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[Facts] Paris
I know the main page for this name says 'meaning unknown', but in the comments section it's been suggested that this name can either mean 'to take' or 'bag'. How accurate are these suggestions?
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As someone else said, the name of the mythological character is probably Luwian and, as you probably saw on Wikipedia, it may be related to the attested name Pari-zitis. I’m not a Luwian expert, but I’m interested in etymology. Here’s what I can find:Pari: I can’t find a clear answer for this, so we’ll have to go to its better-documented relative, Hittite. Again, I’m FAR from being an etymology expert, so these are uneducated guesses based on sound only.
1. *parḫu-: Fish.
2. parāi: To blow (a horn); to blow on, fan (as fire); to blow up, inflate.
3. paḫḫur: Fire; torch, torches; campfire, watchfire; embers, burning coals; fever, inflammation, burning, pain.
4. pa-aḫ-sa: To protect, guard, defend; to observe (agreements), keep (oaths, a secret), obey (commands); to seek protection with.
5. parḫūwayas: Thought to mean fish, in the genitive singular form. It’s only been documented once.Zitis: Means “man” in Luwian, as in an adult male or humanity as a whole, or “husband.” This seems certain.

This message was edited 11/23/2017, 7:24 AM

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If the Luwian form is Parizitis, and zitis is "man", then perhaps his Greek name, Alexander, is simply a translation of the Luwian. For now we can't be certain.
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You know, I think you may be on to something. The Hittite word for “to defend” is pa-ah-ša, which comes from the PIE péh-s-ti (same meaning) which has the root *peh- (also the same meaning). The Luwian form is unknown, but I think this is a much more likely answer than anything else. Great job - you solved an ancient mystery!
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Thank you so much, this is so cool! I can't wait to tell my friend Paris that his name might mean 'fish man' in Luwian! :)Do you use an online resource, or do you own a dictionary? Also, when you said pari didn't have a clear answer, does this mean you couldn't find a specifically Luwian definition?
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I mostly used Wiktionary, and “no clear answer” means that etymologists don’t currently know what the Luwian word pari- means.Based on a comment someone made below, I now think it’s most likely that pari- is related to the Hittite word for “to defend.” I give specifics in my reply to that comment, so definitely check it out.I’m like 75% sure now that Paris is made up of the words for “defend” and “mankind,” so the meaning would be something like “defender of mankind.”

This message was edited 12/7/2017, 8:46 PM

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OK. Britannica says "Defender", but this is properly the meaning of his other name "Alexander", Trojan Alaksandu (although this appears to be a Greek name it was used by historic Trojan rulers before the Trojan war). Paris by Greek folk etymology from "pera" backpack, as the shepherd who abandoned him brought him home in a pack when he survived. The second suggestion is not take, but "letting go" πάρεσις (páresis), however the argument falls down because the reason given for the name (he survived or escaped) runs counter to its actual meaning (letting go, paralysis, overlooking, neglect) and if the name is historic, not merely made up for the epic, it may be Trojan (presumed to be a Luwian dialect), not Greek, and searching for a Greek meaning may be pointless. A Luwian expert may know whether it is Luwian or Greek (Luwian is known to borrow Greek names, and there is some known borrowing from Luwian to Greek). Then again it may predate both Greek and Luwian in Anatolia, as a number of names used by the Greeks were adopted from earlier Anatolian languages as well. That Paris is used as a name elsewhere in Greece is irrelevant, as like modern people the ancient Greeks adopted names from many neighbouring languages. Someone has suggested the meaning is "fighter", the same as one suggestion for the Gallic Parisii, but this seems to be based on recent European myth that the Celtic Galatians inhabited Anatolia from ancient times (1500 BCE) rather than settling in Anatolia in 277 BCE after earlier raiding the Balkans c.281 BCE as recorded in the historic records.

This message was edited 11/14/2017, 4:32 PM

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Interesting. I know Wikipedia also mentioned it being possibly a Luwian name, which I didn't find out until after making this post.Now I just need to find a Luwian expert...hmmm....Thanks!
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Not at all. Paris is named for the Parisii. For one that is the Latin version of the name — although the Parisii had coinage it has no script on it to confirm the native spelling. If the Roman spelling is accurate it has been suggested it is cognate with Welsh Prydain (Britain) from Celtic *Pritani, perhaps from a Proto-Celtic *Kʷritanī, *Kʷritenī, whence Welsh Prydyn (“Picts”), Old Irish Cruthne, Cru(i)then-túath (“Picts”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷer- (“to do”) but exactly how and what it meant is uncertain (in both Gallic and Brythonic kʷ becomes p — "Britain", and via Welsh "Brythonic", is via Latin, from the Greek Prettanía, again from Celtic *Pritani, which just illustrates why you can't necessarily trust the names used by Roman historians).
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Sorry, I should have made this clearer. I actually meant the male name from Greek mythology (Πάρις) rather than the city. Thanks anyway, though.
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