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[[File:The Course of Besokan and Estennil.jpg|50%|thumb|alt=A map showing the course of the Besokan river, as described in this article, and its major tributary, the Estennil river.|The Course of Besokan and Estennil]] | |||
The '''Besokan''' is a major river of the eastern [[Reknaya]] and the traditional dividing line between [[Belkondíl]] and [[Old Seligon]]. With a maximal width of over 300 [[Olgish system of measurement|elôrini]], it is considered [[Elondor]]’s widest river. | The '''Besokan''' is a major river of the eastern [[Reknaya]] and the traditional dividing line between [[Belkondíl]] and [[Old Seligon]]. With a maximal width of over 300 [[Olgish system of measurement|elôrini]], it is considered [[Elondor]]’s widest river. | ||
==Etymology and Names== | ==Etymology and Names== | ||
The name ''Besokan'' is of [[Olgish language|Olgish]] origin, most likely related to ''Besok'', an ethnonym for to the inhabitants of the Besokan Valley and possibly the lands to its west (largely [[Soskish peoples|Soskish]] and [[Reknayans (ethnicity)|Reknayan]] populations). The term means ‘gift people’ or ‘fee people’, referring either to valuable gifts brought to Belkdondíl by Soskish merchants or to their function as merceraries, notably as hired cavalrists, in the [[Olgish peoples|Olgish]] kingdoms. The ending ''-an'' is a commonly found Olgish nominalizer, or could be a related to the root ''*an-'' ‘to proceed, progress’, referring either to the river itself or demarking the area the Besok came from. The term is found denoting the border, or possibly a country, between Belkondíl and (Old) Seligon in the [[Lonsorigi|earlier Olgish writings]] (c. 700 B.E.B.) and by the end [[Olgish Expansion]] had been established as the general name for the river. | The name ''Besokan'' is of [[Olgish language|Olgish]] origin, most likely related to ''Besok'', an ethnonym for to the inhabitants of the Besokan Valley and possibly the lands to its west (largely [[Soskish peoples|Soskish]] and [[Reknayans (ethnicity)|Reknayan]] populations). The term means ‘gift people’ or ‘fee people’, referring either to valuable gifts brought to Belkdondíl by Soskish merchants or to their function as merceraries, notably as hired cavalrists, in the [[Olgish peoples|Olgish]] kingdoms. The ending ''-an'' is a commonly found Olgish nominalizer, or could be a related to the root ''*an-'' ‘to proceed, progress’, referring either to the river itself or demarking the area the Besok came from. The term is found denoting the border, or possibly a country, between Belkondíl and (Old) Seligon in the [[Lonsorigi|earlier Olgish writings]] (c. 700 B.E.B.) and by the end [[Olgish Expansion]] had been established as the general name for the river. |