Etymograph

English

Euphrates

Euphrates comes from Latin Euphrātēs ‘Those who dwell on the banks of the Euphrates…’, and goes back to Sumerian ÍD.Buranun.

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEÍD.Buranuntransliteratedcuneiform ÍD.Buranun, a transliteration
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEÍD.Purattutransliteratedcuneiform ÍD.Purattu, a transliteration
  3. Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEu-f-r-a-tu-u /⁠ʰUfrātuš⁠/transliteratedoriginal script u-f-r-a-tu-u /⁠ʰUfrātuš⁠/, a transliteration
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΕὐφράτηςEuphrátēs
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEEuphrātēs‘Those who dwell on the banks of the Euphrates river’
  6. EnglishtodayEuphrates

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEÍD.Buranuntransliteratedcuneiform ÍD.Buranun, a transliteration
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEÍD.Purattutransliteratedcuneiform ÍD.Purattu, a transliteration
  3. Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEu-f-r-a-tu-u /⁠ʰUfrātuš⁠/transliteratedoriginal script u-f-r-a-tu-u /⁠ʰUfrātuš⁠/, a transliteration
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΕὐφράτηςEuphrátēs
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEEuphrātēs‘Those who dwell on the banks of the Euphrates river’
  6. EnglishtodayEuphrates

The story

The Elamite, Akkadian, and possibly Sumerian forms are either from an unrecorded substrate language, or from Proto-Sumerian *𒁍𒍏 burudu "copper" (Sumerian 𒍏 (urudu)) with an explanation that Euphrates was the river by which the copper ore was transported in rafts, since Mesopotamia was the center of copper metallurgy at the period.

Every English word from Sumerian ÍD.Buranun

Today it means

name A river in West Asia, 2780 kilometers in length, flowing southwest from Turkey, then southeast, and uniting with the Tigris before entering the Persian Gulf. It forms the Western edge of classical Mesopotamia.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Sumerian ÍD.Buranun / Euphrates

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