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The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its main tributary. Its length is .
After passing through Belarus for , the Neris flows through Lithuania for a further .
The Neris connects successive Lithuanian capitals – Kernavė and Vilnius. Along its banks are the burial places of the pagan Lithuanians. At from Vilnius there is are old Karmazinai Hillfort and .
Although it has been suggested that Neris is the primeval name of the river, while the name Viliya is of secondary extraction, the dual naming most probably emerged from the confluence of the rivers Neris (now known as Narach River, leaving Lake Narač) and Velja, in the historical Slavic/Baltic borderland, each ethnos choosing their own name for the river starting at the confluence. It is moreover evidenced by the fact that the name Neris was never used to name the river Velja up to this confluence. Therefore, it has been proposed that the Narach River had in fact been considered the upper reaches of Neris by the Balts in ancient times.S. Kolupaila, Narutis ir Neris, Kosmos, 1940, Nr. 1/3, p. 52
Some linguists, however, point to the fact, that Viliya in it upper part is not "big" or "great" at all and the name cognates with Lithuanian words velnias and vėlė. What is more, all the territory of upper Neris before the 12th c. was inhabited by the Balts, the archaeological .
Etymologically, the name is one of a class of , widespread in the modern and prehistoric Baltic ranges; e.g., Lithuanian Narotis, Narasa (rivers), Lake Narach (lake), Old Prussian Narew, Nara near Moscow. These are related to Lithuanian narus, "deep", and nerti, "to dive".
More remote connections are obscure, although the root is believed to be Indo-European. There are a number of possibilities:
Etymology of "Neris"
The name Neris is of Baltic languages origin, a cognate of the Lithuanian nerti generally meaning "to dive, swim downstream" as well as "to net, crochet". It is likely that the name had a more general meaning of "flow"Zigmas Zinkevičius (2025). 9785420016060, Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. ISBN 9785420016060 or particularly "swift and swirling flow"V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, L-P, V., 1996, t. 3, p. 178-179 in early times.
Basin
The total watershed area is , of which are in Belarus.
Basin within Belarus
The river is called Vilija in Belarus. Belarus's largest reservoir, Vileyka Reservoir, is located by Vilija, near the Vileyka city.
Right tributaries
Left tributaries
Basin within Lithuania
The watershed within Lithuania is Neries mažųjų intakų (su Nerimi) pabaseinis (Basin small tributaries of Neris (including Neris))
Tributaries
Notes and references
External links
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