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 an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Syrian cities.
Aleppo was earlier known as Habab, which may represent the Hebrew for 'milk' and thus a reference to the tale of Abraham and how he milked his sheep to feed the poor.
Damascus comes from the Greek and describes 'the well-watered land'.
Deir ez-Zor us from Syriac for 'small habitation'.
Hama is from the Syriac for 'fortress'.
Homs is the Arabic form of the city's Latin name of Emesus or the Greek Emesa. It is thought to have been transferred from another city, the Aramean Hamath-zobah meaning near fortress'. Another theory suggests it comes from the Greek Khemps and thus means 'the female camel'.
Latakia was named after a ruling dynasty, Seleucus I Nicator honouring his mother Laodice, who married a general of Philip II of Macedon.
Quneitra is simply the Arabic word for an 'arched bridge', the town built around a series of same.
Abu Kamal means 'the family of Kamal', the name of the tribe living here. Under Ottoman rule it was called Kisla or 'military barracks'.
Kobani takes the name of the German railway company who built the railway here.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Showing posts with label fortress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fortress. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 May 2020
Saturday, 29 February 2020
Slovenia Place Names Explained
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 an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Slovenian cities.
Ljubljana is thought to derive from Ljubija, the same as the river, and is thought to derive from the Old Slavic personal name 'the one of a lovely appearance'.
Maribor is a compound of Middle High German march 'borderland' and burc 'fortress'.
Celje is likely another from a personal name, here the proto-Slovene Cele or Celeae is possible.
Kranj is from a root borrowed from Romance Carnium and derived from the Carni tribe who, in turn, got their name from the Celtic root karno 'peak, hill, pile of stones'.
Velenje is almost certainly referring to the selo or 'village of Velene'.
Novo Mesto is a Slovene name meaning simply 'new town'. Earlier it was known by its German name of Rudolfswerde or 'the island of Rudolph', and a reference to Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, who died in 1364.
Trbovlje seems to speak of itself a Trebovie selo or 'Trebo's village'.
Nova Gorica simply means 'new Gorizia', the earlier place name given by Count Meinhard I or also styled himself Graf von Gorz from around 1127.
Jesenice is derived from its location in or near 'ash woods'.
Skofja Loka tells us it was 'the bishop's wet meadow', and records show this was land held by the Bishops of Freising.
Izolais a Slovenian version of the Italian name of Isola and simply means 'island'.
Murska Sobota is generally known as simply Sobota by its inhabitants, itself linked to Hungarian szombat meaning 'Saturday', the day on which the city held its fairs. Other Slovenians refer to the place as Murska.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Ljubljana is thought to derive from Ljubija, the same as the river, and is thought to derive from the Old Slavic personal name 'the one of a lovely appearance'.
Maribor is a compound of Middle High German march 'borderland' and burc 'fortress'.
Celje is likely another from a personal name, here the proto-Slovene Cele or Celeae is possible.
Kranj is from a root borrowed from Romance Carnium and derived from the Carni tribe who, in turn, got their name from the Celtic root karno 'peak, hill, pile of stones'.
Velenje is almost certainly referring to the selo or 'village of Velene'.
Novo Mesto is a Slovene name meaning simply 'new town'. Earlier it was known by its German name of Rudolfswerde or 'the island of Rudolph', and a reference to Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, who died in 1364.
Trbovlje seems to speak of itself a Trebovie selo or 'Trebo's village'.
Nova Gorica simply means 'new Gorizia', the earlier place name given by Count Meinhard I or also styled himself Graf von Gorz from around 1127.
Jesenice is derived from its location in or near 'ash woods'.
Skofja Loka tells us it was 'the bishop's wet meadow', and records show this was land held by the Bishops of Freising.
Izolais a Slovenian version of the Italian name of Isola and simply means 'island'.
Murska Sobota is generally known as simply Sobota by its inhabitants, itself linked to Hungarian szombat meaning 'Saturday', the day on which the city held its fairs. Other Slovenians refer to the place as Murska.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 24 July 2016
Georgia Place Names Explained
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 an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Georgia's cities.
Tblisi is said to have been dounded when, while hunting with his falcon, King Vakhtang I Gorgasali spotted a pheasant and unleashed his bird. Both falcon and pheasant fell into one of the hot springs found here, both birds dying from extensive burns. The king decided to cut down the trees and found Tblisi in 458 AD. Archaeologists have shown this region has been in continual occupation since at least 800 years earlier than this, thus this tale is unlikely to be true. However the name certainly refers to the hot springs, for in the Old Georgian tongue T'pilisi literally translates as 'warm location'.
Batumi can trace its name back to the times when this was a Greek colony and the Greek bathus limen or 'deep harbour'.
Rustavi is a Persian word meaning 'rural district'.
Zugdidi is unknown before the 17th century but is certainly from the Mingrelian tongue and simply means 'big hill'.
Gori shares a similar meaning to the previous example, albeit from athe different Georgian language where gora just means 'heap' or 'hill'.
Poti has several suggested origins, hence the actual answer is nobody really knows. The problem here is down to the original language, for if this is Greek then it comes from phasis and a river name. Yet this does seem more likely to be of Georgian origin, where the names Zan-Poti and Svan-Pasid have been put forward, as has a Semitic origin meaning 'gold river'.
Zestaponi can trace its name back to its original settlement on the river Kvirila, for Georgian zeda phoni describes its location on 'the upper bank'.
Akhalsikhe describes itself in the Georgian tongue as 'the new castle'.
Sagarejo was known as Tvali meaning 'an eye' in the 11th century and later took on its present name meaning 'of Gareja'. This shows the area was held by the David Gareja monastery, a complex of cells, churches, chapels, refectories and homes hollowed out of the rock.
Tsalenjikha is from the Mingrelian tongue and either means 'the fortress if Chan' or 'the lower fortress'.
Dedoplistsqaro is traditionally held to be after the 11th/12th century Queen Tamar, the name does literally mean 'the queen's spring' although there is no reason to believe others may not have similar claims.
Ninotsminda translates as St Nino, a Georgian from the 4th century BC who is held to have performed several miraculous feats of healing and held to be a relative of St George.
Jvari is a Georgian word meaning 'cross'.
Baghdati sgares its name with the capitalk of Iraq, both meaning 'God-given' or perhaps 'God's gift'.
Tetritsqaro means 'white spring' in Georgian, exactly as its earlier Azerbaijani name of Agbulakhi did.
Tskhaltsitela is a river named for an 8th-century Arab massacre, this derived rather ominously from 'red water'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Tblisi is said to have been dounded when, while hunting with his falcon, King Vakhtang I Gorgasali spotted a pheasant and unleashed his bird. Both falcon and pheasant fell into one of the hot springs found here, both birds dying from extensive burns. The king decided to cut down the trees and found Tblisi in 458 AD. Archaeologists have shown this region has been in continual occupation since at least 800 years earlier than this, thus this tale is unlikely to be true. However the name certainly refers to the hot springs, for in the Old Georgian tongue T'pilisi literally translates as 'warm location'.
Batumi can trace its name back to the times when this was a Greek colony and the Greek bathus limen or 'deep harbour'.
Rustavi is a Persian word meaning 'rural district'.
Zugdidi is unknown before the 17th century but is certainly from the Mingrelian tongue and simply means 'big hill'.
Gori shares a similar meaning to the previous example, albeit from athe different Georgian language where gora just means 'heap' or 'hill'.
Poti has several suggested origins, hence the actual answer is nobody really knows. The problem here is down to the original language, for if this is Greek then it comes from phasis and a river name. Yet this does seem more likely to be of Georgian origin, where the names Zan-Poti and Svan-Pasid have been put forward, as has a Semitic origin meaning 'gold river'.
Zestaponi can trace its name back to its original settlement on the river Kvirila, for Georgian zeda phoni describes its location on 'the upper bank'.
Akhalsikhe describes itself in the Georgian tongue as 'the new castle'.
Sagarejo was known as Tvali meaning 'an eye' in the 11th century and later took on its present name meaning 'of Gareja'. This shows the area was held by the David Gareja monastery, a complex of cells, churches, chapels, refectories and homes hollowed out of the rock.
Tsalenjikha is from the Mingrelian tongue and either means 'the fortress if Chan' or 'the lower fortress'.
Dedoplistsqaro is traditionally held to be after the 11th/12th century Queen Tamar, the name does literally mean 'the queen's spring' although there is no reason to believe others may not have similar claims.
Ninotsminda translates as St Nino, a Georgian from the 4th century BC who is held to have performed several miraculous feats of healing and held to be a relative of St George.
Jvari is a Georgian word meaning 'cross'.
Baghdati sgares its name with the capitalk of Iraq, both meaning 'God-given' or perhaps 'God's gift'.
Tetritsqaro means 'white spring' in Georgian, exactly as its earlier Azerbaijani name of Agbulakhi did.
Tskhaltsitela is a river named for an 8th-century Arab massacre, this derived rather ominously from 'red water'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
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