Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/Dъněprъ

From Scythian/Old Ossetic (Sarmatian) *Dānu Apara (“Far River”) or *Dānapr (“Deep River”). The former derivation would pair it with the Dniester (“Near River”), while the latter would refer to its lack of fords.

Dъněprъ m

1. Dnieper (a river in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine)

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: Дънѣпръ (Dŭněprŭ), Дьнѣпрь (Dĭněprĭ)
    • Old Ruthenian: Днѣпръ (Dněpr), Днѣпро́ (Dněpró)
      • Belarusian: Дняпро́ (Dnjapró), Днепр (Dnjepr)
      • Carpathian Rusyn: Днїпр (Dnjipr)
      • Ukrainian: Дніпро́ (Dnipró); Дніпр (Dnipr) (archaic); Дні́пер (Dníper) (dialectal)
    • Middle Russian: Днѣпръ (Dněpr)
      • Russian: Днепр (Dnepr)
    • ⇒ Old East Slavic: Непръ (Neprŭ)
      • Old Ruthenian: Непрь (Neprʹ), Непръ (Nepr)
      • Russian: Непра (Nepra) (folklore)
• West Slavic:
  • Polish: Dniepr

• Non-Slavic:
  • → Ancient Greek: Δάναπρις (Dánapris) (6ᵗʰ cent.)

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1978), “*dъněprъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 5 (*dělo – *dьržьlь), Moscow: Nauka, page 182
• Anikin, A. E. (2020) “Днепр”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), numbers 14 (дигнитарь – дрощи), Moscow: Nestor-Historia, →ISBN, page 80
• Stryzhak, O. S., editor (1985), “Дънѣпрь”, in Етимологічний словник літописних географічних назв Південної Русі [Etymological Dictionary of Chronicle Geographical Names of Southern Rus'] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, page 55
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “Днепр”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress