Old English to Modern English

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Old English to Modern English. The Saxons, Angles, Jutes and Frisians arrived on our shores from the fifth century AD. They brought with them the basis of our culture and a language which we refer to as Old English. Over the next 1,500 years influences principally from the Scandinavian and French tongues took this to Middle English and eventually to Modern English. English is the most diverse language and this is not simply down to the number of words adopted from quite unrelated tongues, a remnant of colonial days. There is a reason why English, more than any other, needs a thesaurus - indeed most languages never bother publishing a thesaurus (Japanese is a notable exception). That English has been influenced by so many others has led to such a great number of alternative words. Learn how these came began, where they came from and, most interestingly, how they evolved, how the meanings changed and developed to become the language we know today. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

The letter A is for an used in such things as ‘an egg’ instead of ‘a’ when the following noun begins with a vowel. However, it actually began as ‘one’ hence ‘one egg’ and the use of ‘a’ actually the loss of the following ‘n’. Note it is difficult to say AN LEG, AN HORSE, AN BOTTLE) but Old English would have been pronounced as AYN LEG, AYN HORSE, AYN BOTTLE which is rather easier. The same thing is seen in anfeld which may have been used to mean ‘simple’ but actually comes from ‘one-fold’ as in ‘once’.

The letter C is for ceap meaning ‘market’ and which also gave geceapian ‘to buy’. Now today we look for things on the cheap at the market, where originally they would market things at the cheap. Note we say ‘on the cheap’ to mean ‘cheaply’ – on the cheap meaning ‘on the market’. And this is still seen in place names such as Chipping Norton, Chipping Sodbury and street names such as Cheap Street and Cheapside.

The Letter K is for nothing, no not a silent ‘k’ but a letter coming to modern English from the Scandinavian languages. Incidentally the silent ‘K’ is a modern idea – once we had k-nights, and k-nives, but nobody wore k-nickers as this was originally knickerbockers and even that word unknown before 1859. This was not what you were expecting when I mentioned knickerbockers – admit it.

The letter Q is French and did not appear in Old English. Oddly the word ‘queue’, albeit with a spelling of c-u-e, appeared in English before the Norman invasion. It was used to describe a ‘tail’ (and other long parts of the mammalian anatomy), and first used to refer to a line of people in 1837, some 350 years after the first queues were named as ‘lines of dancers’.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Sudan 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 Sudan cities.

Omdurman is from the Arabic Umm Durman and translates as 'mother of Durman', however we have no idea who she may have been and what role she played.

Khartoum's origins are uncertain, although most often given as from Arabic khutum meaning 'trunk' or 'hose' and thus referring to the strip of land between the Blue Nile and White Nile before they meet. Others cite the Dinka tongue, where khar-toum would refer to 'where the rivers meet' and thus the same geographical feature, albeit looked at from a different angle. Captain J. A. Grant thought the name came from the Arabic qurtum 'the safflower', known to science as Carthamus tinctorius, grown extensively here as it was used as a fuel. Some point to the Nubian word Agartum 'the abode of Atum', while others look to the Beja language and see hartoom 'meeting'.

Nyala comes from the Daju tongue and means 'the place of chatting'.

Port Sudan takes the name of the nation, itself coming from Arabic bilad as-sudan and meaning 'the land of the blacks'.

El-Obeid comes from the Arabic al-Abyad meaning 'white'.

El-Gadarif is derived from the Arabic Alli qada-Ye-rif meaning 'he who has finished selling or buying should leave'. This comes from the announcement at the end of market day, when Arab noamdic tribes would return to the plains.

Al-Fashir took its name from the word fashir, an itinerant court.

Ar-Rahad is from the Arabic and means 'the water shrine'.

Kosti was founded shortly after 1899 by the Greek merchant Konstantinos 'Kostas' Mourikis and named in his honour.

Suakin was known as U Suk which may be from the Arabic suq or 'market'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Serbia 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 Serbian cities.

Belgrade, the capital, is the Anglicised version of the Serbian Beograd meaning 'white city'. The settlement began as the Celtic city of Singidunum, founded by the Scordisci tribe in the 3rd century BC. Here the suffix meaning 'fortress' follows an uncertain first element which could be related to seng 'slender, narrow'; Sings, the Thracian tribe who may have occupied the area previously; sin-gi 'old prayer'; or perhaps the Sinds a Scythain tribe named by Herodotus as living hereabouts in the 5th century BC.

Novi Sad is from the Serbian for 'new orchard'.

Nis is said to get its name from the Nisava River. However, it seems more likelt to be from Serbo-Croat niz meaning 'along the course of'. If this idea is correct, it means an early settlement gave its name to the river and not vice versa.

Kragujevac is from a Serbian word, kraguj refers to a species of hawk. Common to the area and used for hunting, the city's name of 'hawks' roost' reflects this era.

Subotica appeared earlier as Zabotka or Zabatka, possibly from szabad a derivative of svobod or 'peace'. Alternatively the South Slavic word of zabat or 'gable' and thus a reference to a different style of house in the area.

Krusevac is from the Serbian krusac or 'river stone', a common material used in building houses at that time.

Kraljevo is a name meaning 'the kings' town', this given by King Milan I of Serbia (d1889) and a reference to the six Serbian kings who had been crowned in this region.

Pancevo has an uncertain origin but possibly comes from an Old Slavonic term referring to this being largely marshland.

Zrenjanin was named after Zarko Zrenjanin (1902-1942) in 1946 as he was one of the leaders of the Vojvodina Communist Partisans during the Second World War.

Sabac is first recorded in 1454, the origin uncertain but may share an origin with the local River Sava, itself thought to come from Proto-Indo-European sewh meaning 'to take liquid' (and a root also giving us the English 'sup') but here with the suffix -eh to describe 'that which waters' and a reference to it irrigating the land.

Cacak was once known as Gradac or 'little town'. First recorded as Cacak in a document dated 3 January 1409, it may be from cackovit referring to lumpos of frozen or dried mud used as a building material, alternativel this could represent skak or 'jumping', although it is not clear how the latter would work etymologically.

Novi Pazar means 'new bazaar', a name used since the 15th century when there was another well-established market less than two miles east of here.

Sombor takes the family name Czobor, first used in 1543, who owned this area in the 14th century. Earlier had been known as Czoborszentmihaly.

Sremska Mitrovica gets the latter from Saint Demetrius. Added to the area of Syrmia, an ancient region now divided between Serbia and Croatia, named from and ruled by the city of Sirmium - itself now known as Sremska Mitrovica. Sirmium means 'flowing water, wetland' and refers to its location by the River Sava.

Loznica began as lozica, the Serbian for 'small vine'.

Pozarevac can be translated as 'fire town', this thought to refer to a burning of a settlement here.

Jagodina is first recorded as jagodna a word meaning 'strawberry' in Serbian.

Zajeca is from the Torlak dialect zajec 'hare' and thus this place was once renowned as 'the man who breeds hares'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Romania 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 Romanian cities.

Bucharest is traditionally associated with Bucur, said to be a prince, fisherman, shepherd or a hunter - depending upon who you listen to. His name is more likely from bucurie, a Dacian word telling of 'the city of joy'.

Cluj-Napoca is thought to combine the Greek napos 'timbered valley' with Slavic kluc 'mountain pass'.

Timisoara is a Romanian version of the earlier Hungarian name of Temesvar, itself from var or 'castle on the River Timis', the river name possibly meaning 'winding'.

Iasi has several theories as to the origin of the name, including the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges, or the Alanic Jassi tribe, or even jassic market.

Constanta is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania, it is named to honour the Constantia, half-sister of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (274-337).

Craiova has two equally plausible origins, either Old Slavonic kral 'king' or krajina 'border, edge'.

Brasov is said to come from the Latin corona or 'crown' in a 13th century work, supposedly a reference to St Catherine's Monastery. Other sources point to the city's coat of arms and the German name for the place Kronstadt meaning 'crown city'.

Galati comes from the Cuman word galat and ultimately from Persian kalat, both meaning 'fortress'.

Bacau, appearing earlier as Bako, Bakova and Bakovia, is likely derived from a personal name. Just which individual named Bako the place refers to is a mystery, it being a very common name. However we can speculate as to the origin of the personal name which may also be an alternative origin for the place name. Proto-Slavic byk meant 'ox' or 'bull' and could refer to this being an area known for rearing cattle.

Targu Mures translates as 'the market on the river Maros'.

Botosani is likely named after a family named Botas, they first recorded in the 15th century along with Prince Stephen the Great.

Satu Mare is another from a personal name and speaks of 'Zotmar's fort'.

Drobeta-Turnu Severin takes the last two elements from Old Church Slavonic severno turnu 'the north tower and added to the Roman name of the city, itself of uncertain origin.

Suceava is a Romania rendering of the Hungarian Szucsvar, where szucs and var 'castle of the furrier'.

Piatra Neamt takes its first element from the Romanian for 'rock' and adds the name of the county in which it is found. The place has also been known as Patria lui Craciun or 'Christmas rock', and Targu Piatra 'market rock'.

Targoviste is from the Old Bulgarian and refers to itself as 'the marketplace'.

Bistrita is from the name of the river, itself from the Slavic bystrica 'fast-moving water'.

Resita probably comes from the Latin recitia or 'cold spring'.

Slatina is of Slavic origin and refers to 'the marsh, swamp'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Oman 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 Oman's cities.

Adam has a very long history and thus the origin of the name is uncertain. However, most sources give this as Arabic for 'the fertile land'.

Al Ashkarah is a delightful place name, being taken from a poisonous plant indigenous to this area.

Mount Shams is the highest point in the country, hence it is appropriate that its name means 'the sun mountain'.

Al Suqayq is simply the Arabic for 'market'.

Ibra has been suggested as coming from an Arabic verb and means 'purification of guilt'.

Muscat's origins are disputed, some claim this is from Arabic where moscha means 'inflated hide or skin', although others suggest an alternative Arabic term for 'letting fall the anchor', the latter seems a little contrived. Perhaps this from the Old Persian muscat or 'strong scented', or maybe other ancient languages have contributed to the name meaning 'falling place' and 'hidden place'. The problem here is the age of the settlement. Ptolemy's map of the region give two names for this area: Cryptus Portus and Moscha Portus, suggesting the original name may have come from Old Sumerian maa-kan 'sea people'.

Nizwa possibly comes from the Arabic for 'alone' but this would be an odd meaning for a place name, although phonetically it fits much better than the water spring which has flowed here for the entire age of the settlement.

Rustaq comes from the Middle Iranian rostag or 'district'. Note this ancient tongue is close to the root word which has given similar terms in many Indo-European languages, including the modern Iranian rusta 'large village' and Latin rustica 'village'. The latter has given us the modern English 'rustic'. This is why etymology, the study of language, and toponomy, the study of place names, prove so fascinating for me.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.