Where does “Streymoy” come from?
Streymoy (Faroese) comes from Faroese oy, from Old Norse ey, from Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ, from Proto-Germanic awjō, from Proto-Germanic agwjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ — water.
Ancestry of “Streymoy”, step by step
Streymoy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Faroese oy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faroese | oy | island |
| 2 | Old Norse | ey | always, ever; island |
| 3 | Proto-Norse | *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | awjō | floodplain; meadow; island |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | agwjō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ékʷeh₂ | water |
via Faroese streymur
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faroese | streymur | a stream, a current; an electric current |
| 2 | Old Norse | straumr | a stream, a current, a race, a river; the tide |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | straumaz | stream, current, river |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | srowmos | river |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | srew- | to flow, stream |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |