thames

From Middle English Temese, from Old English Temes, Temese (compare Welsh Tafwys), from Latin Tamesis, Tamesas. Variant spellings with h arose in Middle English due to the mistaken assumption of a Greek etymology. The Latin name is from Proto-Brythonic Tamesis, from Proto-Celtic tamesās (“river, waters”, literally “darkness”), a masculine ā-stem of tames, Proto-Indo-European tm̥Hes-, zero-grade of témHes-, témHos- (“darkness”), an s-stem from the root temH- (“dark”). Related to Proto-Celtic temeslos (“darkness”), temos (“dark”). A parallel in Proto-Celtic of "dark, darkness" taking on the figurative meaning of "water" can also be found in Proto-Celtic dubros (“water, dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubrós (“dark”), yielding Welsh dŵr (“water”), Irish dobhar (“water, sea, dark, gloomy”). Hydronyms with their origin in this term also occur elsewhere in Europe, for example Portugal's Douro. Alternatively from Proto-Celtic tā-, tāyo- (“to melt, flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt”), or from unknown non-Indo-European root. Possible cognates include the names of rivers and tributaries such as: * Taff, Tamar (from Latin Tamarus), Tame, Tavy, Team, Teifi (from Welsh Teifi, from Old Welsh Tebi, Teibi), Teme, and Teviot (Latin Tefius, Teifius) in Great Britain * Tambre (from Latin Tamaris), Támega (in Galician, Portuguese Tâmega, Latin Tamice), Támoga or Támboga (Latin Tamega), and Tamuxe, all of them flowing through Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal * Tamaran in France * Tammaro (from Latin Tamarus) in Italy * Demer in Belgium * Tamyras in Phoenicia * Tiberis (Tiber) * Tons, Tamasa (from Sanskrit तमसा (tamasā)) in India More at Thames.