Snakes, dragons, and hydrasthe Indo-European terminology for serpent

  1. Fagiolo, Virna 1
  2. Ayora Estevan, Daniel 2
  3. Ngomo Fernandez, Esteban 2
  1. 1 Foreigners University of Siena
    info

    Foreigners University of Siena

    Siena, Italia

    ROR https://ror.org/05p2kf948

  2. 2 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

Journal:
Cuadernos de filología clásica: Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos

ISSN: 1131-9070

Year of publication: 2024

Issue: 34

Pages: 17-28

Type: Article

DOI: 10.5209/CFCG.91438 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Cuadernos de filología clásica: Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos

Abstract

The article deals with an analysis of some Indo-European words for serpent from a linguistic and philological point of view. We offer an overview of the most debated Indo-European roots from which nouns for serpent developed, and we hypothesize that the terms derived from roots such *V(n)gwhi-, *serp-, *dr̥k̑-, etc. are not to be regarded as synonymous units. Rather, they seem to designate different kinds of serpents. Indeed, the great number of words for this animal seems to be due to a taboo mechanism that enriched the terminology referring to the snake. Thanks to this kind of analysis, it appears possible to find numerous parallels between the Indo-European cultural traditions taken here into account.

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