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ArchivesRe: Mausolus
in reply to a message by Getb2
According to the entry for 'mausoleum' at the on-line dictionary of Merriam Webster, mausoleum is the latinized form of Greek mausōleion, which in turn is derived from the personal name Mausōlos (also seen spelled as Mausollos, Maussollos and Maussolos, by the way). The name is usually latinized to Mausolus.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mausoleum
The entry for 'mausoleum' at Wiktionary states the same, but contains a little bit more information:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mausoleum
As we see there, the name Mausolos traces back to one specific bearer, namely a satrap of Caria from the 4th century BC. This man not only ruled Caria, but he was also born and bred in Caria, meaning that he was not of Greek origin. As such, his name is most likely not an authentic Greek first name. Mausolos must then be the hellenized form of his original Carian name. Note, though: technically there is still a chance that the name Mausolos is ultimately of Greek origin, given that the original bearer was born into a family that embraced Hellenic culture (and so his parents might have been inspired to bestow a Greek name upon their son). This is rather unlikely, however. The Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/) certainly doesn't yield any Greek entries that look like they could have been the root for the name Mausolos, at any rate.
Okay, so we know that the satrap Mausolos was born and bred in Caria. The people of Caria spoke a now-extinct Anatolian language, namely the Carian language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carian_language
It stands to reason, then, that Mausolos must ultimately have been derived from one or more words from the Carian language. The entry for Mausolus at Brill Reference does confirm this theory:
http://brillonline.nl/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/maussolus-e727280
Further proof can be found in the aforementioned Wikipedia article, which states that -ollos is a common suffix for (hellenized) Carian first names. Mausolos is also found spelled as Mausollos, so this fits in perfectly with the theory of it being the hellenized form of an authentic Carian name.
There is an exhaustive scholarly book about the Carian language in existence, namely "The Carian Language" written by Ignacio-Javier Adiego Lajara. The book contains a section dedicated to Carian personal names (see chapters 2 and 9), as well as a Carian glossary (see chapter 11). Most of these chapters can be read for free at Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=alQqw2IxJO0C&printsec=frontcover
I did not see Mausolos mentioned in that what is made available of the relevant chapters; it could be that the etymology for Mausolos is mentioned on one of the pages that are not included in the preview at Google Books. As such, if you wish to be able to read the missing pages, your best bet would probably be to lend the book from the nearest university library. Buying the book probably won't be an option, as I have seen that it costs nearly 300 euros (!) in my country.
However, just in case Mausolos is not mentioned in the book at all (not even on the missing pages): I did see some elements that could possibly have been the root for (or related to) Mausolos. These were muwa "might, power" and masa "god". It is difficult to tell which of these is more likely than the other (if at all), given that the original Carian form of the name Mausolos is apparently lost in time. Finding out the meaning of the name is further complicated by the fact that modern scientists' knowledge of the Carian language is limited, because few authentic Carian sources have survived to this day. As such, the correct root word(s) for Mausolos may not even be among the Carian words that scientists have been able to dig up (so far).
Finally, even though I think it's unlikely, I want to mention this: given that people living in the time of Mausolos were also exposed to the Persian language and culture, there might also be a possibility that Mausolos is of Persian origin etymologically. Especially because Mausolos was a satrap within the Persian empire. However, as I said before, I think that's unlikely. I certainly can't find or think of any Persian word(s) that might have been the root for Mausolos.
Well, that's all that I can say about the matter, I think. Though, here are a few more links dealing with the Carian language, in case you care about checking them out:
http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/glossary/cari.html (brief Carian glossary)
http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ (word study tool for several ancient languages, including the Carian language)
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on... when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend... some hurts that go too deep... that have taken hold." ~ Frodo Baggins
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mausoleum
The entry for 'mausoleum' at Wiktionary states the same, but contains a little bit more information:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mausoleum
As we see there, the name Mausolos traces back to one specific bearer, namely a satrap of Caria from the 4th century BC. This man not only ruled Caria, but he was also born and bred in Caria, meaning that he was not of Greek origin. As such, his name is most likely not an authentic Greek first name. Mausolos must then be the hellenized form of his original Carian name. Note, though: technically there is still a chance that the name Mausolos is ultimately of Greek origin, given that the original bearer was born into a family that embraced Hellenic culture (and so his parents might have been inspired to bestow a Greek name upon their son). This is rather unlikely, however. The Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/) certainly doesn't yield any Greek entries that look like they could have been the root for the name Mausolos, at any rate.
Okay, so we know that the satrap Mausolos was born and bred in Caria. The people of Caria spoke a now-extinct Anatolian language, namely the Carian language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carian_language
It stands to reason, then, that Mausolos must ultimately have been derived from one or more words from the Carian language. The entry for Mausolus at Brill Reference does confirm this theory:
http://brillonline.nl/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/maussolus-e727280
Further proof can be found in the aforementioned Wikipedia article, which states that -ollos is a common suffix for (hellenized) Carian first names. Mausolos is also found spelled as Mausollos, so this fits in perfectly with the theory of it being the hellenized form of an authentic Carian name.
There is an exhaustive scholarly book about the Carian language in existence, namely "The Carian Language" written by Ignacio-Javier Adiego Lajara. The book contains a section dedicated to Carian personal names (see chapters 2 and 9), as well as a Carian glossary (see chapter 11). Most of these chapters can be read for free at Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=alQqw2IxJO0C&printsec=frontcover
I did not see Mausolos mentioned in that what is made available of the relevant chapters; it could be that the etymology for Mausolos is mentioned on one of the pages that are not included in the preview at Google Books. As such, if you wish to be able to read the missing pages, your best bet would probably be to lend the book from the nearest university library. Buying the book probably won't be an option, as I have seen that it costs nearly 300 euros (!) in my country.
However, just in case Mausolos is not mentioned in the book at all (not even on the missing pages): I did see some elements that could possibly have been the root for (or related to) Mausolos. These were muwa "might, power" and masa "god". It is difficult to tell which of these is more likely than the other (if at all), given that the original Carian form of the name Mausolos is apparently lost in time. Finding out the meaning of the name is further complicated by the fact that modern scientists' knowledge of the Carian language is limited, because few authentic Carian sources have survived to this day. As such, the correct root word(s) for Mausolos may not even be among the Carian words that scientists have been able to dig up (so far).
Finally, even though I think it's unlikely, I want to mention this: given that people living in the time of Mausolos were also exposed to the Persian language and culture, there might also be a possibility that Mausolos is of Persian origin etymologically. Especially because Mausolos was a satrap within the Persian empire. However, as I said before, I think that's unlikely. I certainly can't find or think of any Persian word(s) that might have been the root for Mausolos.
Well, that's all that I can say about the matter, I think. Though, here are a few more links dealing with the Carian language, in case you care about checking them out:
http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/glossary/cari.html (brief Carian glossary)
http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ (word study tool for several ancient languages, including the Carian language)
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on... when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend... some hurts that go too deep... that have taken hold." ~ Frodo Baggins
This message was edited 3/6/2013, 5:16 AM
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