Other Greek words starting with "μυκ-" include "μυκηθμός", roaring, "Μυκηναίοι" (Myceneans) could well be "those who roar" and their land, Μυκήναι (Mycenae) be

Other Greek words starting with "μυκ-" include "μυκηθμός", roaring, "Μυκηναίοι" (Myceneans) could well be "those who roar" and their land, Μυκήναι (Mycenae) be "the land of the people who roar" [see edit below]. Although I guess we could imagine that they roared because of all the mushrooms. Btw, my favourite para-etymology is that of "Xochicalco" [1], the name of a Pre-Columnbian settlement which was explained as "The countryside temple of the Goddess Kali" by one over-zealous Greek nationalist. In Greek, "exochi" (εξοχή) is "countryside" and I guess "calco" ...sounds a little bit like "kali"? That "Xochicalco" is the name of a city built by pre-Columbian Americans is a feature, not a bug, as, if I remember correctly, the book I found this para-etymology in was one of those that claim that the Ancient Greeks had been there before everyone else (bonus: they came from Sirious in spaceships, or something like that. It was a long time ago I read that book, or rather only the first few pages thereof). So, you know, morale of the story and so on, some caution is adviseable when taking the fact that two words "sound like" each other (we have no idea how ancient Myceaneans pronounced anything btw) as proof that they have a common origin. The French even have a word for this kind of word: "faux ami". False friend. You say "Chaire s' il vous plait" and you think you asked for a chair, but, no. "Chaire" is French for "flesh". Now imagine the faux amis you can find lying about after a few thousand years of language evolution. ____________ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochicalco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochicalco Edit: To be more precise, "μυκηθμός" describes the roraring _of an ox_ so more like a... cow moo. If you think about it, that's not at all an unlikely name for a city that would count part of its richess in the number of its cattle. So Myceneans could be "the people of the cows". Or, I guess, "the people of the moos".