Editing Vardar (section)

==Etymology==
The name ''Vardar'' for the river may have been derived from [[Thracian language|Thracian]], although [[Dardani|Dardanian]], [[Paeonian language|Paeonian]], [[Ancient Macedonian language|Ancient Macedonian]] and [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] were also spoken in the lands drained by the river.

The modern Vardar is thought to derive from an earlier *''Vardários'', which may ultimately derive from [[Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) *''(s)wordo-wori-'' "black water".<ref>Orel, Vladimir. ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003: 392.</ref><ref>Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture''. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 147.</ref> The name ''Vardários'' (Βαρδάριος) was sometimes used by the [[Ancient Greeks]] in the 3rd century BC. The same name was widely used in the [[Byzantine]] era.<ref name="auto"/> 

Vardar/Vardarios may be a translation of (or otherwise have a similar meaning as) ''Axios'', which may be Thracian and may have meant "not-shining" from PIE *''n.-sk(e)i'' (cf. Avestan ''axšaēna'' "dark-coloured").<ref>Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture''. London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 146.</ref> The oldest known name of the river, ''Axios'', is mentioned by [[Homer]] (Il. 21.141, Il. 2.849)<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0073%3Aentry%3D%231109 Axios, Georg Autenrieth, ''A Homeric Dictionary'', at Perseus]</ref> as the home of the [[Paeonians]] allies of [[Troy]]. [[Pjetër Bogdani]] would use the form ''Asi'', an earlier Albanian-language name for the river.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Arapi |first1=Ina |title=Konferenca për Eposin e Kreshnikëve, Pjetër Bogdani dhe Dardania në gusht 2014 (rreth vendlindjes së arqipeshkvit Pjetër Bogdani) |journal=Epoka e Re |date=17 December 2014 |publisher=|page=6 |url=https://www.academia.edu/40609685}}</ref>

This same hypothetical Thracian ''Axio-'' meaning "dark, not-shining" is theorized to be found in the name of a city at the mouth of the Danube, called Axiopolis in Greek and ''Axíopa'' (perhaps again meaning just "dark water") in Thracian, which may later have been translated into Slavic as ''[[Cernavodă]]'', also meaning "black water".<ref name="auto">Katičic', Radoslav. ''Ancient Languages of the Balkans''. Paris: Mouton, 1976: 149.</ref>