Reconstruction:Old Median/spitah

This Old Median entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Old Median

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *cwitah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćwitas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háćwaytˢt ~ *Háćwitan + *-tas, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwéyt-t ~ *ḱwit-ént, from *ḱweyt- (“to shine”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬀 (spita).

Adjective

*spitah

1. white
2. pure

Further reading

• Tavernier, Jan (2007) “*Spita-”, in Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts, Peeters Publishers, →ISBN, page 564: “564”