*H₁n̥gʷnis
*H₁n̥gʷnis is the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European name of the fire god in the Proto-Indo-European mythology.
| *H₁n̥gʷnis | |
|---|---|
| Equivalents | |
| Hinduism equivalent | Agni |
| Albanian equivalent | En |
| Baltic equivalent | Ungnis |
Name
an 18th-century depiction of Agni, a descendant deity
The archaic Proto-Indo-European language (ca. 4500–4000 BC) had a two-gender system which originally divided words between animate and inanimate, a system used to distinguish a common term from its deified synonym. Therefore, fire as an animate entity and active force was known as *h₁n̥gʷnis, while the inanimate entity and natural substance was named *péh₂ur (cf. Greek pyr; English fire).[1][2]
In some traditions, as the sacral name of the dangerous fire may have become a word taboo,[3] the stem *h₁n̥gʷnis served as an ordinary term for fire, as in the Latin ignis.[1]
Evidence
- PIE: *h₁n̥gʷnis, the fire as an active force,[1]
- Indo-Iranian: Hagni-,[4]
- Vedic: Agni (अग्नि), a fire deity,[3]
- Young Avestan: Dāšt-āɣni,[4]
- Balto-Slavic: *ungnis,[5]
- Proto-Albanian: *agni-,[7]
- Indo-Iranian: Hagni-,[4]
See also
References
- Mallory & Adams 2006, p. 122.
- West 2007, p. 135–136.
- West 2007, p. 266.
- Lubotsky 2011, s.v. agni-.
- Derksen 2008, p. 364.
- West 2007, p. 269.
- Orel 1998, p. 88.
Bibliography
- Derksen, Rick (2008). Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon. Brill. ISBN 9789004155046.
- Lubotsky, Alexander (2011), "Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon", Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project, Brill
- Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (2006). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929668-2.
- Orel, Vladimir (1998). Albanian etymological dictionary. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11024-3.
- West, Martin Litchfield (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.
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