Hydaspes

Meanings

1. The river Jhelum, on the Indian subcontinent, especially as the location of a battle fought by Alexander the Great against King Porus in 326 BCE.
2. A god associated with the river.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Hydaspēs, from Ancient Greek Ὑδάσπης (Hudáspēs), itself from Sanskrit वितस्ता (vitastā), also proposed to have been borrowed from Old Persian *Vidāspaʰ (literally “caring for horses”), from *vīd- (“to take care of”) + 𐎠𐎿𐎱 (a-s-p, “horse”) to explain the development -sp- instead of -st-, but this has no basis in any attested names for the river.