velestrom
Volscian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Unknown etymology, may be connected to Latin vellō (“to pluck out”), and thus from Proto-Italic *welnō, itself from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃-. If this etymology were true, the term may mean something akin to “improvement.” However, this etymology requires the existence of an otherwise almost entirely unattested “-s” suffix in Italic, leading its proponent—German linguist Helmut Rix-to propose a derivation from *weles-, itself from *welH-s. This proposal has also been criticized by the linguist Blanca María Prósper as, according to Prósper, the form should have enveloped into velstrom by medial vowel syncope.
It may also be related to the Latin suffix -aster and mean something resembling “evil intention.” Another theory posits that it derives from a theorized from *wel-is-tero, itself from a combination of the morpheme -tero and *weles-. This form has been interpreted as meaning something resembling “voluntary,” although this assessment is disputed as Italic terms related to “will” derive from the root *welō, from *welh₁-. Instead, due to the theorized ultimate root from Proto-Italic *walēō, itself from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-, the term may instead may mean something like “better” or “more noble.” If this theory is true, Volscian terms *welaistro- or *maistro-, both meaning “better,” may also be reconstructed.
Italian scholar Marcello Durante theorized a possible connection to Etruscan svelstre, partially due to the lack of clear Indo-European explanations. Alternatively, has been proposed to be a genitive plural meaning “anyone of the Veliterni.” This theory is now widely rejected by most linguists, both due to a lack of evidence and the fact that the tablet may not have been connected to the Volscian city of Velletri.
Adjective
[edit]velestrom (comparative)
References
[edit]- 2022, Blanca María Prósper, “The Tabula Veliterna: a sacred law from Central Italy”, in Rivista Italiana di Linguistica e dialettologia[1], number XXIV (quotation in English; overall work in English), pages 13-17:
- 1897, Robert Seymour Conway, The Italic Dialects: Edited with a Grammar and Glossary[2] (quotation in English; overall work in English), Cambridge University Press, page 667: