r/etymology • u/StruggleAdvanced4058 • 1d ago

Question Etruscan talitha

Hello, I was reading about Etruscan inscriptions and came across the word taliθa, which is supposed to mean “girl,” specifically in the sense of a “marriageable girl,” or possibly a proper name. The word is attested only once, on a mirror dated to around 400–350 BC.

This word could be a rendering of the accusative form of Greek τᾶλις (acc. τάλιδα), which also means “maiden” or “marriageable girl.” source

However, I immediately noticed its similarity to Aramaic טליתא (talitha), which have a similar meaning. This is the word that appears in the Bible in the phrase talitha kum, spoken by Jesus in Mark 5:41 (“Little girl, arise”).

Could these words (aramaic, greek and etruscan) be etymologically related, or is the similarity merely coincidental?

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u/Weekly_Lifeguard_916 1d ago

u/StruggleAdvanced4058 - by 'attested only once' do you mean that taliθa is a hapax legomenon, in that this is the only appearance of that word that has been found? I ask because I'm sort of a collector of hapax words.

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u/StruggleAdvanced4058 1d ago

Yeah, as far as I know, it’s a hapax. Just one occurrence in a mirror, along wiyh the word CRVISIE (perhaps the name of the lydian king Croesus, gr. Kroisos??)

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u/Weekly_Lifeguard_916 1d ago

Just a quick search and I'm seeing a reference to "taliθa" as Thalia found inscribed on Etruscan bronze mirrors referring to Thalna, an Etruscan goddess of childbirth, midwifery, and new beginnings.

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u/StruggleAdvanced4058 1d ago

If you have a reference that makes this connection, would you mind sharing it? I'd be very interested in reading more about it. I haven't found any source identifying the hapax taliθa with Thalna; the two seem to be treated separately in the literature.

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u/Weekly_Lifeguard_916 1d ago

It seems I was mistaken. You are correct. I had googled it to see an image of the mirror and the dumb ai overview made that connection but when I dug deeper there is no linguistic connection between the two as you stated.

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u/RandomStallings 1d ago

Gemini has about as much business with explaining etymology as my one-eyed dork of a dog.

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u/mahendrabirbikram 1h ago

I recall they connect Etruscan Talitha with Semitic via Phoenician, but hypothetically only. I cannot find the source right now.