S aipsniai / A icles 25
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
Masa yk Uni e si y
Fields o esea ch: Indo-Eu opean s udies, especially Sla ic,
Bal ic, Cel ic, Ana olian, Tocha ian, Indo-I anian languages;
Fenno-Ug ic; A o-Asia ic; e ymology; gene ic classi ica ion;
ma hema ic models in his o ical linguis ics.
AN ATTEMPT AT AN
ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
OF PTOLEMY´S HYDRONYMS
OF EASTERN BALTICUM
Bandymas e imologiškai analizuo i P olemajo
už iksuo us y inio Bal ijos egiono
hid onimus
ANNOTATION
The con ibu ion analyzes ou hyd onyms om Eas e n Bal icum, eco ded by P ole-
my in he mid-2nd cen . CE in con ex o wi ness o o he ancien geog aphe s. Thei e-
ised e ymological analyses lead o he conclusion ha a leas h ee o hem a e o Ge -
manic o igin, bu p obably calques on hei p obable Bal ic coun e pa s.
KEYWORDS: Geog aphy, hyd onym, e ymology, calque, Ge manic, Bal ic,
Bal o-Fennic.
ANOTACIJA
Šiame da be analizuojami ke u i P olemajo II a. po K . idu yje už ašy i y inio Bal-
ijos egiono hid onimai, paliudy i i ki ų seno ės geog a ų. Šių hid onimų e imologinė
analizė pa odė, kad ben ys iš jų y a ge maniškos kilmės, ačiau, ikė ina, bal iškų a i ik-
menų kalkės.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: geog a ija, hid onimas, e imologija, kalkė, ge manų, bal ų, bal ų
i inų kilmė.
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
26 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVI
The ou i e -names loca ed by P olemy o he eas o he eas ua y o he
Vis ula i e , Χρόνος, Ῥούβων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, ha e usually been
mechanically iden i ied wi h he bigges i e s o Eas e n Bal icum acco ding
o he sequence o P olemy’s coo dina es:
Χρόνος ~ P ussian P ego a / Ge man P egel / Russian P ególja / Polish P e-
goła / Li huanian P eglius; 123 km (Manne 1820: 257; Tomaschek, RE III/2,
1899, c. 2841).
Ῥούβων ~ Li huanian Nemunas / Polish Niemen / Belo ussian Nëman / Ge -
man Memel; 937 km (Manne 1820: 258; Rappapo , RE 48, 1914, c. 1180);
Τουρούντος ~ La ian Ven a / Li huanian Ven  / Li onian Vn a joug / Po-
lish Windawa / Ge man Windau; 346 km long (Manne 1820: 258);
Χε(ρ)σίνος ~ La ian Dauga a / Belo ussian Zaxodnjaja Dz ina / Russian
Západnaja D iná / Ge man Düna / Es onian Väinä; 1020 km (Manne 1820:
2580; Tomaschek, RE III/2, 1899, cc. 2273–74 also hough abou he Gauja
Ri e ).
1. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
1.1. P olemy, c. 150 CE [3.5.]
Εὐρώπης πίναξ η.
Ἡ ἐν Εὐρώπῃ Σαρματία περιορίζεται ἀπὸ μὲν ἄρκτων τῷ τε Σαρματικῷ
ὠκεανῷ κατὰ τὸν Οὐενεδικὸν κόλπον καὶ μέρει τῆς ἀγνώστου γῆς κατὰ
περιγραφὴν τοιαύτην· μετὰ τὰς τοῦ Οὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολὰς
Χρόνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν ν
Ῥούβωνος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νγ νζ
Τουρούντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν νη _
Χε(ρ)σίνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νη νθ _
“Eu opean Sa ma ia is e mina ed on he no h by he Sa ma ian ocean
adjoining he Venedicus bay and by a pa o he unknown land, a desc ip ion
o which is he ollowing. A e he mou h o he Vis ula Ri e :
mou h o he Ch onus i e 50*00 56°00
mou h o he Rubonis i e 53*00 57°00
mou h o he Tu un us i e 56*00 58°30
mou h o he Che( )sinus i e 58*30 59°30”
Fo compa ison, he coo dina es o he mou h o he Albis and Vis ula i e s
we e de e mined by P olemy [4.11.1 & 4] as ollows:
ἄλβιος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαὶ λα´ νϡ´δʺ
“The mou hs o he Albis i e 31*00 56o15”
S aipsniai / A icles 27
An A emp a an E ymological Analysis
o P olemy´s Hyd onyms o Eas e n Bal icum
Οὐστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί με´ νϡ´
“The mou hs o he Vis ula i e 45*00 56o00”
T ansla ed by Edwa d L. S e enson (1932)
h p://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thaye /E/Gaze ee /Pe-
iods/Roman/_Tex s/P olemy/3/5*.h ml
P olemy’s Eu opean Sa ma ia by Sebas ian Muns e
h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Geog aphy_(P olemy)#/media/File:-
Sebas ian_Muns e _-_Tab la_eu opae_VIII_(Sa ma ia).jpg
1.2. In he 4 h cen . CE Ma cian o He aclea Pon ica epea ed he sequence
o hese i e s, bu wi h ce ain modi ica ions o hei names:
[2.39] Mετὰ τὰς ἐκβολὰς τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχονται Xρόνου
τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. ἀπὸ δὲ Xρóνου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Ῥουδῶνος
ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. Oὗτoι δὲ oἱ ποταμοὶ εἰς τὸν Oὐενδικὸν κὸλπον ἐξίασιν,
ὅστις ἀπὸ τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἄρχεται παρήκων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον. Ἀπὸ
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
28 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVI
δὲ τοῦ Ῥoυδῶνoς ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ἀπὸ δὲ
Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχεται Xέσυνος ποταμὸς, καὶ αἱ τούτου ἐκβολαί.
“Pos Vis ulae lu ii os ia sequun u Ch oni lu ii os ia; pos Ch onum lu-
ium deinceps sun Rhudonis lu ii os ia. Hi lu ii exeun in sinum Vendicum,
qui a Vis ula lumine incipi , in immensum ex ensus. Rhudonem lu ium sub-
sequun u Tu un ae lu ii os ia; Tu un am lu ium excipi Chesynus lu ius,
eiusque os ia.” Edi ion and La in ansla ion by Mülle 1882.
1.3. In he end o he 4 h cen u y CE Ammianus Ma cellinus [22.8.38] eco -
ded he o m Ch onius o P olemy´s hyd onym Χρόνος:
[38] E go in ipso huius compagis exo dio, ubi Riphaei de iciun mon es, ha-
bi an A imphaei, ius i homines placidi a eque cogni i, quos amnes Ch onius
e Visula p ae e luun ; iux aque Massage ae, Halani e Sa ge ae, aliique plu es
obscu i, quo um nec ocabula nobis sun no a nec mo es.
[38] “Well hen, a he e y beginning o his dis ic , whe e he Riphaean
moun ains sink o he plain, dwell he A emphaei, jus men and known o hei
gen leness, h ough whose coun y low he i e s Ch onius and Visula. Nea
hem a e he Massage ae, Halani, and Sa ge ae, as well as se e al o he obscu e
peoples whose names and cus oms a e unknown o us.”
Ammianus Ma cellinus, Re um Ges a um,
wi h an English ansla ion by John C. Rol e.
Camb idge (Mass.): Ha a d Uni e si y P ess – London: Heinemann 1935–1940.
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :s oa0023.s oa001.pe seus-la 1:22.8.38
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :s oa0023.s oa001.pe seus-eng1:22.8.38
1.4. P obably he same hyd onym, bu belonging o a sea, was al eady used
by Pliny in he mid-1s cen . CE:
[4.38/94–95] exeundum deinde es , u ex e a eu opae dican u , ansg essisque i-
paeos mon es li us oceani sep en ionalis in lae a, donec pe enia u gadis, legendum.
insulae complu es sine nominibus eo si u adun u , ex quibus an e scy hiam quae
appella u baunonia unam abesse diei cu su, in quam e is empo e luc ibus elec um
eicia u , imaeus p odidi . eliqua li o a ince a. signa a ama sep en ionalis oceani.
amalchium eum heca aeus appella a pa apaniso amne, qua scy hiam adlui , quod no-
men eius gen is lingua signi ica congela um. philemon mo ima usam a cimb is oca i,
hoc es mo uum ma e, inde usque ad p omun u ium usbeas, ul a deinde c onium.
xenophon lampsacenus a li o e scy ha um idui na iga ione insulam esse inmensae
magni udinis bal iam adi , eandem py heas basiliam nomina .
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :phi0978.phi001.pe seus-la 1:4.38
S aipsniai / A icles 29
An A emp a an E ymological Analysis
o P olemy´s Hyd onyms o Eas e n Bal icum
“We mus now lea e he Euxine o desc ibe he ou e po ions o Eu ope.
A e passing he Riphæan moun ains we ha e now o ollow he sho es o he
No he n Ocean on he le , un il we a i e a Gades. In his di ec ion a g e-
a numbe o islands a e said o exis ha ha e no name; among which he e
is one which lies opposi e o Scy hia, men ioned unde he name o Raunonia,
and said o be a a dis ance o he day’s sail om he mainland; and upon which,
acco ding o Timæus, ambe is h own up by he wa es in he sp ing season. As
o he emaining pa s o hese sho es, hey a e only known om epo s o do-
ub ul au ho i y. Wi h e e ence o he Sep en ional o No he n Ocean; He-
ca æus calls i , a e we ha e passed he mou h o he i e Pa apanisus, whe e
i washes he Scy hian sho es, he Amalchian sea, he wo d ‘Amalchian’ signi-
ying in he language o hese aces, ozen. Philemon again says ha i is called
Mo ima usa o he “Dead Sea” by he Cimb i, as a as he P omon o y o Ru-
beas, beyond which i has he name o he C onian Sea. Xenophon o Lampsa-
cus ells us ha a a dis ance o h ee days’ sail om he sho es o Scy hia, he e
is an island o immense size called Bal ia, which by Py heas is called Basilia.”
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :phi0978.phi001.pe seus-eng1:4.27
[4.41/104] sun qui e alias p odan , scandias, dumnam, be gos maximamque om-
nium be icen, ex qua in ylen na ige u . a yle unius diei na iga ione ma e conc e um
a nonnullis c onium appella u .
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :phi0978.phi001.pe seus-la 1:4.41
“The e a e w i e s also who make men ion o some o he islands, Scandia
namely, Dumna, Be gos, and, g ea e han all, Ne igos, om which pe sons
emba k o Thule. A one day’s sail om Thule is he ozen ocean, which by
some is called he C onian Sea.”
h p://da a.pe seus.o g/ci a ions/u n:c s:la inLi :phi0978.phi001.pe seus-eng1:4.30
Pliny he Elde : Na u alis His o ia, ed. by Ka l F ie-
d ich Theodo Mayho . Leipzig: Teubne 1906.
Pliny he Elde : The Na u al His o y, ansla ed by John Bos ock & H.T. Riley.
London. Taylo and F ancis, 1855: 4.30.
1.5. Dionysius Pe iege es, 2nd (o 3 d?) cen . CE epea ed Pliny’s in o ma ion
abou he C onian Sea in he no h, which had o be ozen o dead:
27 Πάντη δ’ ἀκαμάτου ῥόος Ὠκεανοῖο
28 εἷς μὲν ἐών, πολλῇσι δ’ ἐπωνυμίῃσιν ἀρερώς.
29 Ἡτοι ὁ μὲν Λοκροῖο παρ’ ἐσχατιὴν ζεφύραο
30 Ἄτλας ἑσπέριος κικλήσκεται. αὐταρ ὕπερθεν,
31 πρὸς βορέην, ἵνα παῖδες ἀρειμανέων Ἀριμασπῶν,
32 πόντον μιν καλέουσι πεπηγότα τε Kρόνιον τε.
33 ἅλλοι δ’ αὖ καὶ νεκρὸν ἐφήμισαν εἴνεκ’ ἀφαυροῦ

VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
30 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVI
34 ἠελίου. Dionysius Pe iēgē es: G aece e La ine cum e us is commen a iis e in-
e p e a ionibus, ed. Go ied Be nha dy. Leipzig: Weidmann 1828, 10.
27 “Bu on all sides lows he migh o i eless Ocean,
28 and being one, ye endowed wi h many names.
29 Well, by he u hes ecess o he Loc ian zephy
30 i is called he Wes e n A las, bu abo e,
31 owa ds he no h, whe e dwell he child en o he wa -mad A imaspoi,
32 hey call i he F ozen and he C onion Sea.
33 O he s, again, called i also he Dead, because o he weakness
34 o he sun.”
Dionysius Pe iege es: Desc ip ion o he Known Wo ld
T ansla ion: Eka e ina Ilyushechki
h p://wwwdh.in o ma ik.uni-e langen.de/IMMD8/
s a /Goe z/Dionysius_Pe iege es.h ml
h p://wwwdh.in o ma ik.uni-e langen.de/IMMD8/s a /Goe z/DP/DP.E5-ln. x
1.6. Following Pliny, mo e b ie was Solinus [19.2] in he 3 d cen . CE:
Oceanum sep em ionalem ex ea pa e, qua a P opanisso amne Scy hia adlui u ,
Heca aeus Amalcium appella , quod gen is illius lingua signi ica congela um. Phile-
mon a Cimb is ad p omun u ium Rubeas Mo ima usam dici oca i, hoc es mo u-
um ma e: ul a Rubeas quicquid es C onium nomina .
Gaius Julius Solinus: De mi abilibus mundi
h p://www. hela inlib a y.com/solinus2a.h ml
“The No h Ocean on ha pa whe e Pa opamisus a Ryue o Scy hia washe-
h in o i , is named o Heca aeus Amalchium: which in ye language o ha na-
ion, signi ie h he F ozen sea. Phylaemon sai h, ha om he Cimb ians o he
P omon o ie Rubeas, i is called Mo ima usa, which is as much o saie, as he
dead Sea. Wha soeue is beyonde Rubeas is called C onium.”
T ansla ed by A hu Golding (16 h cen .)
h p://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A12581.0001.001/1:34? gn=di 1; iew= ull ex
2. PURPOSES AND DETERMINATION OF
THE LANGUAGE AFFILIATION OF THE
HYDRONYMS
In his con ibu ion ou hyd onyms localized by Pliny, P olemy and hei
ollowe s in he eas e n pa o Bal icum, namely Χρόνος/Ch onius/C onium,
Ῥούβων / Ῥούδων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, a e analyzed in e ymological
pe spec i e.
S aipsniai / A icles 31
An A emp a an E ymological Analysis
o P olemy´s Hyd onyms o Eas e n Bal icum
The i s ask is de e mining he language a ilia ion o hese hyd onyms.
Two o hem, Χρόνος & Χε(ρ)σίνος, a e cha ac e ized by he ini ial χ-, i.e. [kh].
In he Indo-Eu opean languages o Eu ope his sound is ypical o G eek, Sla-
ic and Ge manic. G eek and Sla ic a e excluded o geog aphical easons (le
us men ion ha in Sla ic he ini ial *x- has usually been o Ge manic o I a-
nian o igin). I Ge manic emains as he mos p omising candida e, i is na u al
o ask, i he e is ye ano he a gumen suppo ing he Ge manic a ilia ion o
hese i e -names. The answe may be posi i e – in Τουρούντος i is possible
o see he Ge manic ze o- e lex *-unþ-/*-unđ- o he p esen pa iciple su ix
*-n  -, which is udimen a ily p oduc i e in he old li e a y Ge manic languages:
Old High Ge man weisun “ ein” ~ Old English wsend id., om IE *ueis- “ o
low” (Poko ny 1959: 1134), o Go hic hulundi “ca e” s. Old No se hol , Old
English, Old Saxon, Old High Ge man hol adj. “hollow”, all om he e b a -
es ed in Go hic huljan “ o co e ”, Old No se hylja, Old English be-hyllan, Old
Saxon bi-hullean, Old High Ge man hullan id. (B ugmann 1906: 216, 461; Po-
ko ny 1959: 553; Lehmann 1986: 193–94; K oonen 2013: 253). This ole o he
su ix *-unþ- is gene ally accep ed in he o ma ion o Go hic unþus “ oo h”
(B ugmann 1906: 460; K oonen 2013: 509–10).
3. ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSES
3.1. Χρόνος [P olemy 3.5.2]; Ch onius [Ammianus Ma cellinus 22.8.38];
pe haps also Ma e C onium [Pliny 4.38/94–95, 41/104].
The e a e a leas h ee possible Ge manic e ymologies:
a) Müllenho (1887: 351) ied o explain he hyd onym wi h he help o
Old No se h ynja “s ü zen, allen, s ömen”, Icelandic h ynja id., h un “S u z”,
No wegian ynja “lä men, pol e n”, Old Swedish ynia “lä men”; pe haps also
Old High Ge man h ono “ges ü z e Baums amm”, Middle Low Ge man o-
ne id. and Old English h una in place-names (de V ies 1962: 263; Hol hausen
1963: 176). Al hough his idea is ollowed by Scheung abe & G ünzweig (AgT
138–39), i seems weakes in seman ic pe spec i e.
b) Kuhn (1941: 113) hough abou a connec ion o Ma e C onium and Old
No se h ǫnn . “wa e; Ægi ´s daugh e ”. Toge he wi h Icelandic h önn “wa e”
and Old English h æn ~ hæ n . “wa es, ide, sea”, p obably e lec Ge manic
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
32 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVI
*h aznō1 (de V ies 1962: 264; Hol hausen 1963: 146). Rela ed may be Middle
High Ge man (15 h cen .) ünne . “S u mwoge”, i i is de i ed om *h ōnn-
jō(n)- (Falk & To p 1909: 104; O el 2003: 185; while K oonen 2013: 418 p e-
e s he p o o o m * unnjō(n)-). Jus he econs uc ed p o o o m *h ōnnjō(n)- .,
despi e he di e ence in gende , s ands e y close o Pliny’s Ma e C onium and
Ammianus Ma cellinus’ Ch onius. The ini ial C- is pe haps caused by in luence
o Κρονία ἅλς, used o he Ad ia ic Sea by Apollonius Rhodius [A gonau ica
4.324, 509] in he 3 d cen . BCE. The sea name is p obably mo i a ed by he
heonym Κρόνος. On he o he hand, in he 1s and 2nd cen . CE one would
expec ha in a hypo he ical Ge manic language o Eas e n Bal icum he clus-
e *-zn- was s ill p ese ed, i i was p ese ed in Biblical Go hic eco ded a o-
und 350 CE, e.g. Go hic azn “house”, ga- azna “neighbo ” (~ Old No se g anni
id) s. Old No se ann, Old English æn ~ æ n n. “house, dwelling”, Old F isian
a-e n “animal ba n” < * azna-, besides Old English æsn n. “boa d” < * asna-
(Lehmann 1986: 283; de V ies 1962: 433); Ge manic > Finnish (a ch. & dial.)
ahna “Holzs ück, on dem Späne abge issen we den; b ennende Baums amm
au de Schwende; Acke walze”, Es onian ahn, gen. ahnu & ahna “Block,
Klo z, g osses S ück, ungespal ene S amm, Li onian o’n(ǝ Z) “umgewo ene
Baums ump ; Baums amm am Mee esboden” (LGLO III 105). C . also he pe -
sonal name Rasne-hildi gen.sg. [CIL XIII 7660] (Schön eld 1911: 185), da ed o
he 7 h cen . CE. Summing up, al hough his solu ion is e y a ac i e om he
poin o iew o seman ics, i should be abandoned o phone ic easons.
c) Ano he possibili y is ep esen ed by Old No se h aun n. “s einige Boden,
La a”, Icelandic h aun “s einiges Land ohne ege a ion”, Fae oese eyn, Danish
øn “S einbank au Mee esboden” > She landic øn(i) “S eing und”, No we-
gian NL Röuna, Swedish NL Rönö, Röne (de V ies 1962: 252; Hellquis 1957:
1 The medial clus e *-zn- is con i med by ex e nal compa ison wi h G eek *κράσνᾱ > Aeo-
lic κράννᾱ, Do ic, A cadian κράνᾱ, A ic κρήνη “sou ce, oun ain” [Il.]; besides *κροσνός >
κρουνός “sp ing, well head, whence s eams issue” [Il. 22.147, 208], c . he gloss o Hesychius
κροῦναι · κρῆναι τέλειαι (see de Saussu e 1881: 119; F isk II 16, 27; Beekes 2010: 777). La e
we e added cogna es in o he languages oo: Albanian k ua ~ k ue m., pl. k onj, k oje “sp ing,
oun ain” (O el 1998: 198); Cel ic: Old I ish c ond, Co nish c onn ‘a name o a i e ’ (S okes
1907: 247). The p o o o ms *k  sn & *k  osno-/ (Beekes, EIEC 539) a e compa ible wi h one o
he IE designa ions o “head”, a es ed e.g. in G eek κρᾱνίον “skull, head”, Albanian k ye n., pl.
k e ë ~ k enë “head” (O el 1998: 199); Tocha ian B k i(ye) “(nape o he) neck” (Adams 2013:
230), e c. Conce ning he seman ic de elopmen , c . La in capu on is o capu aquae and G eek
κράνα · κεφαλή (Hesychius) – see de Saussu e 1881: 119 and F isk II, 16. This conclusion im-
plies he econs uc ion o *k -. The Albanian e lex k- be o e - - is egula .
S aipsniai / A icles 33
An A emp a an E ymological Analysis
o P olemy´s Hyd onyms o Eas e n Bal icum
874). Udolph (1994: 888–92) adds he Ge man o onym Rhön2. Ge manic >
Finnish auna “g obe Kies, kleine S eine au dem G und eines Sees”, Finnish,
Vo ic & Ing ian aunio, Ka elian auni o “S einhau en”, Es onian aun, gen. au-
na “S ein-, G ani hau en” (LGLO III 136). The ancien au ho s di e en ia ed
wo a ian s, Χρόνος & Ch onius, which can be p ojec ed in o p o o-Ge manic
as *h auna- & *h aunija-/*h aunijō(n)-3. The e is a sugges i ely ma ching pai
in Bal o-Fennic, * auna & * aunio espec i ely. Thanks o his co esponden-
ce i is possible o de e mine he dialec a ilia ion o he Ge manic dialec o
he hyd onym – i was p obably he same Ge manic dialec which bequea hed
he ea lies Ge manic bo owings in he Bal o-Fennic languages. I emains o
discuss he seman ic mo i a ion o his hyd onym. Rocks o big s ones a e no
ypical o mou hs and lowe s eams o i e s o Eas Bal icum. Tha is why
“g a el” seems o be a mo e p omising seman ic mo i e. Maybe, i could be he
Vis ula Spi (Polish Mie zeja Wiślana; Ge man F ische Neh ung; Russian Bal i-
jskaja kosa) o Cu onian Spi (Ku šių ne ija), bo h consis ing o he g a el and
sand o ming dunes4 which led o he designa ion Ma e C onium o he Vis ula
Lagoon o Cu onian Lagoon, espec i ely. Wi h ega d o hei esh o b ac-
kish wa e he lagoons ha e been ozen mo e o less egula ly, in con a y o
he open and mo e sal y sea. The ozen sea was p obably unde s ood as he
dead sea by isi o s om he Medi e anean. The e m o iginally ese ed o
one o hese lagoons was la e maybe ansmi ed o s ai s connec ing he la-
goons wi h he Bal ic Sea, esembling he es ua ies o i e s seen om he sea,
o o i e s emp ying in o hese lagoons. Le us analyze he i e -names, com-
pa ible wi h he seman ic sphe e o Ge manic *h auna- & *h aunija- / *h auni-
jō(n)-. The mos equen candida e o Χρόνος & Ch onius has been he P egel
/ P egolja Ri e . In eali y, he la i ude o i s mou h is no oo di e en om
he mou h o he Vis ula Ri e (P olemy de e mined bo h o 56°00). The e y-
mology o his hyd onym is no unambiguous. Ge ullis (1922, 135), summa i-
zing old eco ds, namely P igo a (1302), P ego (1359), besides he dissimila ed
o ms P egoll, P egel (1331), P egill (1460), sough explana ion in Li huanian
p ga as “g undlose Weg, Abg und, Hölle” (also “Viel ass”). I is ela ed o
p ago ė “Abg und, une messliche Tie e” and bo h ha e been de i ed om he
2 The moun ain ange Rhön is loca ed in he bo de land o he s a es o Ba a ia, Hesse and Thu-
ingia. I s highes op, Wasse kuppe, is 950 m high.
3 The p o o-Ge manic diph hong *au, con i med in he Bal o-Fennic bo owings, may ha e
been changed in o o in G eek and La in ansc ip ions, c . Aus ogo i s. Os ogo hi (Schön eld
1911: 38).
4 The bigges dune o he Vis ula Spi , called Wielblądźi Ga b = Kamelhöcke , is 48.50 m high. The
bigges dune o he Cu onian Spi , called Vecek ug, is highe , 67.20 m.