- ἴμβηρις
- ἴμβηριςGrammatical information: ?Meaning: ἔγχελυς. Μηθυμναῖοι H.Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]X [probably]Etymology: The ending as in λεβηρίς `snake-skin' (Muller Altital. Wb. 30; so accent ἰμβηρίς?). The word resembles BaltoSlavic words for `eel', e. g. Lith. ungurỹs, Russ. úgorь, IE *engu- (? de Saussure MSL 6, 78f.) with ε \> ι before nasal (which is not a Greek rule) and Aeolic development of the idg. gu̯ (Schwyzer 275f.; cf. ibd. 352; also 300 and 302). - Unclear is the relation to ἔγχελυς, Lat. anguilla etc., s. v. and W.-Hofmann (s. anguis), for which no IE protoform can be reconstructed (Frisk). The assumption of Illyrian origin (Bonfante, Barić) has little support, cf. Mayer Glotta 32, 67. - The ending, seen also in λεβηρίς, rather points to a Pre-Greek word; see on -ηρ- Beekes, Pre-Greek, Suffixes. (If one removes the λ-, and assumes prenasalization, we would get *εμβηρις; ε\/ι is frequent in Pre-Greek.)Page in Frisk: 1,725
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.
