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ArchivesRe: Name
in reply to a message by Quill
I am not familiar with the Indian name Anisha meaning continuous. There is a Sanskrit word aniza derived from a- (the Indoeuropean privative prefix) + nishA (connected with nakt etc. cognate with and meaning night) = "without night" (i.e., without stopping at night) which does mean continuously. That word has a short -i-.
The common Indian name Anisha has a long -i- except in those languages (like Bengali) which has made all vowels short in pronunciation: when length is not phonemic, spelling errors changing vowel lengths creep in. This word is derived from an- (again the privative prefix) + Iza (derived from Iz, to possess, and meaning master). Depending on the stress, this could mean "not master" and hence, powerless, or "one with no master", hence all powerful, but lexical stress stopped being phonemic in Sanskrit, so the meaning needs to be clear from context. The second meaning lead to this word being used as an epithet of Visnu, the "worker" or protector among the Hindu trinity, and presumably, hence, its use as a name. The final -a would be pronounced a schwa (or omitted depending on the language) for the male name, and be a long open A (like in English car) for the feminine.
The common Indian name Anisha has a long -i- except in those languages (like Bengali) which has made all vowels short in pronunciation: when length is not phonemic, spelling errors changing vowel lengths creep in. This word is derived from an- (again the privative prefix) + Iza (derived from Iz, to possess, and meaning master). Depending on the stress, this could mean "not master" and hence, powerless, or "one with no master", hence all powerful, but lexical stress stopped being phonemic in Sanskrit, so the meaning needs to be clear from context. The second meaning lead to this word being used as an epithet of Visnu, the "worker" or protector among the Hindu trinity, and presumably, hence, its use as a name. The final -a would be pronounced a schwa (or omitted depending on the language) for the male name, and be a long open A (like in English car) for the feminine.
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