Ariovistus - Etymology

Etymology

The segmentation of the name into Ario- and -vistus is well established. A 19th-century connection between Ehre, "honor", and Ario- turned out to be invalid. There is currently no complete agreement on how the word should be derived. Most etymological dictionaries are silent about it.

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology under Ariovistus suggests another derivation of the first element that seems to fit runic inscriptions known today. Smith translates Ario- by German Heer, "a host", and -vistus by German Fürst, "a prince".

If Ario- is a Roman representation of a Germanic ancestor of Heer, the ancestor is West Germanic *harja- from Germanic *harjaz appearing in such constructs as *harja-waldaz and *harja-bergaz. The Indo-European root is *koro-. The Indo-European linguist, Julius Pokorny, in Indogermanisches Etymologisches Woerterbuch (which is available on the Internet) simply states on Page 67 under ario-? that the Celto-Germanic personal name, Ariovistus, proves nothing (with regard to "Aryan") because it can come from *Hario-.

The reconstructed *harja is actually attested in Runic inscriptions as Harja and Harijaz standing alone (possibly meaning a man of the Harii) Harijaz Leugaz (Lugii?) and Swaba-harjaz (Suebi?) in combination, as well as being a prefix in Hari-uha "first warrior" and Hariwolafz "battle wolf".

Following Smith, Ariovistus translates more directly to "general", raising the possibility that the name is a title granted to the man by the Suebi, his real name subsequently eclipsed by it. Caesar relates that the Suebi maintained a citizen army of 100,000 men picked yearly, and Tacitus that the Suebi were not one tribe. Ariovistus was probably picked from among the generals to lead an army group into Gaul, as seers were generally used for that purpose.

An alternative theory is that the name Ariovistus, like that of several other Germanic leaders recorded in Latin sources under patently Celtic names, represents a Gaulish translation of the Suebian king's original name or title. Caesar was known to use Celtic interpreters and sent a Celtic-speaking envoy to Ariovistus. This derivation draws on a comparison to Old Irish aire, airech, "free man, nobleman, leader", from Celtic *arios ("noble" or "in advance, leading"), and the well-established Gaulish element uid-, uidi-, uissu-, "perception, knowledge." Ariovistus thus would mean "Noble Sage" or "He Who Knows in Advance." Ariovistus can be found listed in Celtic etymological dictionaries among similar Gaulish names for Germanic figures, such as Ariomanus ("Good Leader") and Ariogaisus ("Spear Leader").