Neris

Dual naming

The reasons for the dual naming of the river as Neris by the Lithuanians and Viliya (formerly Velja, meaning "big, great" in Slavic) by the Slavs are complex. Even in Vilnius, there are toponyms including both names, e. g. Neris remains in the riverside names of Paneriai and Paneriškės while Velja is a part of the name Valakampiai, which means "an angle of Velja" in Lithuanian. In Kaunas, a part of the city by the Neris river, that was formerly a separate town, is also named Vilijampolė (Vilija + polis, that means "polis by Vilija").

Although it has been suggested that Neris is the primeval name of the river, while the name Viliya is of secondary extraction,

Some linguists, however, point to the fact, that Viliya in it upper part is not "big" or "great" at all and the name cognates with Lithuanian words velnias and vėlė. What is more, all the territory of upper Neris before the 12th c. was inhabited by the Balts, the archaeological .

Etymology of "Neris"

The name Neris is of Baltic origin, a cognate of the Lithuanian nerti generally meaning "to dive, swim downstream" as well as "to net, crochet". It is likely that the name had a more general meaning of "flow" or particularly "swift and swirling flow" in early times.

Etymologically, the name is one of a class of hydronyms, widespread in the modern and prehistoric Baltic ranges; e.g., Lithuanian Narotis, Narasa (rivers), Narutis (lake), Old Prussian Narus, Nara near Moscow. These are related to Lithuanian narus, "deep", and nerti, "to dive".

More remote connections are obscure, although the root is believed to be Indo-European. There are a number of possibilities:

• Pokorny's 2nd **ner-*, "under" (Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, pp765–766);
• Derksen's *nerH-, o-grade *norH- (Slavic Inherited Lexicon);
• A relation to the Greek god Nereus, which may be from **snau-*, "to give milk to", in the sense of "flow" (Partridge, Origins (1983)).
• Another relationship of "Neris" with the Sanskrit word "Neer"/"Naar" which means water.

Basin

The total watershed area is 25100 km2, 10920 km2 of which are in Belarus.

Basin within Belarus

The river is called Vilija in Belarus. Belarus's largest reservoir, Vileyka Reservoir, is located by Vilija, near the Vileyka city.

Right tributaries

• Narač
• Servač
• Strača

Left tributaries

• Ilija
• Uša
• Ašmianka

Basin within Lithuania

The watershed within Lithuania is 13849 km2

Tributaries

• Verkė
• Vilnia
• Vokė
• Bražuolė
• Dūkšta
• Musė
• Laukysta
• Lomena
• Šventoji
• Lokys
• Šešuva
• Saidė

References

1. (2011). "Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus. Main characteristics of the largest rivers of Belarus". Data of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus..
2. link. (July 22, 2011)
3. the dual naming most probably emerged from the confluence of the rivers Neris (now known as [[Narach River. Narač River]] had in fact been considered the upper reaches of Neris by the Balts in ancient times.S. Kolupaila, ''Narutis ir Neris'', ''[[Kosmos (magazine). Kosmos]]'', 1940, Nr. 1/3, p. 52
4. Zinkevičius, Zigmas. (2007). "Senosios Lietuvos valstybės vardynas". [[Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas]].
5. V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, L-P, V., 1996, t. 3, p. 178-179
6. [http://vanduo.gamta.lt/cms/index?rubricId=d55a80cd-f222-4c28-90d9-656080f83834 Neries mažųjų intakų (su Nerimi) pabaseinis] (Basin small tributaries of Neris (including Neris))