Zum Namen des Inns

Bekanntes und Vergessenes

Résumé

Usually, in the linguistic literature on the hydronym Inn two stems are reconstructed: PCelt. *Eno- and *Eni̯o-. These stems are thought to be derived from the root PIE *pen- ‘mud(dy), (standing) water’. It is not possible to decide, whether the name was coined in Proto-Celtic or is a celticized Pre-Proto-Celtic formation. An explanation for the parallel stem-formations was given already by Pokorny 1948/1949 and 1950/1951. His explanation seems widely to have fallen into oblivion. Both articles have hardly been quoted in scientific literature during the last quarter century. Only Greule 2014 makes use again at least of the older of the two articles, modifying their explanation, however. A root PIE *(h1)en- ‘water’, which has been used time and again to explain the river-name Inn, most probably never existed.