Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Here we continue the tour of Western Europe and a look at the largest Swiss cities.
Zurich's name is first recorded under the Roman occupation as Turicum. This came from the Germanic dur with the Latin suffix for 'town' icum and thus giving 'the town on the water'. That 'water' being Lake Zurich, itself named from the city and both influenced by the pronunciation of the Germanic Alemanni tribe.
Geneva is another city with a name from a Celtic tongue. Here Celtic gena or 'mouth' does not refer to its modern location on the Rhone but its original position at the mouth of a tributary, known as the Arve and itself meaning simply 'water'.
Basel's earliest records are as Robur, this from the Latin roburetum or 'grove of oaks'. The modern name can be dated to 374 AD, the official name changed to Basilia and from the Greek basileus or 'king'. This 'king' was actually the Roman emperor Valentinian I, who ordered the fortress to be built here.
Lausanne is, once again, first recorded as a Roman settlement. Here the Roman name of Lausonna probably represents a Latinicised Celtic name of leusa or 'smooth stone'. However some sources give this as another originating from a river name, when this would be Celtic Lausodunum or 'the fort on the River Laus' and the river name meaning 'stony', yet this river name is not recorded at this early stage and thus not provable.
Bern is of uncertain origins but seems most likely to be from an early Indo-European ber or 'marshland'. However folklore speaks of the founder of the city, Berchtold V, Duke of Zahringen, having already decided this was a good spot roaming around wondering what to name it. It is held he met a bear on this trek and decided it should be 'bear town' from the German bar.
Lucerne was named before the better-known Lake Lucerne on which it stands, although there is no agreement as to the origin of this name. The four most often cited are (i) the Latin lucerna 'the lighthouse'; (ii) Latin lucius or 'pike-basket' and pike would have been a popular food fish; (iii) Romansch lozzerina or 'marshy place'; and (iv) the Benedictine monastery dedicated to St Leodegar and founded by 740 AD. Note while the popular name of the lake is Lucerne, the German name is Vierwaldstattersee or 'lake of the four forest cantons', these the Swiss districts of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Luzern.
St Gallen evolved from the 7th-century hermitage of St Gall, its abbey is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains books which are more than a thousand years old.
Lugano probably comes from the Gaulish name of Lakvannos, the first element from laku 'lake' and thus speaking of 'the dwellers on the lake'. Other suggestions of the Latin lucus 'grove' or the pagan god Lugus seem less plausible without further supporting evidence.
Thun comes from a Celtic term, dunum referring to 'the fortified city'.
Schaffhausen is first recorded as Villa Scafhusun in 1045. Perhaps this comes from scapha or 'ford' which was actually where goods were removed from vessels and brought overland around the Rhine Falls before continuing the journey by boat. However another possible origin in schaf representing 'sheep' or 'ram' which is seen on the town's coat of arms. Hopefully the former is the true origin and, if proven, enables us to form an image of the earliest days around Schaffhausen, an image no camera could capture and no artist could paint.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Origins of Place Names: Austrian Cities
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. This time we continue the tour of Western Europe and a look at the largest Austrian cities.
Vienna is the capital of Austria and one of several capital cities standing on the Danube. It is here the Danube unites with the River Vienna, the river name originating in Celtic and representing either vedunia 'tree' and thus 'forest stream' or vindo 'white' as in a building of stone. It is impossible to know for certain as the earlies record available is that of Vindobona, the name of the place when under Roman control around AD 50.
Graz has been dated archaeologically to its founding by the Alpine Slavic peoples, eventually growing to become a sizable fortification. This helped to show how the Slovene gradec described 'a small castle', and was related to Proto-Slavic and Greek words meaning 'small settlement' and to the many Slavic settlements featuring the element-grad.
Salzburg is, like the capital, named after a river. Here the River Salzach is not difficult to see as from the German salz or 'salt'. This region had been a centre of salt mining and trading since before recorded history. The modern name uses the suffix burg or 'fortress'.
Innsbruck is yet another name derived from the local river. Here the German Brucke or 'bridge' crossed the River Inn, itself from Celtic enos or simply 'water'.
Klagenfurt was said to literally translates as 'the ford of lament' (possibly 'ford of complaints'). For many years this was held to be from the belief this river crossing was haunted by fairies or demons, forever blamed as the reason it was so difficult to cross waters and swamps. This assumed it was a Germanic translation of the earlier Slovene name for this wetland from cviljovec and yet and Slovene name is much later than any Germanic recording. Perhaps a more plausible argument is this Slovene name was itself derived from the early Italic language where l'aquiliu would give a much more likely meaning of 'at the water'.
Wels has never been defined with any certainty but could represent a Celtic reference to 'the settlement on the bend of the river (Traun)'.
Sankt Polten or St Polten is derived from Hippolytus of Rome, later becoming Sankt Hippolyt, St Polyt, and today St Polten.
Dornbirn can be traced back to an Alemannic famer who lived here and gave his name to torrin puirron or 'the settlement of a man called Torro'. The traditional explanation of the German birnen or 'pears' has no etymological basis.
Wiener Neustadt is a comparatively new city, only founded in 1194. This accounts for the literal translation of 'New Vienna'.
Bregenz can ultimately be traced to around 3,500 years ago when the Brigantii tribe settled this region. By the 5th century BC this place was known as Brigantion and shortly after the birth of Christ given as Brigantium. This tribe took their name from the pagan goddess Brigantia, who can be seen in many mythologies. Indeed tracing the religious lineage of this water deity - she has given her name to the Brent in England, Braint in Wales, Brigid in Ireland, and other settlements as far afield as Hungary , France, Portugal, and the Indian sub-continent - reveals the Germanic Burgundi and Sanskrit Brhati. All these are from the Proto-Indo-European bhrg'hnti, itself the feminine from the root berg'h and meaning 'high, lofty, elevated'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Vienna is the capital of Austria and one of several capital cities standing on the Danube. It is here the Danube unites with the River Vienna, the river name originating in Celtic and representing either vedunia 'tree' and thus 'forest stream' or vindo 'white' as in a building of stone. It is impossible to know for certain as the earlies record available is that of Vindobona, the name of the place when under Roman control around AD 50.
Graz has been dated archaeologically to its founding by the Alpine Slavic peoples, eventually growing to become a sizable fortification. This helped to show how the Slovene gradec described 'a small castle', and was related to Proto-Slavic and Greek words meaning 'small settlement' and to the many Slavic settlements featuring the element-grad.
Salzburg is, like the capital, named after a river. Here the River Salzach is not difficult to see as from the German salz or 'salt'. This region had been a centre of salt mining and trading since before recorded history. The modern name uses the suffix burg or 'fortress'.
Innsbruck is yet another name derived from the local river. Here the German Brucke or 'bridge' crossed the River Inn, itself from Celtic enos or simply 'water'.
Klagenfurt was said to literally translates as 'the ford of lament' (possibly 'ford of complaints'). For many years this was held to be from the belief this river crossing was haunted by fairies or demons, forever blamed as the reason it was so difficult to cross waters and swamps. This assumed it was a Germanic translation of the earlier Slovene name for this wetland from cviljovec and yet and Slovene name is much later than any Germanic recording. Perhaps a more plausible argument is this Slovene name was itself derived from the early Italic language where l'aquiliu would give a much more likely meaning of 'at the water'.
Wels has never been defined with any certainty but could represent a Celtic reference to 'the settlement on the bend of the river (Traun)'.
Sankt Polten or St Polten is derived from Hippolytus of Rome, later becoming Sankt Hippolyt, St Polyt, and today St Polten.
Dornbirn can be traced back to an Alemannic famer who lived here and gave his name to torrin puirron or 'the settlement of a man called Torro'. The traditional explanation of the German birnen or 'pears' has no etymological basis.
Wiener Neustadt is a comparatively new city, only founded in 1194. This accounts for the literal translation of 'New Vienna'.
Bregenz can ultimately be traced to around 3,500 years ago when the Brigantii tribe settled this region. By the 5th century BC this place was known as Brigantion and shortly after the birth of Christ given as Brigantium. This tribe took their name from the pagan goddess Brigantia, who can be seen in many mythologies. Indeed tracing the religious lineage of this water deity - she has given her name to the Brent in England, Braint in Wales, Brigid in Ireland, and other settlements as far afield as Hungary , France, Portugal, and the Indian sub-continent - reveals the Germanic Burgundi and Sanskrit Brhati. All these are from the Proto-Indo-European bhrg'hnti, itself the feminine from the root berg'h and meaning 'high, lofty, elevated'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Origins of Place Names: Danish Cities
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. This time we continue the tour of Western Europe and a look at the largest Danish cities.
Copenhagen is derived from the Danish kiopman havn and describes 'the merchants' harbour'.
Aarhus stands at the mouth of the River Molle and the name reflects this in Danish aa os, 'the mouth of the river'. Water must have been one of the earliest words to have been coined, it is vital to every lifeform on the planet. Looking at the relationship of the words for 'water' in related languages would, theoretically, bring us to the original and the Danish aa cannot be very far removed from that earliest word. Consider how closely it resembles Old English ea particularly in pronunciation, fully understandable considering these are both Germanic languages. Yet is also very similar to French eau, particularly in pronunciation, although these languages are several linguistic generations removed from each other. Even the modern English 'water' is related. While hidden by modern spelling, in parts of northern England the pronunciation is as 'wah-ter' rather than 'war-ter'. Ignoring the second syllable the name can still be seen as related to the Proto-Indo-European for 'water' and more than likely to the (unknown) word first coined many, many millennia ago.
Odense has mythological origins and named from the Scandinavian god Odin.
Aalborg shares its first element with Aarhus and speaks of 'the fortification at the river'. The suffix is common to many English place names and comes from Old English burh.
Frederiksberg shares its suffix with that of Aalborg and, having been given to some twenty Danish-Dutch peasants by King Frederick III, became known as Ny Hollaenderby 'New Dutchmantown' on June 2nd 1651. This proved an agricultural failure and it was not until 1703 when Frederik IV built his palace here that the name was officially changed to Frederiksberg. Prior to the Middle Ages this area was known as Tulehoj or 'thyle hill'. The first element tells us a thul or thyle lived here. This is more often used as a title in historical documents, used for Unerth in Beowulf and even Odin himself. Whilst it translates as 'song', it would probably be better to view it as a job description and thus one who narrates an oral history through verse and/or song.
Horsens is thought to have come from Danish hors naes or 'the headland where horses are seen'. Both words are related to English, the former is obvious while the term 'ness' is now most often seen in the north of Britain but can also be found in Totnes in Devon, an ancient settlement and one which considers itself the oldest town in England.
Vejle is from an Old Danish word waethel meaning 'ford' or, quite literally, 'wading place' and sharing its name with the Vejle River. This is not a chicken and egg argument, for neither the river nor the settlement were named first but named for the river crossing.
Roskilde has its origins in 'Ro's spring', this a reference to legendary King Roar, who may or may not have been here in the 6th century.
Helsingor, often given as Elsinore, comes from Old Danish hals meaning 'neck' and a reference to the narrow strait Oresund. In turn this can be traced to Iceland and Old Norse terms and refers to 'the gravel beach strait'.
Silkeborg, as a city, was not formerly founded until 1844. However the name can be traced to least the 15th century when the islet in the lake was known by this name and means 'silk castle'.
Copenhagen is derived from the Danish kiopman havn and describes 'the merchants' harbour'.
Aarhus stands at the mouth of the River Molle and the name reflects this in Danish aa os, 'the mouth of the river'. Water must have been one of the earliest words to have been coined, it is vital to every lifeform on the planet. Looking at the relationship of the words for 'water' in related languages would, theoretically, bring us to the original and the Danish aa cannot be very far removed from that earliest word. Consider how closely it resembles Old English ea particularly in pronunciation, fully understandable considering these are both Germanic languages. Yet is also very similar to French eau, particularly in pronunciation, although these languages are several linguistic generations removed from each other. Even the modern English 'water' is related. While hidden by modern spelling, in parts of northern England the pronunciation is as 'wah-ter' rather than 'war-ter'. Ignoring the second syllable the name can still be seen as related to the Proto-Indo-European for 'water' and more than likely to the (unknown) word first coined many, many millennia ago.
Odense has mythological origins and named from the Scandinavian god Odin.
Aalborg shares its first element with Aarhus and speaks of 'the fortification at the river'. The suffix is common to many English place names and comes from Old English burh.
Frederiksberg shares its suffix with that of Aalborg and, having been given to some twenty Danish-Dutch peasants by King Frederick III, became known as Ny Hollaenderby 'New Dutchmantown' on June 2nd 1651. This proved an agricultural failure and it was not until 1703 when Frederik IV built his palace here that the name was officially changed to Frederiksberg. Prior to the Middle Ages this area was known as Tulehoj or 'thyle hill'. The first element tells us a thul or thyle lived here. This is more often used as a title in historical documents, used for Unerth in Beowulf and even Odin himself. Whilst it translates as 'song', it would probably be better to view it as a job description and thus one who narrates an oral history through verse and/or song.
Horsens is thought to have come from Danish hors naes or 'the headland where horses are seen'. Both words are related to English, the former is obvious while the term 'ness' is now most often seen in the north of Britain but can also be found in Totnes in Devon, an ancient settlement and one which considers itself the oldest town in England.
Vejle is from an Old Danish word waethel meaning 'ford' or, quite literally, 'wading place' and sharing its name with the Vejle River. This is not a chicken and egg argument, for neither the river nor the settlement were named first but named for the river crossing.
Roskilde has its origins in 'Ro's spring', this a reference to legendary King Roar, who may or may not have been here in the 6th century.
Helsingor, often given as Elsinore, comes from Old Danish hals meaning 'neck' and a reference to the narrow strait Oresund. In turn this can be traced to Iceland and Old Norse terms and refers to 'the gravel beach strait'.
Silkeborg, as a city, was not formerly founded until 1844. However the name can be traced to least the 15th century when the islet in the lake was known by this name and means 'silk castle'.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Origins of Place Names: Dutch Cities
Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing the tour of Western Europe here a look at the largest Dutch cities.
Amsterdam is easily seen as 'the dam on the River Amstel', the river name itself from Old Dutch aeme-stelle or 'water area'. Hence the river is effectively named for the moisture content of the land rather than the river itself.
Rotterdam mirrors the origins of the Dutch capital in beginning as 'the dam on the River Rotte'. Here the river, which meets the better-known Maas at Rotterdam, has a name which either comes from rot referring to 'muddy (water)' or this is an ancient name and from the early days when an Indo-European roth described it as 'hurrying'. If the latter is the case it should not be taken literally but seen as comparative, for the topography of the region means no river really 'hurries' and thus simply the faster river.
The Hague is today the seat of the Dutch government but had more humble beginnings. The first official habitation was as recently as 1230 when Count Floris IV purchased this land to build a hunting lodge. Situated in a wood alongside a pond and surrounded by a hedge, this began as Dutch gravenhage or 'count's enclosure'. This meaning also explains why it has kept the definite article as a part of its name. Note the similarlity between the Dutch and the Old English haga used specifically to refer to 'a woodland enclosure'.
Utrecht was known to the Romans as Trajectum castrum literally 'camp crossing' and referring to the Roman camp by the River Rhine. By the tenth century this had been shortened to simply Trecht, yet around two centuries later had collected the Dutch suffix ut or 'lower'. Initially it seems this applied to the lower reaches of the settlement but quickly used for the whole place.
Eindhoven is composed of two Dutch elements: eind is not difficult to understand as meaning 'the last or end', while hove or hoeve is an area of land of approximately 35 acres. This would have been offered for rent by the lord of the manor to local farmers. Here there were a number of such around Woensel this being, as the name suggests, the last one.
Tilburg is first mentioned in a document dating from 709AD, yet while the suffix of burg or 'fortification' is obvious, the same element is common to English place names, the first element has never been defined.
Almere is the Netherlands newest city and named, in 1970, after Lake Almere. Here we find Dutch ael mere or 'eel lake', the suffix also common to Old English.
Breda stands at the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa, the latter found in the place name. Here Dutch brede Aa speaks of 'the wide Aa', and a reference to the broad expanse of the confluence. The river name itself, as with so many, simply means 'water'.
Nijmegen is ultimately from the name of the earliest inhabitants, the Batavians. When the Romans arrived the original settlement was destroyed but then rebuilt in 104 and named by the Emperor Trajan Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum or Noviomagus for short and which resulted in the modern name and its meaning of 'the great market'. The Batavians themselves were named for their territory around the Rhine delats, this from the Germanic bat awjo or 'better land near water'.
Enschede is mentioned as Anescede and Enscede in earlest available records, both referring to its location 'near the border' with Bentheim.
Haarlem, or as Harlem in the USA, takes its name from Haarlem Lake. Here three Dutch elements, haar lo heim, unite to form the modern name. There has never been any doubts as to the meaning of the last two, these are common enough and describe 'the home at the forest'. However the first element has several potential sources, albeit the most likely is a reference to the slight elevation on a sand dune and thus 'higher place'.
Note the spellings of the places are mostly in English as the piece is written in English.
Amsterdam is easily seen as 'the dam on the River Amstel', the river name itself from Old Dutch aeme-stelle or 'water area'. Hence the river is effectively named for the moisture content of the land rather than the river itself.
Rotterdam mirrors the origins of the Dutch capital in beginning as 'the dam on the River Rotte'. Here the river, which meets the better-known Maas at Rotterdam, has a name which either comes from rot referring to 'muddy (water)' or this is an ancient name and from the early days when an Indo-European roth described it as 'hurrying'. If the latter is the case it should not be taken literally but seen as comparative, for the topography of the region means no river really 'hurries' and thus simply the faster river.
The Hague is today the seat of the Dutch government but had more humble beginnings. The first official habitation was as recently as 1230 when Count Floris IV purchased this land to build a hunting lodge. Situated in a wood alongside a pond and surrounded by a hedge, this began as Dutch gravenhage or 'count's enclosure'. This meaning also explains why it has kept the definite article as a part of its name. Note the similarlity between the Dutch and the Old English haga used specifically to refer to 'a woodland enclosure'.
Utrecht was known to the Romans as Trajectum castrum literally 'camp crossing' and referring to the Roman camp by the River Rhine. By the tenth century this had been shortened to simply Trecht, yet around two centuries later had collected the Dutch suffix ut or 'lower'. Initially it seems this applied to the lower reaches of the settlement but quickly used for the whole place.
Eindhoven is composed of two Dutch elements: eind is not difficult to understand as meaning 'the last or end', while hove or hoeve is an area of land of approximately 35 acres. This would have been offered for rent by the lord of the manor to local farmers. Here there were a number of such around Woensel this being, as the name suggests, the last one.
Tilburg is first mentioned in a document dating from 709AD, yet while the suffix of burg or 'fortification' is obvious, the same element is common to English place names, the first element has never been defined.
Almere is the Netherlands newest city and named, in 1970, after Lake Almere. Here we find Dutch ael mere or 'eel lake', the suffix also common to Old English.
Breda stands at the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa, the latter found in the place name. Here Dutch brede Aa speaks of 'the wide Aa', and a reference to the broad expanse of the confluence. The river name itself, as with so many, simply means 'water'.
Nijmegen is ultimately from the name of the earliest inhabitants, the Batavians. When the Romans arrived the original settlement was destroyed but then rebuilt in 104 and named by the Emperor Trajan Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum or Noviomagus for short and which resulted in the modern name and its meaning of 'the great market'. The Batavians themselves were named for their territory around the Rhine delats, this from the Germanic bat awjo or 'better land near water'.
Enschede is mentioned as Anescede and Enscede in earlest available records, both referring to its location 'near the border' with Bentheim.
Haarlem, or as Harlem in the USA, takes its name from Haarlem Lake. Here three Dutch elements, haar lo heim, unite to form the modern name. There has never been any doubts as to the meaning of the last two, these are common enough and describe 'the home at the forest'. However the first element has several potential sources, albeit the most likely is a reference to the slight elevation on a sand dune and thus 'higher place'.
Note the spellings of the places are mostly in English as the piece is written in English.
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