2 years, 7 months ago
Where did the name, "Tigris" originate?
What was the origination and meaning of the word, "Tigris"?
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M$1 Answer
There is a bit of difference of opinions.
"Tigris comes from an Old Persian word that can be translated as "fast" or "arrow-like"" - http://www.livius.org/men-mh/mesopotamia/tigris.html.
"The original Sumerian name was Idigna or Idigina, probably from *id (i)gina "running water", which can be interpreted as "the swift river"... This form was borrowed and gave rise to Akkadian Idiqlat. Either through a Persian intermediary or borrowed directly from Akkadian, the word was adopted into Greek as Tigris. In Pahlavi, tigr means "arrow"... However, it does not appear that this was the original name of the river, but that it (like the Semitic forms of the name) was coined as an imitation of the indigenous Sumerian name." - http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Tigris
I'd tend to believe the latter more.
"Tigris comes from an Old Persian word that can be translated as "fast" or "arrow-like"" - http://www.livius.org/men-mh/mesopotamia/tigris.html.
"The original Sumerian name was Idigna or Idigina, probably from *id (i)gina "running water", which can be interpreted as "the swift river"... This form was borrowed and gave rise to Akkadian Idiqlat. Either through a Persian intermediary or borrowed directly from Akkadian, the word was adopted into Greek as Tigris. In Pahlavi, tigr means "arrow"... However, it does not appear that this was the original name of the river, but that it (like the Semitic forms of the name) was coined as an imitation of the indigenous Sumerian name." - http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Tigris
I'd tend to believe the latter more.
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M$
Never having seen it, I personally would be unable to characterize it either way. However, from what I've read in those sources, the Tigris is indeed much faster running than the other major river in that area, the Euphrates.
Would you characterize the Tigeris as fast running water, arrow-like?