Proposes a new understanding of Hittite rain vs. life force concepts, linking languages and ideas.
We propose interpreting the Hittite noun heu- : heaw- ‘rain’ as reflecting the prototype *h₂ḗy-u- *h₂ḗy-ew- underlying the Vedic adjective āyús, gen. sg. āyóḥ ‘endowed with life force, full of liveliness’ admitting that the root’s meaning ‘life force, vital principle’ was conceptualized in Hittite in relation to natural phenomena rather than human life. The representation associated with the pouring of lifegiving water finds further resonance in the Greek medical term αἰονάω ‘to bathe’ denoting a means of replenishing the skin’s αἰών.
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Sylvain Patri (2026) studied this question.
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