Bibliotheca Polyglotta

DRS 2 (1994)#BṢR-6 baṣr ‘terrain calcaire’. Cf. also (Lane:) ^†baṣraẗ ‘soft stones, rugged ground, land that is as though it were a mountain of gypsum’

disc

▪ If S.H. Longrikk (art. »al-Baṣra«, in EI²) is right and the name of the city is »probably derived from the nature of the soil«, then one would have to see it together with ClassAr ^†baṣraẗ ‘soft stones, rugged ground, land that is as though it were a mountain of gypsum’ and/or ʔarḍ baṣiraẗ ‘land in which are stones that cut the hoofs of beasts’ (Lane).
▪ The value ‘terrain calcaire’ is listed in DRS 2 (1994) as #BṢR-6, but without mentioning Basra.
▪ Popular etymology explains the name as ‘the over-watching’, ‘the one seeing everything’ (from ↗baṣ˅ra ‘to see’). On the Internet, other etymologies can be found (from an allegedly Pers bas-rāh [sic!] ‘where many paths meet’, ‘where many ways come together’, or allegedly Aram basratha [sic!] ‘place of huts, settlement’ – e.g., en.wiki). None of these are reliable.
▪ …

west

–

deriv

–

Permanent link

http://www2.hf.uio.no/common/apps/permlink/permlink.php?app=polyglotta&context=record&uid=d7a8ca40-06ff-11ee-937a-005056a97067

Choose languages

Choose images, etc.

Choose languages

Choose display