Although most human beings have lived close to rivers for millenia, not many of them until recent centuries have needed to give the river a specific name. This fact is reflected in the frequent occurrence of tautological river names around the world, from the Avon (Celtic ‘abona’ or ‘afon’ = river) to the Mississippi (Algonquin ‘Misi-ziibi’ = great river). The river Ouse just means ‘the River River’ (or the River Ooze). Rivers in German speaking territories are no exception. The name of the Rhine derives ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning ‘to flow’ (cognate with English ‘to run’). There is debate about whether the name of the Danube derives from old Iranian or Celtic roots (cf. Iranian ‘danu’ or Welsh ‘donwy’) but there can be no doubt that both of these ultimately derive from an older Indo-European root ‘denh’, ‘to flow’.
A third ancient verb also meaning ‘to flow’ lies behind the river Weser:
The name likely derives from the Old Germanic *waisōn "flow, ooze". It is cognate with the Wear in England and Vistula (Polish Wisła, German Weichsel) in Poland, all of which are derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weys- "to flow", which also gives rise to Old English/Old Frisian wāse "mud, ooze", Old Norse veisa "slime, stagnant pool", Dutch waas "haze; soggy land" (see Waasland), Old Saxon waso "wet ground, mire", Old High German wasal "rain", and French vase "mud, sludge".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weser
As humans became more mobile and encountered more than a single stream, the need for specific names emerged, but when visitors or cartographers asked local people what they called the local stretch of water they were simply told it was ‘the flowing water’!
☙
Named rivers in the Schubert song texts
The Rhine
D 142 Geistes-Gruß
D 204 Jägerlied
D 205 Lützows wilde Jagd
D 209 Der Liedler
D 242 Trinklied im Winter
D 728 Johanna Sebus
The Danube
D 204 Jägerlied
D 209 Der Liedler
D 476 Rückweg
D 553 Auf der Donau
D Anh I, 29 Kaiser Ferdinand II
The Oder
D 204 Jägerlied
The Weser
D 204 Jägerlied
The Main
D 204 Jägerlied
The Elbe
D 204 Jägerlied
The Rinval
D 219 Das Finden
The Indus
D 554 Uraniens Flucht
The Enns
D Anh I, 29 Kaiser Ferdinand II
The Lahn
D 142 Geistes-Gruß
☙
Descendant of:
WATER SPACE (location)Texts with this theme:
- Jägerlied, D 204 (Theodor Körner)
- Lützows wilde Jagd, D 205 (Theodor Körner)
- Der Liedler, D 209 (Joseph Kenner)
- Das Finden, D 219 (Ludwig Theobul Kosegarten)
- Trinklied im Winter, D 242, D deest (Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty)
- Rückweg, D 476 (Johann Baptist Mayrhofer)
- Auf der Donau, D 553 (Johann Baptist Mayrhofer)
- Uraniens Flucht, D 554 (Johann Baptist Mayrhofer)
- Johanna Sebus, D 728 (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
- Kaiser Ferdinand II, D Anh. I, 29 (Caroline Pichler)
- Geistes-Gruß, D 142 (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)