Stagnum / stannum ‘tin’ and stāgnum ‘pond’, ‘fen’: Prehistory of Two Latin Quasi-Homophone Words in their Indo-European Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23808/rel.v25i1.119100Keywords:
morfología, etimología, latín, indoeuropeo, celtaAbstract
The etymological investigation of the Latin lexical pair stagnum/stannum ‘tin’ and stāgnum ‘pond’, ‘fen’ has occupied scholarly attention for over two centuries. On the basis of semantic considerations and comparative Indo-European evidence, it is now broadly accepted that these terms do not share a common origin. In particular, stagnum/stannum has been the subject of multiple etymological hypotheses, all of which have treated the term as a loanword —typically from Ancient Greek or a Celtic source. However, current understanding of the prehistory of these language branches permits the confident exclusion of both Celtic and Greek as potential sources. Rather, the term may be straightforwardly derived from Proto-Indo-European as a directly inherited element of the Latin lexicon. Additionally, the Gaulish theonym STANNA[E], whose etymology has frequently, though mistakenly, been linked to stagnum/stannum ‘tin’, offers valuable insight into both morphological reconstruction and broader issues in Celtic linguistics and religious history. Accordingly, the present study seeks to examine this group of nouns through the lens of Latin and comparative linguistics, with the aim of elucidating their true origins and contributing to a more precise understanding of their morphological and cultural contexts.
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