Illyrian

See also: Albanian language

Personal Illyrian names, Andena, Andes, Andio, Antis, based on a root and- or ant-,
found in both the southern and the Dalmatian-Pannonian (including modernBosnia and
Herzegovina) onomastic provinces; cf. Alb. and (northern Albanian dialect, or Gheg)
and nd (southern Albanian dialect or Tosk) "appetite, pleasure, desire, wish".[25]

aran "field"; cf. Alb. ar; plural ara[26][page needed]

Ardiaioi/Ardiaei, name of an Illyrian people, cf. Alb. ardhja "arrival" or "descent",

connected to hardhi "vine-branch, grape-vine", with a sense development similar to
Germanic *stamniz, meaning both tree stalk and tribe, lineage. However, the insufficiency of
this theory is that so far there is no certainty as to the historical or etymological development
of either ardhja/hardhi or Ardiaioi, as with many other words.[25]

Bindo/Bindus, an Illyrian deity from Biha, Bosnia and Herzegovina; cf. Alb. bind "to
convince" or "to make believe", prbindsh "monster".[27]

Bilia "daughter"; cf. Alb. bij, dial. bil[28]

bounon, "hutt, cottage"; cf. Alb bun[29][page needed]

Barba- "swamp", a toponym from Metubarbis; possibly related to Alb. brrak "swampy
soil"[30]

can- "dog"; related to Alb. qen[30]

Daesitiates, a name of an Illyrian people, cf. Alb. dash "ram", corresponding contextually
with south Slavonic dasa "ace", which might represent a borrowing and adaptation from
Illyrian (or some other ancient language).[25]

mal "mountain"; cf. Alb. mal[31][page needed]

bardi "white"; cf. Alb. bardh[32][page needed]

drenis "deer"; cf. Alb. dre, dreni[29][page needed]

delme "sheep"; cf. Alb. dele, Gheg dialect delme[33][page needed]

dard "Dardania"; ostensibly connected with cf. Alb. dardh, "pear"[34]

drakoina "supper"; cf. Alb. darke, dreke[35][page needed]

Hyllus (the name of an Illyrian king); cf. Alb. yll (hyll in some northern dialects) "star", also
Alb. hyj "god"[35]

sca "dagger"; cf. Alb. thik or thika "knife"[36][page needed]

Ulc- "wolf" (pln. Ulcinium); cf. Alb. ujk, ulk, "wolf"[37][page needed]

brisa "husk of grapes"; cf. Alb. brs "lees, dregs; mash" (< PA *bruti)[30]

logeon "pool"; cf. Alb. lag, legen "to wet, soak, bathe, wash" (< PA *lauga), lgat "pool"
(< PA *leugat), lakshte "dew" (< PA laugista)[38][page needed]

mag- "great"; cf. Alb. i madh "big , great"[30]

manta "bramblebush"; Old and dial. Alb. mand "berry, mulberry" (Mod. Alb. mn,
man)[citation needed]

Ragusa-Ragusium "grape"; cf. Proto-Alb. ragusha (Mod. Alb. rrush)[35]

rhinos "fog, mist"; cf. Old Alb. ren "cloud" (Mod. Alb. re, r) (< PA *rina)[39]

Vendum "place"; cf. Proto-Alb. wen-ta (Mod. Alb. vend)[3

Only a few Illyrian words are cited in classical sources by Roman or Greek writers, and of these
only four are identified with an ethnonym Illyrii or Illurio; others must be identified by indirect
means[citation needed]:

attestation

English

etymol

meaning

ogy

cognates

Lat. anguis,
Alb. thnegl (< PA tsangul) "kind of ant",
PIE
*abeis

"snakes"

*heng
is

Old High Germ. unc,

Lith.angs,
Gk. khis "snake", ekhis
"viper",
Toch. auk "snake",
Arm. auj, Russ. u,
Skt.his, Av. ai

Alb. buk "bread",

Phrygian bekos "bread",
Eng. bake,
Lat. focus "hearth", Old
Ir.goba "blacksmith",
Gk. phgein "to roast",
Armenian bosor "red", b
ots "flame",
*bagaron

"warm"

PIE

Rus. bagrovj,

*bg-

bagrianj "crimson,
saturated red, color of
dark blood,
purpur",bagric,
bagrianiec "redness of
someone's face,
cheeks, of heated up
material (e.g. metal),
crimson cloth, fabric"

*brisa

"husk of

PIE

Alb. brs "lees, dregs;

grapes"

*brutiie

mash", Eng. broth,

Lat. defrutum "new wine

boiled down",
Welsh brwd "brewage",
Old Ir. bruth "heat,
wrath",
Thrac. brtos "barley
alcohol",brtion "wine
must",
Gk. apphrysen "to
seethe, boil", ?
Lith. brsti "to mature,
ripe", brendimas "ripeni
ng", also brinkti "to
swell", brinkmas "swelli
ng" ?, Rus.braga,
braka "must, ale,
unfinished or badly
produced alcohol

drink", broditj "to

ferment
(brew)", bronije "ferm
entation (brewage)"

Alb. dash "ram",

Skt. dhnoti "he
shakes", Gk. thein "to
rage,
seethe", theion"sulfur
vapor", Eng. dizzy,
Paeonian Dalos "Diony
sos", Lat. furere "to
rage",belua "wild
animal", Old
Ir. dsacht "rage, fury",
*deudai

"satyrs"

PIE

Lith. dvsti "to croak,

*dui s

perish, die

mi

(animals)", dvelksmas "

breath, waft, aura",
Hitt. tuhhai "to gasp",
Rus. dhnije"breath,
waft", duh "spirit, soul,
mind, aura, ghost, wind"
also "aliveness,
breathing, willingness,
meaningfulness,
truthfulness", du "spiri
t, soul; heart, kindness,
truthfulness"

Alb. mz, mz "pony",

*mandos

"small
horse"

PIE

Thrac. Meznai "divine

*mendii

horseman", Mess.

os

IuppiterMenzanas (divin
ity)

NGheg Alb. mand,

Alb. mn, man "berry,
"bramble

*manta

bush"

PIE *?

mulberry"; borrowed
into
Romanschmani "raspbe
rry"

Old Alb. ren, mod.

Alb. re, r "cloud", rij,
r 'to make humid';
PIE
"fog, mist" *hrin

*rinos

Hti

further to Gk.
(Lesbian) ornein "to
move", Old Ch.
Slav. rinti "to flow",
Skt. rin -ti "to pour, let
flow"

Eng. sap,
Lat. sapere "to taste",
Skt. sabar "sap, juice,
nektar",
Avestan vipa"having
poisonous juices",
*sabaia,*sabaium,*

"a type

PIE

Arm ham,

sabaius

ofbeer"

*sap-

Gk. hapals "tender,

delicate", Old Ch.
Slav.svept "bee's
honey"; borrowed into
Lat. and from there into
Ital. zabaglione"frothy
drink"

*sibina (Lat.sibyna

Festius, citing Ennius is

"a hunting PIE *

Alb. thupr "bar, stick",

~sybina);

compared

spear",

[49]

(Gk.),

to (Gk.), "flute

generally,

Arm. svn "a spit"

(Gk.), (Gk.),

case", a word found

"a spear",

(Gk.)

inAristophanes'Thesmo

"pike"

phoriazusai; the word

Pers. zpn,

appears in the context

of a barbarian speaking

Alb. thik 'knife',[52] Old

Ir. cath "wise", Lat. cs,
(gen. ctis)
"whetstone", catus"shar
p, acute", Eng. hone,
Arm. sur "sharp", srem "

First mentioned

to sharpen",

in Ennius(Annals,
5.540):[50] Illyrii restant
*sika (Lat. sica~ si

sicis sybinisque

cca)

fodentes, of Illyrian
soldiers;[51] later used
inPliny to describe
Thracian implements

Avest. sani "pot",sal "sl

"curved

PIE

ab, anvil",

knife,

*kehk

Skt. it "sharp";

dagger"

eh

borrowed into
Lat. sicca "dagger",
Lat. sicarii"assassins",
Rus. sieinije "cut,
section; crosssection", siej,
rassiekatj "to whip, flog;
to cut, shred, split,
sever"

Some additional words have been extracted by linguists from toponyms, hydronyms,
anthroponyms, etc.:

Agruvium "along the coast between Risinum and Butua": IE *ar-; cf. Skt. jrah "pasture,
field", Lat. ager, Gk. agrs, Goth. akrs

Bindus "river god"; cf. Alb. bind to convince, to make believe, prbindsh "monster", cf.
Old Ir. banne "drop", Skt. bind, vind "drops, gob, spot", possibly Lat. fns Bandusiae

Bosona "Bosna river", literally "running water": IE *bheg-, bhog- "to run"; Alb. d-boj "to
chase, to drive away", North. Alb. bosi "doer, maker", Rus. bg "running; (work)flow", cf. Old
Ch. Slav. bati & Rus. batj "to flee, run; to work, to flow", Lith. bgti "to flee, to run",
Gk. phbesthai "to flee", phbos "fear", Eng. beck "brook, stream", Middle Ir. bal "flowing
water", Hindi bhg "to flee"

mons Bulsinus "Banim hill": IE *blkos;

l
cf. Eng. balk, Alb. blig "forked piece of wood",
Middle Ir. blog "piece, fragment", Lat. fulcrum "bedpost", Gk. phlanx "trunk, log",
Lith. baliena "crossbar", Serb. blazna "roof beam", Skt. bhurju "cart arms"

Derbano, Anderva: IE *derw; cf. Eng. tree, Alb. dru "wood", Old Ch. Slav. drvo "tree",
Rus. drevo "tree, wood", Welsh derw "oak", Gk. dry "wood, spear", drs"oak, tree",
Lith. derva "pine wood", Hitt. taru "tree, wood', Thrac. taru "spear", Skt. dru "tree,
wood", daru "wood, log"

Dizros, Andztes: IE *digh; cf. Eng. dough, Gk. tekhos "wall", Lat. fingere "to shape,
mold", Old Ir. com-od-ding "he builds, erects", Old Rus. da "kneading trough",
Arm. dez "heap", Skt. dehah "body, form"

Domator, personal name; cf. Old Ir. damnaid "he binds, breaks a horse", dam "ox",
Eng. tame, dialectal Germ. zamer "ox not under the yoke", Alb. dem "young bull",
Lat. domre "to tame", domitor "tamer", Gk. dmnmi "to break in", dmalos "calf",
Skt. dmyti "he is tame; he tames", Rus. odomashnivat' "to tame"

Logeon: Strabo in his Geography mentions "a marsh called Lougeon" (which has been
identified as Lake Cerknica in Slovenia) by the locals (Illyrian and Celtic
tribes), Lougeon being Strabo's rendition of the local toponym into Greek. cf. Alb. lag "to wet,
soak, bathe, wash", lgat "pool", lug "trough, water-channel, spillway", Lith. ligas "pool",
Old Ch. Slav. & Rus. lua "pool", Rus. loa, loe, lgovo "rest place, lounge place, bed, den",
Rus. letj "to lie, rest, lounge" and loitj "to lay, put", Thrac. Lginos, river name[53]

stagnus Morsianus "marshlands in Pannonia": IE *mer; cf. Middle High

Germ. murc "rotten, withered, boggy", Old Ir. meirc "rust", Alb. marth "to shiver, shudder",
Lith. markti "to rust"

Naro: IE *nor; cf. Alb. "hum-ner" "abyss, chasm", Lith. nras "diving duck; diver",
Russ. nor "hole, burrow", Serbo-Croat. po-nor "abyss"

Nedinum: IE *ned; cf. Skt. nadas "roarer"

Oseriates "lakes": IE *h1eero; cf. Serb-Croat. jzero, Rus. zero, Lith. eras,
Latvian zrs, Gk. Achrn "river in the underworld"

Pelso (Latin authors referred to modern Lake Balaton as "lacus Pelso", Pelso being a
hydronym from the local inhabitants), Pelso apparently meant "deep" or "shallow": IE *pels-;
Rus. ples (deep place in lake or river), North Alb. fell (from fell "deep"), cf.
Czech pleso "deep place in a river, lake", Welsh bwlch "crack", Arm.pelem "to dig"

Tergitio "merchant"; Alb. tregtar (from treg, market), cf. Old Ch. Slav. trg (SerboCroat tg) "market", Rus. torg "bargain", Lith. trgus, Latv. tirgus, Swed. torg. This group is
considered to be cognate with the Italian city name of Trieste.

Teuta, Teutana: IE *teuta- "people"; cf. Lith. tauta "people", Germ. Deutsch "German",
Old Eng. theod "people", Old Ir. tath "clan", Umbrian tota "people", Oscantouto "city",
Hitt. tuzzi "army"; cf. Alb. (northern Albanian, or Gheg dialect) tetan "all" (possible archaic
Albanian synonym for "people").

Ulcisus mons, Ulcinium (city), Ulcisia castra: cf. Eng. wolf, Old Alb. ulk, Alb. ujk,
Avestan vhrk, Persian gurg, Skt. vrkas,
Old Ch. Slav. vlk, Russ. volk, volca,

Lith. villkas, Lat. lupus, Gk. lkos

Volcos, river name in Pannonia; cf. Old Ir. folc "heavy rain, wet weather", Welsh golchi "to
wash", obsolete Eng. welkin "cloud", Old High Germ. welk "moist", Old Ch. Slav. and
Rus. vlaga "moisture, plant juice", Volga, river name in Russia, ? vlgk "wet",
Latv. vallgums "wetness", Alb. ulmej "to dampen, wet"

Illyrian anthroponyms[edit]
The following anthroponyms derive from Illyrian or are not yet connected with another language
unless noted, such as the Delmatae names of Liburnian origin. Alfldy identified five principal
onomastic provinces within the Illyrian area:[dubious discuss] 1) the "real" Illyrians south of the
river Neretva in Dalmatia and extending south toEpirus; 2) the Delmatae, who occupied the
middle Adriatic coast between the "real Illyrians" to the south and the Liburni to the north; 3)
the Liburni, a branch of Veneticin the northeast Adriatic; 4) the Iapodes, who dwelt north of the
Delmatae and behind (inland from) the coastal Liburnians; 5) the Pannonians in the northern
lands, and in Bosnia, northern Montenegro and Western Serbia. [citation needed] Katii does not
recognize a separate Pannonian onomastic area, and includes the Pannoni with the Delmatae.
[54]

Below, names from four of Alfldy's five onomastic areas are listed, Liburnian excluded, having

been identified as being akin to Venetic. A Dardanian area is also detailed.[55][56][57]