The River-Names of Europe - Robert Ferguson

1.	Italy.	Adua ant., now the Adda.
	Bohemia.	The Wat(awa).
2.	With the ending en = Sansc. udon, water?
	France.	The Odon.
	Germany.	Aden(oua), 10th cent., now the Aden(au).
3.	With the ending er = Germ. wasser, Eng. water, &c.
	England.	The Odder and the Otter.
		The Woder, Dorset. Woder, Cod. Dip.
		The Adur in Sussex.
		The Vedra of Ptolemy, now the Wear, according to Pott, comes in here.
	France.	Aturus ant., now the Adour.
		Audura ant., now the Eure.
	Germany.	Odora ant., now the Oder.
		Wetter(aha), 8th cent., now the Wetter.[7]
4.	With the ending rn.[8]
	Germany.	Adrana, 1st cent., now the Eder.
	Asia Minor.	The Edrenos. Anc. Rhyndacus.
5.	With the ending el.
	Russia.	The Vodla. Lake and river.

To the above root I also put a form in ed, corresponding with Welsh eddain, to flow, Ang.-Sax. edre, a water-course, &c.

1.	With the ending en.
	England.	The Eden. Cumberland. Probably the Ituna of Ptolemy.
	Scotland.	The Eden and the Ythan.
	France.	The Iton. Joins the Eure.
2.	With the ending er.
	Scotland.	The Ettr(ick). Joins the Tweed.
	Germany.	Eiter(aha), 8th cent. The Eitr(ach)[9], the Eiter(ach), and the Aiter(ach).
	Denmark.	Eidora ant., now the Eider.
3.	With the ending el.
	England.	The Idle. Notts.
4.	With the ending es.
	Germany.	Idasa, 11th cent., now the Itz.

With the above may perhaps also be classed the Celtic and or ant,[10] to which Mone, (Die Gallische sprache), gives the meaning of water.

1.	England.	The Ant. Norfolk.
2.	With the ending en.
	England.	The Anton.[11] Hants.
3.	With the ending er.
	France.	Andria ant. Now the Lindre.
4.	With the ending el.
	France.	The Andelle. Joins the Seine.
	Germany.	Antil(aha), 10th cent., now the Andel(au).

To the Celt. dubr, Welsh dwfr, water, are by common consent referred the names in the second division of the undermentioned. But the forms dub, duv, which in accordance with the general system here advocated, I take to be the older and simpler form of the word, are, by Zeuss (Gramm. Celt.), as well as most English writers, referred to Welsh du, Gael. dubh, black.

1.	England.	The Dove. Staffordshire.
		The Dow. Yorkshire.
	Wales.	Tobius ant., now the Towy.
		The Dovy, Merioneth.
	France.	Dubis ant., now the Doubs.
		The Doux, joins the Rhine.
2.	With the ending er, forming the Celtic dubr, Welsh dwfr.[12]
	Ireland.	Dobur ant., retains its name.[13]
	France.	The Touvre.
	Germany.	Dubra, 8th cent., now the Tauber.
		The Daubr(awa), Bohemia.
3.	With the ending es.
	Russia.	The Dubissa.

Another Celtic word for water is dur, which, however, seems more common in the names of towns (situated upon waters) than in the names of rivers. Is this word formed by syncope from the last, as duber = dur? Or is it directly from the root of the Sansc. drâ or dur, to move?

1.	England.	The Durra. Cornwall.
	Germany.	Δοῦρας, Strabo, now the Iller or the Isar.
	Switz.	Dura, 9th cent. The Thur.[14]
	Italy.	Duria ant., now the Dora.
	Italy.	Turrus ant., now the Torre.
	Spain.	Durius ant., now the Douro.
	Russia.	The Tura. Siberia.
	Russia.	The Turija. Russ. Poland.
2.	With the ending en.
2.	France.	Duranius ant., now the Dordogne.

In this chapter is to be included the root ar, respecting which I quote the following remarks of Förstemann. "The meaning of river, water, must have belonged to this wide-spread root, though I never find it applied as an appellative, apart from the obsolete Dutch word aar, which Pott produces. I also nowhere find even an attempt to explain the following river-names from any root, and know so little as scarcely to make a passing suggestion; even the Sanscrit itself shows me no likely word approaching it, unless perhaps we think of ara, swift (Petersburger Wörterbuch)."