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 Sri Lankan towns and cities.
Colombo has a couple of theories as to the origins of its name. As it was first recorded as such by the Portuguese, it could be they have taken it from the classic Sinhala Kolon thota or 'port on the river Kelani'. Alternatively this could be Sinhalese kola amba thota or 'harbour with green mango trees'.
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia has a number of tales told about it. One speaks of Diya Wala, which translates as 'depression filled with water', while another says it refers to a forest of lime trees.
Sri Jayawardhanapura translates as 'resplendent city of growing victory' following its conquest by the Jaffna kingdom in 1391.
Negombo is a Tamil name, where Neerkolombu was corrupted by the Portuguese. The Sinhalese name for this place is Migamuva or 'village of the honeycomb'. Both names refer to the legend of King Kavantissa's army finding honey bees in a canoe on the shore.
Kandy is an Anglicised version of Sinhalese Kanda Uda Rata or 'the land on the mountain'.
Galle was known as Gimhathitha in early records, this probably from classical Sinhalese meaning 'port near the river Gin'. The present name likely comes from gaala or 'where cattle are herded'. While herds of cattle do not grace the city, bullock carts are a common sight in the area.
Trincomalee is an Anglicised version of the Tamil Thiru-kona-malai or 'lord of the sacred hill'. Other translations suggest 'sacred peaked hill' or 'three peaked hill'.
Batticaloa is from Portuguese, a translation of the original Tamil name of Matakkalappu or 'muddy swamp' - it would be difficult to find a swamp which wasn't muddy.
Jaffna is a corrupted form of Yalpanam, itself from a legend. A king is said to have visited a blind musician, a Panan, who was skilled in playing the Yal. So delighted was the kind he gifted a sandy plain to the man who went to his home and brought all his people to live here.
Ratnapura translates, in both Tamil and Sinhala, as 'city of gems' and remains the traditional centre for trading gems in Sri Lanka.
Sri Pada or Adam's Peak is a mountain which is held sacred by Buddhists as it is said to have a rock formation known as Sri Pada, the Sanskrit for 'sacred footprint'. Clearly it is the footprint of Adam when referring to Christian or Islamic tradition.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Showing posts with label lime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lime. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 April 2020
Sunday, 20 October 2019
Peru 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 Peru's cities.
Lima had been known as Limaq which, in the Quecha tongue then spoken in this area, meant 'the talker' or perhaps 'the speaker'. This referred to a famous oracle destroyed by the Spanish but not forgotten by the locals. There is little weight given to the idea the name comes from the Spanish for 'lime'. The same is true of the Lima River, not named for being 'the talking river' but an example of back-formation from the place name.
Arequipa has long been said to come from a conversation between the Inca leader Mayta Capac and the people. The latter wished to remain in the valley they had just reached and were told Ari qhipay or 'yes, stay'. Alternatively the story speaks of the Europeans arrival and, when they asked for the name of the country around there, were misunderstood and thought to be asking for permission to sit, with the same answer. A third possibility is the Aymara phrase qhipaya ari or 'behind the peak' and referring to the nearby volcano.
Chiclayo has several explanations, most often a local man who once transported plaster between nearby cities'. Another idea gives this as from the Mochican language meaning 'green that hangs', a reference to the fruit that frows here. Or we also find the Moche language, where the word cheqta refers to 'the property of'.
Piura is from the Quechuan word pirhua meaning 'abundance' - presumably referring to the vegetation.
Iquitos is a city named by the Spanish, it is also their name for the indigenous people.
Juliaca takes its name from the Quechua words xullaskca kaipi meaning 'it had drizzled' and a reference to when Inca troops arrived here, how they had noticed the weather. Perhaps a little more credible is shulla qaqa or 'roquedal dew' and a description of the small pieces of quartz in the hills which, it may be suggested, resemble early morning dew.
Cajamarca is known as kasha marka in the Quechua language and describes 'the town of thorns'.
Pucallpa or puka allpa in Quechua describes the soil as it means 'red dirt'.
Ayacucho comes from Quechua aya kuchu or 'death corner' to remember the casualties of the battle fought here in 1825.
Chincha comes from the Quechua word chincay or 'ocelot' as these people worshipped a deity in the form of an ocelot.
Huaraz is another from the local Quechua language, where waraq means 'dawn'.
Tumbes is named after the people who lived here prior to the Inca rule, the Tumpis's settlement had a population of around 175,000.
Huaral either comes from the leader here in the 16th century, one Martin Guaral Paico, or from the Aymara word of unknown meaning.
Andahuaylas is from that Quechua language again, here anta waylla describes the 'copper meadow'.
Abancay is a corruption of the Quechua amankay or 'lily'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Lima had been known as Limaq which, in the Quecha tongue then spoken in this area, meant 'the talker' or perhaps 'the speaker'. This referred to a famous oracle destroyed by the Spanish but not forgotten by the locals. There is little weight given to the idea the name comes from the Spanish for 'lime'. The same is true of the Lima River, not named for being 'the talking river' but an example of back-formation from the place name.
Arequipa has long been said to come from a conversation between the Inca leader Mayta Capac and the people. The latter wished to remain in the valley they had just reached and were told Ari qhipay or 'yes, stay'. Alternatively the story speaks of the Europeans arrival and, when they asked for the name of the country around there, were misunderstood and thought to be asking for permission to sit, with the same answer. A third possibility is the Aymara phrase qhipaya ari or 'behind the peak' and referring to the nearby volcano.
Chiclayo has several explanations, most often a local man who once transported plaster between nearby cities'. Another idea gives this as from the Mochican language meaning 'green that hangs', a reference to the fruit that frows here. Or we also find the Moche language, where the word cheqta refers to 'the property of'.
Piura is from the Quechuan word pirhua meaning 'abundance' - presumably referring to the vegetation.
Iquitos is a city named by the Spanish, it is also their name for the indigenous people.
Juliaca takes its name from the Quechua words xullaskca kaipi meaning 'it had drizzled' and a reference to when Inca troops arrived here, how they had noticed the weather. Perhaps a little more credible is shulla qaqa or 'roquedal dew' and a description of the small pieces of quartz in the hills which, it may be suggested, resemble early morning dew.
Cajamarca is known as kasha marka in the Quechua language and describes 'the town of thorns'.
Pucallpa or puka allpa in Quechua describes the soil as it means 'red dirt'.
Ayacucho comes from Quechua aya kuchu or 'death corner' to remember the casualties of the battle fought here in 1825.
Chincha comes from the Quechua word chincay or 'ocelot' as these people worshipped a deity in the form of an ocelot.
Huaraz is another from the local Quechua language, where waraq means 'dawn'.
Tumbes is named after the people who lived here prior to the Inca rule, the Tumpis's settlement had a population of around 175,000.
Huaral either comes from the leader here in the 16th century, one Martin Guaral Paico, or from the Aymara word of unknown meaning.
Andahuaylas is from that Quechua language again, here anta waylla describes the 'copper meadow'.
Abancay is a corruption of the Quechua amankay or 'lily'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 5 May 2019
Malta 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 Maltese settlements.
Valletta was named after the Grand Master Jean de Valette of the Order of St John, following the Great Seige of 1565 when they defeated the Ottomans.He laid the foundation stone himself, on 28th March 1566.
Mdina had previously been known as Maleth by Phoenician settlers of the 8th century BC, this name changed to Melite by the Romans. The Roman settlement was larger than the present daty Mdina, reduced during the Arab occupation and confined behind the city walls. The Roman name of Melite refers to the 'suburbs' and the Arabic name of medina simply means 'city' or 'town'.
Senglea is named after the Grand Master who built it, Claude de la Sengle, 48th Grand Master of the Order of Malta (1553 to 1557).
Cospicua is known locally as Bormla, from Bir Mula or 'the well of the Lord'.
Zebbug is named for its many groves of olive tress and just means 'olives'.
Zabbar is likely from the Maltese word tizbor, a reference to 'pruning trees', although it is also possible the place took a family name, they earning it because they pruned trees.
Zetjun, as with Zebbug above, simply means 'olives' although here the origin is the Arabic zaytun.
Attard shares the confusion of Zabbar, although here the preferred idea is a family name, this from the Arabic atr meaning 'perfume' and possibly referring to oils obtained from the many blossoms which grew here.
Balzan is certainly from a family name as it is from balsan 'tax collector'.
Birkirkara is understood as either 'cold water' or 'running water', either way the understanding is 'drinking water'.
Birzebbuga has a lot in common with Zebbug above, simply here the name refers to a 'well of olives'.
Dingli is named after Sir Thomas Dingley, an English knight of the Order of St John who owned the lands here.
Fgura is not simply coincidentally similar to the English 'figure', it has the same meaning. Here the reference is to the niche where devotees to Our Lady of Mount Carmel would stop to admire and perhaps give thanks to the statue.
Floriana is named after Pietro Paolo Floriana, an Italian engineer who designed the fortifications.
Gudja refers to the place's location 'on higher ground', not a hill as such but higher than the surrounding area.
Gzira is the Maltese word for 'island', although that island is Manoel Island which today lies adjacent to the main focus of the settlement but likely the original location of the settlement.
Gharghur is probably the Maltese word for 'flooding', although some credence is also given to the idea this refers to Malta's national tree the sigra tal-gharghar.
Ghaxaq probably refers to a noble family recorded as Axiaq. Less likely is the idea this represents the Maltese for 'delight'.
Iklin is derived from a herb which once gre here, Rosmarinus Officinalis and known as i-iklin in Malta. The herb grew in a valley which has now been developed extensively.
Kalkara takes its name from the Latin word for 'lime', Calce, for there had been a lime kiln here since Roman times.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Valletta was named after the Grand Master Jean de Valette of the Order of St John, following the Great Seige of 1565 when they defeated the Ottomans.He laid the foundation stone himself, on 28th March 1566.
Mdina had previously been known as Maleth by Phoenician settlers of the 8th century BC, this name changed to Melite by the Romans. The Roman settlement was larger than the present daty Mdina, reduced during the Arab occupation and confined behind the city walls. The Roman name of Melite refers to the 'suburbs' and the Arabic name of medina simply means 'city' or 'town'.
Senglea is named after the Grand Master who built it, Claude de la Sengle, 48th Grand Master of the Order of Malta (1553 to 1557).
Cospicua is known locally as Bormla, from Bir Mula or 'the well of the Lord'.
Zebbug is named for its many groves of olive tress and just means 'olives'.
Zabbar is likely from the Maltese word tizbor, a reference to 'pruning trees', although it is also possible the place took a family name, they earning it because they pruned trees.
Zetjun, as with Zebbug above, simply means 'olives' although here the origin is the Arabic zaytun.
Attard shares the confusion of Zabbar, although here the preferred idea is a family name, this from the Arabic atr meaning 'perfume' and possibly referring to oils obtained from the many blossoms which grew here.
Balzan is certainly from a family name as it is from balsan 'tax collector'.
Birkirkara is understood as either 'cold water' or 'running water', either way the understanding is 'drinking water'.
Birzebbuga has a lot in common with Zebbug above, simply here the name refers to a 'well of olives'.
Dingli is named after Sir Thomas Dingley, an English knight of the Order of St John who owned the lands here.
Fgura is not simply coincidentally similar to the English 'figure', it has the same meaning. Here the reference is to the niche where devotees to Our Lady of Mount Carmel would stop to admire and perhaps give thanks to the statue.
Floriana is named after Pietro Paolo Floriana, an Italian engineer who designed the fortifications.
Gudja refers to the place's location 'on higher ground', not a hill as such but higher than the surrounding area.
Gzira is the Maltese word for 'island', although that island is Manoel Island which today lies adjacent to the main focus of the settlement but likely the original location of the settlement.
Gharghur is probably the Maltese word for 'flooding', although some credence is also given to the idea this refers to Malta's national tree the sigra tal-gharghar.
Ghaxaq probably refers to a noble family recorded as Axiaq. Less likely is the idea this represents the Maltese for 'delight'.
Iklin is derived from a herb which once gre here, Rosmarinus Officinalis and known as i-iklin in Malta. The herb grew in a valley which has now been developed extensively.
Kalkara takes its name from the Latin word for 'lime', Calce, for there had been a lime kiln here since Roman times.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
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