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ArchivesLeander = leos (lion) or laos (people) ?
I've read some claims that Leander in fact doesn't come from "leos" - as mentioned on this site - but "laos" (as found in names as Nicholas).
Which one is correct or are both possible?
thanks in advance :)
Which one is correct or are both possible?
thanks in advance :)
1
Replies
I highly doubt the claim and I have never heard of such a thing. I'm about 99% sure the website is correct. The "laos" element is an ending in every name I can think of that includes it: Archelaos, Alexilaos, Hermolaos, Menelaos, and Nikolaos. The "lea" in Leander and Leandros coming from "leon" rather than "laos" makes more etymological and structural sense.
Edit: It's 4:30 am and I can't type.
Edit: It's 4:30 am and I can't type.
This message was edited 11/22/2008, 2:38 AM
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thanks for the reply. :)
the claim can be found on the german wikipedia (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_(Vorname) )
it says that the name is made up of λεώς (leōs) - which is attic greek for laos (people). as well as the word stem (ανδρ·) - not the genetiv - of the word ἀνήρ (anēr), which means "man". Supposedly that makes sense, because greek word compounds always use the word stem? which might be true for normal words, but is it true for first names?
the same author has claimed that the meaning "lion man" would be Λεόντανδρος ?
I feel the explanation with attic greek is a bit far fetched, but it's also true that not always the most obvious or logical meaning is the correct one. And I don't know enough about greek oO;
the claim can be found on the german wikipedia (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_(Vorname) )
it says that the name is made up of λεώς (leōs) - which is attic greek for laos (people). as well as the word stem (ανδρ·) - not the genetiv - of the word ἀνήρ (anēr), which means "man". Supposedly that makes sense, because greek word compounds always use the word stem? which might be true for normal words, but is it true for first names?
the same author has claimed that the meaning "lion man" would be Λεόντανδρος ?
I feel the explanation with attic greek is a bit far fetched, but it's also true that not always the most obvious or logical meaning is the correct one. And I don't know enough about greek oO;
This message was edited 11/22/2008, 3:56 PM
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It's interesting to look at the details of said German Wikipedia entry. For such a short entry, it has quite a long edit history, as can be seen here:
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leander_(Vorname)&action=history
The meaning that BtN gives and the alternative meaning discussed here seem to battle it out, with the alternative seemingly winning for the moment...
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leander_(Vorname)&action=history
The meaning that BtN gives and the alternative meaning discussed here seem to battle it out, with the alternative seemingly winning for the moment...
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That is really interesting and I can see his point. I have a friend I can ask about this. I have a question, how does one get the Greek script? I'm not so tech savvy with that sort of thing and I have wanted it for a while.
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It would be great to have an opinion of somebody knowledgeable in this field :)
I can't really help you for the Greek script, since I never installed it, but it was just there ... but if you're using windows it's quite easy to install new scripts (if you have a windows CD ^^ ). In the configuration pannel you can find "regional and linguistic options" and you should be able to install the different scripts you want.
I can't really help you for the Greek script, since I never installed it, but it was just there ... but if you're using windows it's quite easy to install new scripts (if you have a windows CD ^^ ). In the configuration pannel you can find "regional and linguistic options" and you should be able to install the different scripts you want.
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