Etymology
Dārīus (or Dārēus) is the Latin form of the Greek Dareîos, which is a shortened form of the Old Persian Dārayavauš. The Old Persian form is also seen to have been reflected in the Elamite Da-ri-(y)a-ma-u-iš, Akkadian Da-(a-)ri-ia-(a-)muš, Aramaic dryhwš and archaizing drywhwš, and possibly the longer Greek form Dareiaîos. The translation of his name from Old Persian to English is "holding firm the good", which can be seen by the stem dāraya, meaning "hold", and the adjective vau, meaning "good".
Read more about this topic: Darius I
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