Orontes

Meaning

Proper Noun

• river Western Asia (region), about 400 km (250 mi) long, flowing from Lebanon through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey.
• The name of any one of a number of ancient Armenian kings.

Related

Similar words

• Asi

Origin

• attested at least from the period of Ramesses II:
• The meaning of which is contested with connections to: Akkadian arantum, perhaps in connection to the region around the city of Ugarit, the ruins today being known as رَأْس شَمْرَة.
• Also connected to Akkadian 𒀀𒊏𒀭𒁺, possibly related to the modern name for the river الْعَاصِي so-called for its flowing south to the north unlike the rest of the rivers in the region.
• Disputably from Old Median *Arvand; compare Avestan ("swift").
• From Latin Orontēs, from Ancient Greek Ὀρόντης, from Old Median *Arēvand, from Proto-Iranian *Raivant-, *Rayivant-; see Old Armenian Երուանդ for more.