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Persian via Greek? Pavlos?
in reply to a message by Jadyn
If your Persian friend is named after the Aras River, that name is derived from the original Greek name of "Araxes".Unfortunately, I couldn't find a meaning for either. When Pavlos logs on in a few hours' time, he might be able to tell you what "Araxes" means.-- Nanaea
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There are several instances Herodotus mentions the river Araxes in his works as a river flowing from the west into the Caspian.
My long-shot conjevture is that "Araxes" is derived from "araxis", meaning "to dash, to beat". Maybe the river in question was very violent flow.
Liddell and Scott, in their *Greek-English Lexicon* also define *araxa* as "a fabulous plant which grows by the Araxes".
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