Talk:Ὠκεανός

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Latest comment: 6 years ago by FeliSoul in topic Etymology
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The Outer See[edit]

The definition says the word Ὠκεανός refers to the Outer See (Pacific Ocean) as opposed to the Inner See (Mediterranean). Shouldn't the Outer See be the Atlantic Ocean in stead, since Mediterranean is connected to the Atlantic, and I don't think the Greek knew of the Pacific. -- Longrim 09:57, 27 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Let's call it "the great Outward Sea", without specifying, like LSJ. --Vahag 11:49, 27 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Etymology[edit]

Personally, I would inverse the etymology. The divinization always comes from concrete to divine (Latin flora > Flora, venus ("hunt, want") > Venus) and the root is ὠκεανός (rather than the opposite).

ὠκεανός is either unexplained or not unlikely linkable to aqua with an o- as in Russian Ока which Pokorny links with aqua.

compare Ægir (*ēkʷi̯ós) "Lord of the sea" and Old Irish éagor "sea, flood".

--Diligent 07:13, 15 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

I believe there is something suspicious with the suggested Sumerain meaning. If the phrase was A-Ki-An(u), with the genitive ending -ki put after A- and before -An(u), it should literally "Water's Land", or "The Land of Water", thus "sea, ocean". This would then explain Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος, or the Aegean Sea from the Ancient Greek pov. Cfr. ὠκεανός. Furthermore, this would also corroborate Old Irish océn/ocían > Irish aigéan ("ocean"), hence An t-Aigéan ("The Ocean", "The Pond") from the Irish pov. FeliSoul (talk) 09:30, 26 December 2017 (UTC)Reply