On the etymology of the Avestan personal name pourušaspa-

Khanizadeh, Mehrbod

Abstract

This article discusses the formation and meaning of the Avestan personal name of Zarathuštra’s father, pourušaspa-. Taking side with the current scholarly view on the etymology and meaning of the word, i.e., *pourušāspa- → pourušaspa- ‘one who has grey horses’, it is argued here that the shortening of the vowel can be explained by an analogical model in Wištāsp Yašt 1.2, where pourušaspa- m. is described as pouru.aspa- ‘having many horses’. The article also challenges the view that Wištāsp Yašt 1.2 is a recent text.

Citation

Khanizadeh, M. (2024). On the etymology of the Avestan personal name pourušaspa-. Iran and the Caucasus, 28(1), 72-86. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573384X-02801006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 4, 2024
• Journal: Iran and the Caucasus
• Print ISSN: 1609-8498
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-384X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 72-86
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1573384X-02801006
• Keywords: Avestan phonology; Avestan written tradition; pourušaspa; Iranian onomastics; Zoroastrianism
• Publisher URL: https://brill.com/view/journals/ic/28/1/article-p72_6.xml