names.
| 1. | Germany. | The Peen in Prussia. |
| Holstein. | The Pinau. Joins the Elbe. | |
| Hungary. | The Pina. Joins the Pripet. | |
| The Pinka—here?[32] | ||
| Russia. | The Piana. Joins the Volga. | |
| The Pine(ga). Joins the Dwina. | ||
| India. | The Binoa. Joins the Beas. | |
| Greece. | Peneus ant. Two rivers—here? | |
| 2. | With the ending en. | |
| Siberia. | The Penjina. | |
| 3. | With the ending er. | |
| India. | The Pennar. Madras. | |
| 4. | With the ending es. | |
| Russia. | The Penza. Joins the Sura. | |
From the above Sansc. pi we may also derive the form pid. The only appellative I find, (if it can be called one), is the Ang.-Sax. pidele, a thin stream, given by Kemble in the glossary to the Cod. Dip.; and hence the name Piddle, of several small streams. The only name I find in the simple form, and that uncertain, is the Pindus of Greece. Then there is a form peder, which seems to be from a definite word, and not from the simple suffix er.
Also from the Sansc. root pi, to drink, to water, we get the form bib or pip, as found in Lat. bibo, and in Sansc. pipâsas, toper. Here also in the simple form I only find one name—the Beuve in France, Dep. Gironde. In the form biber there are many names, particularly in Germany. Graff (Sprachschatz), seems to refer the word to biber, beaver, but Förstemann, with more reason, as I think, suggests a lost word for water or river.