Gender Masculine
Meaning & History
The name of a Polabian god of war, often identified with the Roman god Mars.Scholars connect the root jar- with the Proto-Slavic adjective *jarъ(jь) "vigorous, strong" or alternatively with *jarъ "vernal", and thus be connected to the Slavic deity of vegetation Jarylo.In the second part there is supposed to be a suffix -vit meaning "lord, ruler, hero". The suffix has been linked to the word *vitati "to invite, to wish health".The deity is also known as Jarovit and Gerovit.