Շաւասպ
Old Armenian
Etymology
Borrowed from an Iranian name, whose components go back to Proto-Iranian *cyaHwáh (“black”) and *Hácwah (“horse”), thus the name means "having dark-colored horses". Compare Avestan 𐬯𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬎𐬎𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬌- (siiāuuāspi-) and Sanskrit श्यावाश्व (śyāvā́śva).
The borrowing is from an uncertain Iranian language, in which Proto-Iranian *cy- yields a *š-, as opposed to *s-: compare Old Armenian Շաւարշ (Šawarš) and Georgian შავი (šavi) on the one hand and Old Armenian սեաւ (seaw) on the other. Alternatively, we may be dealing with a secondary dissimilation of the initial s- to š-.[1]
The name was common in the Artsruni dynasty.
Proper noun
Շաւասպ • (Šawasp)
- a male given name, Shawasp, Shavasp
Declension
a-type
| singular (uncountable) | |
|---|---|
| nominative | Շաւասպ (Šawasp) |
| genitive | Շաւասպայ (Šawaspay) |
| dative | Շաւասպայ (Šawaspay) |
| accusative | Շաւասպ (Šawasp) |
| ablative | Շաւասպայ (Šawaspay) |
| instrumental | Շաւասպաւ (Šawaspaw) |
| locative | Շաւասպ (Šawasp) |
Related terms
- Շաւարշ (Šawarš), սեաւ (seaw)
- հասբ (hasb)
Descendants
- → Armenian: Շավասպ (Šavasp)
References
- Assadoorian, Alice (2006), “Šām-aspī (A Toponym from Ardabīl)”, in Iran & the Caucasus, volume 10, issue 2, page 261.
Further reading
- Ačaṙyan, Hračʿya (1948), “Շաւասպ”, in Hayocʿ anjnanunneri baṙaran [Dictionary of Personal Names of Armenians] (Erewani petakan hamalsaran. Gitakan ašxatutʿyunner; 26) (in Armenian), volume IV, Yerevan: University Press, pages 154–155
- Hübschmann, Heinrich (1897) Armenische Grammatik. 1. Theil: Armenische Etymologie (in German), Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, page 61
- Justi, Ferdinand (1895), “Syāwāspa”, in Iranisches Namenbuch (in German), Marburg: N. G. Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 300
- Meyer, Robin (2017) Iranian-Armenian language contact in and before the 5th century CE. PhD thesis, University of Oxford, page 12, footnote 19