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Etymology
editSomeone added that
- "Melchior" is probably of Hebrew origin. Hebrw melech means "king" und or means "light"."
This seems merely a conjecture based on sound similarity. If that is indeed the case, then we cannot have it. (It would be "original research", and anyway such sound-based etymologies are more often wrong than right. It is like conjecturing that "laser" comes from "Eleazar".)
Is the name "Melchior" attested in the Bible (Old or New Testament), or in any other ancient Hebrew/Aramaic/Geez source?
As far as I know, the first mention of the name comes from a 6th century Christian manuscript that gives number, names and nationalities for the magi who, according to Matthew, came to adore newborn Jesus. The popularity of the name Melchior, as a first name at least, is probably due to that legend. From the list in the article, it would seem that Melchior as a last name originated in Northern Europe.
Matthew's "magi" arguably meant "Zoroastrian priests", and since the time of emperor Justinian,at least, they seem to have been assumed to be Persian. However other Christian traditions give completely different names, so the "fact" that one of them was called Melchior is probably an invention of a 6th century scribe.
For that legend, or for some other reason, there are a few sites out there claiming that the name "Melchior" is of Persian origin, and even give a translation as "City King". Other sites say that it is Aramaic for "The King is my Light". One thing does not exclude the other though: German "Kaiser" and Russian "Czar" both come from Latin "Caesar", even though the languages don't derive from Latin. Thus it is in principle possible that Semitic "melech"/"melek"/"malik" etc. comes from the equivalent Persian, or even vice-versa.
Anyway, nothing of this speculation belongs to the article. What we would need is some *reliable* source. All the best, --Jorge Stolfi (talk) 13:15, 5 January 2010 (UTC)
To do
editVariants and derivations: