March theme: March of Horses 🐎

Teaser

hippopotamus, equestrian, zebra

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *h₁eḱ- swift, fast ^[1]

  • Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱus a *o-∅-us reduplicative adjective form

    • Hellenic

      • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ς ōkús fast, swift

        • Ancient Greek ποδώκης podṓkēs swift-footed
        • Ancient Greek ὠκῠ́ροος ōkúroos swift-flowing

          • Ancient Greek Ὠκυρόη Ōkuróē Swift-Flowing (personal name), river divinity ^[2]

            • Latin Ocyroe ^[2]
    • Indo-Iranian *HaHćúš swift

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀆𑀰𑀼 āśú fast, swift

          • Telugu ఆశువు āśuvu fast
      • Iranian

        • Avestan 𐬁𐬯𐬎 āsu fast
    • Proto-Indo-European *h₁oh₁ḱyōs very swift, swifter

      • Indo-Iranian *HáHćyas

        • Indo-Aryan *HáHśyas

          • Sanskrit 𑀆𑀰𑀻𑀬𑀲𑁆 ā́śīyas swifter
        • Iranian *HáHcyah

          • Avestan 𐬁𐬯𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬵 āsiiah faster
      • Italic *ōkjōs swifter

        • Latin ōcior swifter
  • Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos horse lit. "swift one"

    • Anatolian *ʔeḱu-

      • Hittite 𒀲𒆳𒊏𒍑 ANŠE.KUR.RA-us horse only attested as a Sumerogram, but considered to be /ekkus/
      • Luwian 𔑮𔐔𔗥 (EQUUS)-á-zú- horse

        • Luwian *azzunzi horses

          • Akkadian 𒀲𒍣𒍣 (ANŠE)-zi-zi horse
          • Northwest Semitic *śu(m)śu(m)

            • Aramaic סוסיא sūsyā horse
            • Canaanite

              • Hebrew סוּס sus horse
              • Phoenician 𐤎𐤎 ss horse
            • Ugaritic 𐎒𐎒𐎆 ssw horse
            • Egyptian 𓊃𓊃𓅓𓃗 zzm-(HORSE) horse
      • Lycian ​​𐊁𐊖𐊂𐊁 esbe horse

        • Lycian 𐊁𐊖𐊂𐊚𐊗 esbẽt horseman, knight
    • Celtic ekʷos horse

      • Brythonic *eb horse

        • Brythonic *ebol small/young horse

          • Welsh ebol foal
      • Gaulish epos horse

        • Gaulish Epona Divinity of Horses either "on a horse" or "great mare"
      • Old Irish ech horse

        • Irish each horse archaic/poetic
        • Manx agh horse
    • Germanic *ehwaz horse, the rune ᛖ

      • East Germanic

        • Gothic *aiƕs horse

          • Gothic eyz the letter 𐌴
          • Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 aiƕatundi bramble, thorny bush
      • North Germanic

        • Old Norse jór horse, stallion

          • Icelandic jór horse archaic
      • West Germanic

        • Old English eoh horse, the rune ᛖ
      • Germanic *ehwaraidō horse riders

        • West Germanic

          • Old English ēored cavalry
      • English ehwaz the rune ᛖ
    • Hellenic *íkkʷos horse

      • Mycenaean Greek 𐀂𐀦 i-qo horse
      • Ancient Greek ἵππος híppos horse

        • Greek ίππος íppos horse
        • Ancient Greek Φίλιππος Phílippos Fond of Horses (personal name)

          • Translingual Philippines Place name after Philip II of Spain ^[3]
        • Ancient Greek ῐ̔πποπότᾰμος hippopótamos hippopotamus lit. "river-horse"

          • Latin hippopotamus hippopotamus

            • English hippopotamus
        • Ancient Greek ἱππόδρομος hippódromos track for horse or chariot races

          • English hippodrome
    • Italic *ekwos horse

      • Latin equus horse

        • Latin equa mare

          • Sardinian ebba mare
          • Eastern Romance

            • Romanian iapă mare
          • Western Romance

            • Spanish yegua mare, heifer
        • Latin equester pertaining to riding horses, pertaining to cavalry, horseman

          • French équestre equestrian

            • English equestrian
          • Spanish ecuestre equestrian
        • Latin equīnus equine

          • French équin

            • English equine
          • Spanish equino
        • Latin equiferus wild horse

          • Western Romance

            • Old Portuguese ezebrario wild ass

              • Portuguese zebro wild ass

                • Portuguese zebra zebra

                  • Italian zebra zebra

                    • English zebra
              • Old Spanish ezebra wild ass

                • Spanish cebra zebra
    • Indo-Iranian *Háĉwas

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Mitanni Aryan *ašuwa

          • Mitanni Aryan *Prītāśva Whose horse is dear (personal name)

            • Hurrian

              • Hittite bi-ri-d-aš-ṷa Hurrian personal name
          • Mitanni Aryan āśvasanni horse-master lit. "horse-elder"?

            • Hurrian

              • Hittite 𒇷 𒀀𒀸𒋗𒍑𒊭𒀭𒉌 a-aš-šu-uš-ša-an-ni master horse trainer ^[4]
        • Sanskrit 𑀅𑀰𑁆𑀯 áśva horse

          • Madhya

            • Hindi अश्व aśv horse
          • Maharashtri

            • Sinhala අශ්වය aśvaya horse
          • Telugu అశ్వము aśvamu horse
          • Sanskrit 𑀅𑀰𑁆𑀯𑀓 aśvaka horseman

            • Persian افغان afğân Pashtun, Afghan ^[5]

              • Arabic أَفْغَانِيّ ʾafḡāniyy Afghan
              • English Afghan

                • English afghan blanket or throw, usually crocheted or knitted
              • Persian افغانستان afğânestân Land of the Pashtuns, Afghanistan

                • English Afghanistan
      • Iranian

        • Avestan 𐬀𐬯𐬞𐬀‏ aspa horse
        • Northern Iranian

          • Scythian *áspa

            • Ossetian ефс efs mare
            • Scythian *Aspaurūkɨ Horse-Light? (personal name)

              • Alanian *Æspuruk

                • Byzantine Greek Ἀσπαρούχ Asparoúkh
                • Byzantine Greek Ἀσφώρουγος Asphṓrougos
                • Old Armenian Ասպուրակ Aspurak
                • Old Armenian Ասպուրակէս Aspurakēs
            • Scythian *Aspagūrɨ Horse-? (personal name)

              • Alanian *Æspagur

                • Old Georgian ასფაგურ Aspagur

                  • Latin Aspacures
        • Pashto آس ās horse
        • Western Iranian

          • Old Persian 𐎠𐎿 asa horse

            • Persian اسب asb horse

              • Persian اسواران Asvaran mounted police blended word of اسب asb and سوار sovâr
            • Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎲𐎠𐎼 asabāra horseman lit. "horse-borne"

              • Persian سوار sovâr horseman, rider, cavalry

                • Persian اسواران Asvaran mounted police blended word of اسب asb and سوار sovâr
                • Hindi सवार savār rider, horseman

                  • English sowar
              • Arabic أَسْوَار ʾaswār Aswaran
              • Bactrian ασβαρο asbaro
              • English Aswaran
              • Classical Syriac ܐܣܘܪ eswār
          • Kurdish hesp horse

            • Armenian հասբ hasb cavalry, horse
      • Nuristani *ášpa

        • Kamviri ušpa horse
      • Northwest Caucasian *č́ʷǝ horse

        • Abkhaz а-ҽы́ ā-čə́ horse
        • Kabardian шы šə horse
    • Tocharian *yä́kwë horse

      • Arshian yuk horse
      • Kushean yakwe horse

Visual

Collected English words

ehwaz, Philippines, hippopotamus, hippodrome, equestrian, equine, zebra, Afghan, afghan, Afghanistan, sowar, Aswaran

Footnotes

1. ^

   Likely a variant of *h₂eḱ-: "sharp, swift".

2. ^

   Ὠκυρόη Ōkuróē, often transliterated as "Ocyrrhoë", is one of the river goddess daughters of Tethys and Oceanus listed in Hesiod's Theogony. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Ocyroe is the daughter of the centaur Chiron, and was born by the banks of a swift flowing stream.

3. ^

   This is how I remember which consonant is doubled in "Philippines", which I would otherwise get wrong every time. It's "phil-" as in "philosophy" (one 'l') and "-ipp-" as in hippopotamus" (two 'p's).

4. ^

   𒇷 𒀀𒀸𒋗𒍑𒊭𒀭𒉌 a-aš-šu-uš-ša-an-ni: "master horse trainer" is from the opening of The Kikkuli Text:

   𒌝𒈠 𒆠𒅅𒆪𒇷 𒇷 𒀀𒀸𒋗𒍑𒊭𒀭𒉌 𒊭 𒆳 𒈪𒀉𒋫𒀭𒉌

   UM-MA ¹Ki-ik-ku-li li LÚa-aš-šu-uš-ša-an-ni ŠA KUR URUMi-it-ta-an-ni

   "Thus speaks Kikkuli, master horse trainer of the land of Mitanni"

5. ^

   Since I originally published this, Cheung has shown that Persian افغان afğân: "Pashtun, Afghan" matches an earlier Bactrian word αβαγανο abagano, probably effectively "Far-Away-ians". This almost certainly precludes the traditional Sanskrit derivation. (Cheung 2017)