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ArchivesRe: Meaning of the Sanskrit name SYON ?
in reply to a message by DeEVa
I think that Maneka Gandhi's book is accepted by the knowledgeable people here as one of the better ones: I think I should get it one of these days. But, more and more, looking at the quotes I see from it, I am getting doubtful about the historical veracity of some of its explanations: I do not know how carefully every individual name is researched. Overall, since Cleveland Kent Evans seems to trust it, I think so should we.
In the case of syona, there is indeed a Sanskrit word which means exactly what she says. It is derived from the root siv, which is cognate with and means the same as English sew, and the root meaning was probably threaded. But, in addition to meaning things like a sack and a comfortable seat, from the very earliest times (it is in the Rigveda, for example) it meant rays of light and the sun (the simile between rope and sunrays is very old in the language) and also something tender or gentle to relax or walk upon, and happiness in general.
The problem is that I have not seen this spelling (स्योन or its equivalents in other scripts) as a name in India. In Sanskrit, the correct pronounciation would be like saying see-own-a with the ee-ow spoken quickly forming the yo sound which is not a dipthong but the semivowel y- followed by the rounded -o-, if you get my meaning. The -a would have been the beginning sound in about, but would drop off in most modern Indian languages.
In the case of syona, there is indeed a Sanskrit word which means exactly what she says. It is derived from the root siv, which is cognate with and means the same as English sew, and the root meaning was probably threaded. But, in addition to meaning things like a sack and a comfortable seat, from the very earliest times (it is in the Rigveda, for example) it meant rays of light and the sun (the simile between rope and sunrays is very old in the language) and also something tender or gentle to relax or walk upon, and happiness in general.
The problem is that I have not seen this spelling (स्योन or its equivalents in other scripts) as a name in India. In Sanskrit, the correct pronounciation would be like saying see-own-a with the ee-ow spoken quickly forming the yo sound which is not a dipthong but the semivowel y- followed by the rounded -o-, if you get my meaning. The -a would have been the beginning sound in about, but would drop off in most modern Indian languages.
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