Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c40.24

v3.c40.24

¹ When I penned this conjectural etymology, I was not aware that any speculation had been made upon this word: I find, however, the late M. Langlés suggested the derivation of oasis (variously written by the Greeks αὔασις, ἴασις and ὔασις, ὄασις, [αὔασις is the only other recognized form]) from the Arabic واح: and Dr. Wait, in a series of interesting etymologies (see Asiatic Journal, May 1830), suggests वसि, vasi from बस, vas, ‘to inhabit.’ Vasi and ὔασις quasi vasis are almost identical. My friend, Sir W. Ouseley, gave me nearly the same signification of وادي, Wadi, as appears in Johnson’s edition of Richardson, namely, a valley, a desert, a channel of a river—a river; وادي الكبير, wadi-al-kabir, ‘the great river,’ corrupted into Guadalquiver, which example is also given in d’Herbelot (see Vadi Gehennem), and by Thompson, who traces the word water through all the languages of Europe—the Saxon waeter, the Greek ὕδωρ, the Islandic udr, the Slavonic wod (whence woder and oder, ‘a river’): all appear derivable from the Arabic wad, ‘a river’—or the Sanskrit wah; and if Dr. W. will refer to p. 1322 of the Itinerary, he will find a singular confirmation of his etymology in the word bas (classically vas) applied to one of these habitable spots. The word basti, also of frequent occurrence therein, is from basna, to inhabit; vasi, an inhabitant; or vas, a habitation, perhaps derivable from wah, indispensable to an oasis! [The New English Dict. gives Lat. oasis, Greek ὄασις, apparently of Egyptian origin; cf. Coptic ouahe (whence Egyptian Arabic wāh), ‘dwelling-place, oasis,’ from ouih, ‘to dwell.’]