Originally appeared in: Sprache und Kultur. Akten der X. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft Innsbruck, 22.-28. September 1996, ed. W. Meid, Innsbruck (IBS) 1998, 479-488. Avestan x v arənah-: the etymology and concept ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY 0. The etymology and concept of Avestan x v arənah- and its Iranian cognates have always been subject of debate. 1 The problems have been reviewed several times 2 and are well-known. 1. Let us start with a short outline of the major constructions involving Av. x v arənah-. The meaning of x v arənah- we will discuss later, but for the moment, I shall gloss x v arənah- by 'fortune', without pretending that this is the best rendering. 1.1. The most frequent formula with x v arənah- is the octosyllabic line ahe (mana / ha m) raiia x v arənahaca 'on account of his (my/their) wealth and fortune', which occurs hundreds of times in the Yashts. A typical example is Yt 3.18 (et passim) ahe raiia x v arənahaca təm yazi surunuuata yasna 'On account of his wealth and fortune, I will worship him with audible veneration.' `Wealth and fortune' are attributes of a god, who can bestow them on a devotee. In Yt 10.108, for instance, Mithra asks (translation Gershevitch 1959: 127): kahmi raca x v arənasca kahmi tanuu druuattəm azəm baxni xaiiamn 'On whom may I bestow riches and fortune, on whom health of the body?' 'Wealth and fortune' appear together in other formulae, too, cf. raca x v arənasca (Y 68.11, 21, Yt 10.108), raiia mca x v arənaha mca (Y 60.4), rauuan t- x v arəna v han t- (passim). 1.2. Another juxtaposition is formed by x v arənah- and sauuah- 'power', cf. sauuasca x v arənasca (Y 60.2); x v arənah sauuah mazdatahe (Y 1.14, 3.16, 4.19; Yt 17.0, 62); x v arən mazdatəm... sauu mazdatəm... (Y 2.14, 17.14), etc. 1.3. Our knowledge about x v arənah- primarily comes from the Yats. In Yt 19, two types of x v arənah- are distinguished: kauuam x v arənah- 'the fortune of the Kavi-dynasty' and ax v arətəm 1 Due to circumstances, I was unable to prepare a full-fledged article for this volume. Here I present the unaltered text of my Innsbruck paper, to which I have only added some footnotes and the bibliography. 2 A good recent review of the x v arənah- problem can be found in Hintze 1994: 15ff. Cf. further Gnoli 1990, 1996, Jacobs 1987, Lecoq 1987, Skjrv 1983. 480