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 Gambia cities.
Banjul is a mispronunciation of bang julo meaning 'rope fibre'. Here the name describes how the inhabitants, the Mandinka, collected fibres from the local plant life to produce rope.
Basse Santu Su also has a district known as Basse Duma Su, the suffixes meaning 'lower home' and 'higher home' respectively. These show how, during the rainy season, the lower area had been subject to flooding - it is but four metres above sea level. Both share the common element basse meaning 'mat', traditionally held to be where the founder, one General Tiramakan Traore, laid a mat to show where he intended to put down roots. An unlikely explanation may, taking into consideration the previous definition, be where locals had earlier gathered leaves or plant material to weave into mats.
Brikama had been settled by the Kontes and the Bojangs, but was largely destroyed during the decades-long Soninke-Marabout wars in the latter half of the 19th century. The name comes from the Bainunka and means 'women's town.
Janjanbureh has never been understood, other than the town and the island on which it stands share this name. Earlier the town, when a British colony, had ben named Georgetown from 1832, to honour the regining king, and prior to this, in 1822, the island had been known as MacCarthy Island after Sir Charles MacCarthy, former Governor General of the British West African Territories.
Mansa Konko is Mandinka for 'hill of the kings', this once being home to an important chief.
Serekunda is derived from 'home of the Sayer family' and named after its founder, Sayerr Jobe.
Cape Point gains its English name, and obvious meaning, from British colonial days. Earlier it had been named by Portuguese explorers Cabo de Santa Maria or 'Cape of Saint Mary'.
Makasutu is from the Mandinka language where Maka refers to Islam's holy city of Mecca and sutu means 'forest' and thus understood as 'holy forest'. The name is first known in the 12th century when Islamic followers swept through this region.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 17 July 2016
Sunday, 10 July 2016
Gabon 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 Gabon cities.
Libreville was founded on land long inhabited by the Mpongwe tribe in 1849. Those settling here were fifty-two slaves rescued by the French navy from the slave ship Elizia, hence the name meaning 'free town'.
Port Gentil was named in 1900 to remember French colonial administrator Emile Gentil (4 April 1866 to 30 March 1914).
Franceville grew from a village named Masuku, settled by former slaves it was originally known as Francheville meaning 'city of the freed' and, with this being a French colony, almost inevitably this became Franceville.
Gamba is the Vili word for 'fog', this perfectly describing the weather during the dry season.
Lastoursville was named after Francois Rigall de Lastours in 1886, the year after the death of the civil engineer turned explorer.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Libreville was founded on land long inhabited by the Mpongwe tribe in 1849. Those settling here were fifty-two slaves rescued by the French navy from the slave ship Elizia, hence the name meaning 'free town'.
Port Gentil was named in 1900 to remember French colonial administrator Emile Gentil (4 April 1866 to 30 March 1914).
Franceville grew from a village named Masuku, settled by former slaves it was originally known as Francheville meaning 'city of the freed' and, with this being a French colony, almost inevitably this became Franceville.
Gamba is the Vili word for 'fog', this perfectly describing the weather during the dry season.
Lastoursville was named after Francois Rigall de Lastours in 1886, the year after the death of the civil engineer turned explorer.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Monday, 4 July 2016
Distinguishing Males from Females
During my formative years I recall being instructed and/or quizzed on the names given to different genders in animals. When hearing a question on a television quiz show recently, I wondered when and why swans were classified as cobs and pens. Before long I was looking into the origins of boar and sow, bull and cow, buck and doe and all the rest.
Bull and Cow
Not only cattle but camel, elephant, elk, giraffe, hippopotamus, walrus, whale, and even the termite, rat, crocodile are known as bulls and cows. The word 'bull' can be traced to a Proto-Indo-European word bhel meaning 'to inflate, swell', thereafter a Germanic root meaning 'to roar', and ultimately used for male cattle. Not until the early 17th century did the males of other creatures come to be known as 'bulls'. The female 'cow' comes from Proto-Indo-European gwou which referred to cattle in general, irrespective of gender. Indeed it is only in Celtic and Germanic languages that 'cow' has come to refer to the female, in every other Indo-European language it refers to the species and both genders.
Boar and Sow
Swine or pigs would doubtless first come to mind, these terms are also used for bear, guinea pig, hedgehog, jellyfish, and mole. Nothing is known of the origns of boar before the Proto-Germanic bairaz, although we can be fairly sure it was created by the Germanic speakers as it is unknown outside the West Germanic-speaking regions. Sow can be traced to Proto-Indo-European su which began referring to both genders and is thought to have been imitative of the noise made by pigs. Again the use for animals other than pigs is comparatively recent.
Buck and Doe
Deer or even rabbits come instantly to mind but these terms are also used when speaking of antelope, reindeer, gerbil, goat, hamster, kangaroo and mouse. It seems none of these were the original references, indeed both words seem likely to have once referred to different animals. In the case of 'buck' this undoubtedly came from Proto-Indo-European bhugo meaning 'goat', while 'doe' is an Old English loan word and related to Old Irish dam 'ox' and Old Welsh dafad 'sheep'.
Stallion and Mare
After horse we may think of zebra, but should also consider the seahorse where the male and female are known as the seastallion and seamare. Of the two the female version is by far the oldest and originally referred to simply 'horse'. Stallion is thought to be derived from Proto-Germanic stalla or 'stalls' and where the beast would be kept in order to service the mares.
Dog and Bitch
Both terms are comparatively recent and the origins unknown. Until the 15th century both sexes were simply known as hounds.
Cock and Hen
Not only birds but also fish such as the salmon. While 'cock' is something of a mystery, 'hen' is derived from Old English hana - although hana referred to the male bird and came from the Proto-Indo-European kan meaning 'to sing', still seen in the word 'chant'.
Ram and Ewe
The origins of the male 'ram' is not clear but could refer to 'strength', the word seen in Old Norse rammr 'strong'. As with earlier examples the female 'ewe' began as referring to the animal in general and is derived from Proto-Indo-European owi meaning 'sheep'.
Gander and Goose
From the Germanic gans meaning 'goose' also comes 'gander', the root gans imitative of the bird's honking cry.
Stag and Hind
The male 'stag' has not changed since the Proto-Germanic stag with the same meaning. This comes from the Proto-Indo-European root stegh 'to prick, sting' and used in the sense of an animal in its prime. The female 'hind' is derived from Proto-Indo-European kem meaning 'hornless'.
Cob and Pen
The male swan or 'cob' may share an origin with the surname 'Cobb', in which case it simply describes a large beast. The female 'pen' shares an origin with the French penne or 'feather' in simply meaning 'to fly'.
Bull and Cow
Not only cattle but camel, elephant, elk, giraffe, hippopotamus, walrus, whale, and even the termite, rat, crocodile are known as bulls and cows. The word 'bull' can be traced to a Proto-Indo-European word bhel meaning 'to inflate, swell', thereafter a Germanic root meaning 'to roar', and ultimately used for male cattle. Not until the early 17th century did the males of other creatures come to be known as 'bulls'. The female 'cow' comes from Proto-Indo-European gwou which referred to cattle in general, irrespective of gender. Indeed it is only in Celtic and Germanic languages that 'cow' has come to refer to the female, in every other Indo-European language it refers to the species and both genders.
Boar and Sow
Swine or pigs would doubtless first come to mind, these terms are also used for bear, guinea pig, hedgehog, jellyfish, and mole. Nothing is known of the origns of boar before the Proto-Germanic bairaz, although we can be fairly sure it was created by the Germanic speakers as it is unknown outside the West Germanic-speaking regions. Sow can be traced to Proto-Indo-European su which began referring to both genders and is thought to have been imitative of the noise made by pigs. Again the use for animals other than pigs is comparatively recent.
Buck and Doe
Deer or even rabbits come instantly to mind but these terms are also used when speaking of antelope, reindeer, gerbil, goat, hamster, kangaroo and mouse. It seems none of these were the original references, indeed both words seem likely to have once referred to different animals. In the case of 'buck' this undoubtedly came from Proto-Indo-European bhugo meaning 'goat', while 'doe' is an Old English loan word and related to Old Irish dam 'ox' and Old Welsh dafad 'sheep'.
Stallion and Mare
After horse we may think of zebra, but should also consider the seahorse where the male and female are known as the seastallion and seamare. Of the two the female version is by far the oldest and originally referred to simply 'horse'. Stallion is thought to be derived from Proto-Germanic stalla or 'stalls' and where the beast would be kept in order to service the mares.
Dog and Bitch
Both terms are comparatively recent and the origins unknown. Until the 15th century both sexes were simply known as hounds.
Cock and Hen
Not only birds but also fish such as the salmon. While 'cock' is something of a mystery, 'hen' is derived from Old English hana - although hana referred to the male bird and came from the Proto-Indo-European kan meaning 'to sing', still seen in the word 'chant'.
Ram and Ewe
The origins of the male 'ram' is not clear but could refer to 'strength', the word seen in Old Norse rammr 'strong'. As with earlier examples the female 'ewe' began as referring to the animal in general and is derived from Proto-Indo-European owi meaning 'sheep'.
Gander and Goose
From the Germanic gans meaning 'goose' also comes 'gander', the root gans imitative of the bird's honking cry.
Stag and Hind
The male 'stag' has not changed since the Proto-Germanic stag with the same meaning. This comes from the Proto-Indo-European root stegh 'to prick, sting' and used in the sense of an animal in its prime. The female 'hind' is derived from Proto-Indo-European kem meaning 'hornless'.
Cob and Pen
The male swan or 'cob' may share an origin with the surname 'Cobb', in which case it simply describes a large beast. The female 'pen' shares an origin with the French penne or 'feather' in simply meaning 'to fly'.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
French Polynesia 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 French Polynesia islands and places.
Marquessas Islands are comprised of two main islands and a number of sea mounts, the name from the Spanish for 'marchioness'. These main islands are known locally as Te Henua Kenana and Te Fenua Enata both mean 'the land of men'. Local legend maintains the Marquessas were created by the gods as their home and thus all the island names relate to the building of a home.
Hiva Oa means 'the long ridgepole', a part of the home of the gods.
Motu One is the local name meaning 'Sand Island', an appropriate name as this is simply a sand bank on the edge of a coral reef.
Windward Islands, named for obvious reasons. Formerly known as the Georgian Islands, named for Hanoverian king George III.
Leeward Islands are simply the reverse of the previous name.
Papeete, when written correctly as Pape'ete, quite literally translates as 'water from a basket' - a topographical description rather than a literal one.
Tuamotus Islands were originally referred to as Paumotus meaning 'subservient islands' until changed to the modern Tuamatos meaning 'distant islands'.
Tokorua is a name meaning 'two' and should be understood as meaning 'companion, mate'.
Austral Islands take a name describing their location for these are 'the southern islands'.
Bass Islands are named after the British naval surgeon and explorer George Bass (1771-1803). He sailed on the Venus on 5 February 1803 bound for Tahiti then the coast of Chile before heading back to Sydney but neither he nor his crew were ever heard of again.
Tahiti is a Polynesian word meaning 'rising sun'.
Pitcairn is famous as where those who mutinied on HMS Bounty took up residence. Many of the surnames of this crew are still evident on the island, indeed the place is named after Robert Pitcairn who, then aged 15, was the first to sight the island.
Bora Bora was first known as Pora pora mai te pora meaning 'created by the gods' later abbreviated to Pora pora. and understaood to refer to 'the first born'. Not until Europeans arrived did the name change to Bora Bora, ostensibly this is an error.
Baie des Vierges (Bay of Virgins) is a spectacular sight at the foot of the village of Hanavave and originally named Baie des Verges (Bay of Penises) due to the phallic volcanic spires adorning the harbour. The Christian missionaries who came here were offended by the name and added an “i” to the word "verges" in order to change its meaning.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Marquessas Islands are comprised of two main islands and a number of sea mounts, the name from the Spanish for 'marchioness'. These main islands are known locally as Te Henua Kenana and Te Fenua Enata both mean 'the land of men'. Local legend maintains the Marquessas were created by the gods as their home and thus all the island names relate to the building of a home.
Hiva Oa means 'the long ridgepole', a part of the home of the gods.
Motu One is the local name meaning 'Sand Island', an appropriate name as this is simply a sand bank on the edge of a coral reef.
Windward Islands, named for obvious reasons. Formerly known as the Georgian Islands, named for Hanoverian king George III.
Leeward Islands are simply the reverse of the previous name.
Papeete, when written correctly as Pape'ete, quite literally translates as 'water from a basket' - a topographical description rather than a literal one.
Tuamotus Islands were originally referred to as Paumotus meaning 'subservient islands' until changed to the modern Tuamatos meaning 'distant islands'.
Tokorua is a name meaning 'two' and should be understood as meaning 'companion, mate'.
Austral Islands take a name describing their location for these are 'the southern islands'.
Bass Islands are named after the British naval surgeon and explorer George Bass (1771-1803). He sailed on the Venus on 5 February 1803 bound for Tahiti then the coast of Chile before heading back to Sydney but neither he nor his crew were ever heard of again.
Tahiti is a Polynesian word meaning 'rising sun'.
Pitcairn is famous as where those who mutinied on HMS Bounty took up residence. Many of the surnames of this crew are still evident on the island, indeed the place is named after Robert Pitcairn who, then aged 15, was the first to sight the island.
Bora Bora was first known as Pora pora mai te pora meaning 'created by the gods' later abbreviated to Pora pora. and understaood to refer to 'the first born'. Not until Europeans arrived did the name change to Bora Bora, ostensibly this is an error.
Baie des Vierges (Bay of Virgins) is a spectacular sight at the foot of the village of Hanavave and originally named Baie des Verges (Bay of Penises) due to the phallic volcanic spires adorning the harbour. The Christian missionaries who came here were offended by the name and added an “i” to the word "verges" in order to change its meaning.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Sunday, 19 June 2016
Etymologies and Homonyms
Whilst I am always interested in learning new words, it is the never so much the meaning as the origins which intrigue me. Previously I looked at homonyms, a word with two meanings and I looked at the etymologies of these words. Were there two completely different origins and the identical spelling is pure coincidence or has the word simply been used to mean two different things?
Here are another selection and, having done A to F before, now continue with a selection of others:
gill - not the shortened version of the female name Gillian (the name Jill is simply a late alternate spelling), where one of the earliest references is from 1630 in the term 'gill-flirt' referring to 'a giddy young woman'. Here the two meanings are somewhat uncertain, probably owing to the very different meanings of the same word. However the noun describing the breathing organ in fishes likely came to English from Norse tongues, such as Old Danish gaeln and thought to have originated in the Proto-Indo-European ghel-una meaning 'jaw'. The Greek word kheilos or 'lip' has similar beginnings and does tend to support this idea. The term is also used to mean a liquid measure, coming to England from the Old French gille, used in measuring wine, and derived from Latin gillo 'earthenware jar'. The trail becomes blurred here but seems to share an origin with 'gallon', which also originally would describe the vessel used to hold a liquid rather than the volume of liquid it held.
grave - is another where the two most commonest uses are through each having very different origins. Most often associated with death, it came from Old English graef meaning 'ditch', 'trench' and 'cave' as well as somewhere to place a body. This can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European ghrebh meaning 'to dig, scratch, scrape'. This also brought us the third rarely used use. While we tend to use 'engrave' today, originally 'grave' would have been the norm and the 'scratch, scrape' meaning is easy to see in 'engrave'. We also use 'grave' to mean 'weighty, important' and in this case the word came to English rather later from the Old French greve 'terrible, dreadful', itself from Latin gravis or 'heavy, ponderous, burdensome, loaded' and even 'pregnant'. Considering I am writing this on Father's Day to link a word suggesting 'children' with an alternative meaning of 'terrible, dreadful' might be rather bad timing. Yet this sense is undoubtedly the origin as it is also seen in Greek baros 'weight', Sanskrit guruh 'heavy', and from Proto-Indo-European gwere 'heavy'.
groom - here the origins of the meanings are much more closely related, this mainly through the much later beginnings. As a noun in the 12th century grome simply referred to a 'male child'. However within a hundred years it had come to mean 'a youth, young man' and also spoke of a 'male servant, attendeant, minor officer, a knight's squire'. Here the term is thought to be from Germanic growan meaning 'to grow'. As a reference to one who tends horses it clearly came from associations with a knight's squire, by the 19th century having the more general meaning of 'to tend for', and a century later 'prepare for office or succession'. Not until 1600 do we see this used as an abbreviation for 'bridegroom', where Old English brydguma may have been used to mean 'suitor' but is clearly a combination of bryd 'bride' and gruma 'man'. Note the term 'bride' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root bru meaning 'to cook, brew, make broth' - again unlikely to be the most popular revelation on Father's Day.
gross - in these metric times the idea of a dozen dozen, once the most common use, has been replaced by the 'to disgust' and yet the latter use is unknown prior to 1971. The earlier quantity is simply from the Old French gross douzaine or 'a large dozen' by the 16th century and had earlier been used for a weight equal to one-eighth of a dram'. While 'gross' is rarely used to mean 'large, thick' today, it was once used when speaking of the coarseness and quality of cloth. Here the German gross 'large' can still be seen, as can the Latin grossus 'thick, coarse' and used to refer to both food and a person.
hail - as a greeting is from Old Scandinavian heill 'health, prosperity, good luck' and related to Old English waes haeil, itself still used as 'wassail'. Of course we British will associate this more with the weather phenomenon, where the Proto-Indo-European kaghlo 'pebble' is still fairly easily seen in the Greek kakhlex also meaning 'pebble'.
horn - the two meanings are still very much in use, if not the very old joke "Why do cows wear bells? - Because their horns don't work" would have died out years ago. Horn, when speaking of that used on a car, comes from the wind instrument, itself so named as the first were indeed made from animal horns. That part of the animal can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European ker used to mean 'horn, head, uppermost part of the body'. Before anyone writes and points out there is a third use, the sexual usage is acknowledged and has a most interesting etymology. Since at least the 15th century (and possibly since the heyday of the Greeks) the horn has been used to symbolise cuckoldry, perhaps the victim would be seen to grow such on his head, and thus 'horny' in the sense 'aroused' comes from 'horn' being used to mean 'cuckold' - not a nice thing to be but, to my mind, a delightful word.
Here are another selection and, having done A to F before, now continue with a selection of others:
gill - not the shortened version of the female name Gillian (the name Jill is simply a late alternate spelling), where one of the earliest references is from 1630 in the term 'gill-flirt' referring to 'a giddy young woman'. Here the two meanings are somewhat uncertain, probably owing to the very different meanings of the same word. However the noun describing the breathing organ in fishes likely came to English from Norse tongues, such as Old Danish gaeln and thought to have originated in the Proto-Indo-European ghel-una meaning 'jaw'. The Greek word kheilos or 'lip' has similar beginnings and does tend to support this idea. The term is also used to mean a liquid measure, coming to England from the Old French gille, used in measuring wine, and derived from Latin gillo 'earthenware jar'. The trail becomes blurred here but seems to share an origin with 'gallon', which also originally would describe the vessel used to hold a liquid rather than the volume of liquid it held.
grave - is another where the two most commonest uses are through each having very different origins. Most often associated with death, it came from Old English graef meaning 'ditch', 'trench' and 'cave' as well as somewhere to place a body. This can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European ghrebh meaning 'to dig, scratch, scrape'. This also brought us the third rarely used use. While we tend to use 'engrave' today, originally 'grave' would have been the norm and the 'scratch, scrape' meaning is easy to see in 'engrave'. We also use 'grave' to mean 'weighty, important' and in this case the word came to English rather later from the Old French greve 'terrible, dreadful', itself from Latin gravis or 'heavy, ponderous, burdensome, loaded' and even 'pregnant'. Considering I am writing this on Father's Day to link a word suggesting 'children' with an alternative meaning of 'terrible, dreadful' might be rather bad timing. Yet this sense is undoubtedly the origin as it is also seen in Greek baros 'weight', Sanskrit guruh 'heavy', and from Proto-Indo-European gwere 'heavy'.
groom - here the origins of the meanings are much more closely related, this mainly through the much later beginnings. As a noun in the 12th century grome simply referred to a 'male child'. However within a hundred years it had come to mean 'a youth, young man' and also spoke of a 'male servant, attendeant, minor officer, a knight's squire'. Here the term is thought to be from Germanic growan meaning 'to grow'. As a reference to one who tends horses it clearly came from associations with a knight's squire, by the 19th century having the more general meaning of 'to tend for', and a century later 'prepare for office or succession'. Not until 1600 do we see this used as an abbreviation for 'bridegroom', where Old English brydguma may have been used to mean 'suitor' but is clearly a combination of bryd 'bride' and gruma 'man'. Note the term 'bride' comes from the Proto-Indo-European root bru meaning 'to cook, brew, make broth' - again unlikely to be the most popular revelation on Father's Day.
gross - in these metric times the idea of a dozen dozen, once the most common use, has been replaced by the 'to disgust' and yet the latter use is unknown prior to 1971. The earlier quantity is simply from the Old French gross douzaine or 'a large dozen' by the 16th century and had earlier been used for a weight equal to one-eighth of a dram'. While 'gross' is rarely used to mean 'large, thick' today, it was once used when speaking of the coarseness and quality of cloth. Here the German gross 'large' can still be seen, as can the Latin grossus 'thick, coarse' and used to refer to both food and a person.
hail - as a greeting is from Old Scandinavian heill 'health, prosperity, good luck' and related to Old English waes haeil, itself still used as 'wassail'. Of course we British will associate this more with the weather phenomenon, where the Proto-Indo-European kaghlo 'pebble' is still fairly easily seen in the Greek kakhlex also meaning 'pebble'.
horn - the two meanings are still very much in use, if not the very old joke "Why do cows wear bells? - Because their horns don't work" would have died out years ago. Horn, when speaking of that used on a car, comes from the wind instrument, itself so named as the first were indeed made from animal horns. That part of the animal can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European ker used to mean 'horn, head, uppermost part of the body'. Before anyone writes and points out there is a third use, the sexual usage is acknowledged and has a most interesting etymology. Since at least the 15th century (and possibly since the heyday of the Greeks) the horn has been used to symbolise cuckoldry, perhaps the victim would be seen to grow such on his head, and thus 'horny' in the sense 'aroused' comes from 'horn' being used to mean 'cuckold' - not a nice thing to be but, to my mind, a delightful word.
Sunday, 12 June 2016
A Complete Suit of Armour
Yesterday, wearing my hat as a part of Tamworth Literary Festival authors The Rose of Middleham Channel 4's recreation of Richard III suit of armour
On hearing the various parts of the suit of armour mentioned, and being fascinated by the development of words, I soon began looking at the etymologies of some of the many terms used for parts of a suit of armour, and beginning with .....
Armour, and obviously the parts going to make it, as we most commonly perceive it was brought to England by the Normans. The earliest surviving use in English dates from 1297, coming from the Old French amure and derived from the Latin armatura meaning 'arms and/or equipment' and from the root armare 'arms or gear'. Note it is only in recent times we have used 'suit of armour', for most of its life it has simply been 'armour'.
Armet is a bowl-shaped helmet covering the entire head and does not have a visor, but folding panels at the cheeks. Clearly the term shares its etymology with the word 'armour'.
Aventail is a piece of chainmail attached to the skull of the helmet covering the neck, throat and shoulders. It comes from the Old French esventail meaning 'air hole'.
Baldric, which is undoubtedly going to prove the most popular in this list, is a belt worn over the shoulder and thus little surprise to find it is from the Old French baldre meaning 'shoulder belt' and a variation on the original Latin balteus meaning 'belt'.
Brassard, that part protecting the arm, comes from Old French bras ard meaning literally 'arm hard'.
Breastplate is clearly a combination of two monosyllablic words. Thus taking each in turn we find the earliest root of 'breast' to be the Proto-Indo-European bhreus meaning 'to swell, sprout'. Oddly 'plate' is a much more recent word - as a table utensil unknown until the 15th century - and originally used to mean anything flat, it comes from the Greek platys 'flat, broad'.
Burgonet is another bowl-shaped helmet but with the distinctive crest. Despite this only being from the 16th century the origins are not clear, however this could be a feminine version of bourgignot and thus 'the Burgundian'.
Coif is the balaclava-like hood of mail, this from Old French coife and other contemporary terms sharing a meaning of 'cap'.
Cuirass is a breastplate, although also used to describe both breast and back plates together. It comes from Latin coriacea vestis 'garment of leather' and earlier from corium 'leather' or 'hide'.
Helm and helmet have idential origins, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kel meaning 'to cover, hide'.
Cervelliere is derived from Old French cervel meaning 'brain, head' and is the steel cap worn under the helm.
Bassinet is more headwear and easily seen as coming from the same source as 'basin' and ultimately from bacca 'water vessel'.
Culet is the skirt-like strips of metal covering the buttocks and derived from Old French cul 'bottom' and ultimately from Latin culus 'arse'.
Gauntlet, most often used today as part of a phrase meaning a challenge, is from Proto-Germanic wantuz 'glove'.
Gorget is the name given to the steel collar attached to the top of the breast and back plates. It is derived from Latin collare 'necklace band', earlier kwol-o 'neck' and itself from the root kwel 'move about, turn'.
Hauberk, also recorded as Haubergeon, is a coat of mail which lengthened over the centuries until it came to the knee. Possibly the name tells us the earliest forms had no sleeves, thus really a cape of mail, as the name shares an origin with the previous entry where Proto-Germanic hwals and Proto-Indo-European kwolso referred to the 'neck'.
Tuille are the bands hanging from the breastplate to protect the top of the legs. Here the origins are Old French teuille and Latin tegula meaning 'tile'.
Vambrace is the forearm guard and means just that - avant 'before' and bras 'an arm'.
Visor is from Old French visere and from vis or 'face'. Both are derived from Latin videre 'to see'.
On hearing the various parts of the suit of armour mentioned, and being fascinated by the development of words, I soon began looking at the etymologies of some of the many terms used for parts of a suit of armour, and beginning with .....
Armour, and obviously the parts going to make it, as we most commonly perceive it was brought to England by the Normans. The earliest surviving use in English dates from 1297, coming from the Old French amure and derived from the Latin armatura meaning 'arms and/or equipment' and from the root armare 'arms or gear'. Note it is only in recent times we have used 'suit of armour', for most of its life it has simply been 'armour'.
Armet is a bowl-shaped helmet covering the entire head and does not have a visor, but folding panels at the cheeks. Clearly the term shares its etymology with the word 'armour'.
Aventail is a piece of chainmail attached to the skull of the helmet covering the neck, throat and shoulders. It comes from the Old French esventail meaning 'air hole'.
Baldric, which is undoubtedly going to prove the most popular in this list, is a belt worn over the shoulder and thus little surprise to find it is from the Old French baldre meaning 'shoulder belt' and a variation on the original Latin balteus meaning 'belt'.
Brassard, that part protecting the arm, comes from Old French bras ard meaning literally 'arm hard'.
Breastplate is clearly a combination of two monosyllablic words. Thus taking each in turn we find the earliest root of 'breast' to be the Proto-Indo-European bhreus meaning 'to swell, sprout'. Oddly 'plate' is a much more recent word - as a table utensil unknown until the 15th century - and originally used to mean anything flat, it comes from the Greek platys 'flat, broad'.
Burgonet is another bowl-shaped helmet but with the distinctive crest. Despite this only being from the 16th century the origins are not clear, however this could be a feminine version of bourgignot and thus 'the Burgundian'.
Coif is the balaclava-like hood of mail, this from Old French coife and other contemporary terms sharing a meaning of 'cap'.
Cuirass is a breastplate, although also used to describe both breast and back plates together. It comes from Latin coriacea vestis 'garment of leather' and earlier from corium 'leather' or 'hide'.
Helm and helmet have idential origins, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kel meaning 'to cover, hide'.
Cervelliere is derived from Old French cervel meaning 'brain, head' and is the steel cap worn under the helm.
Bassinet is more headwear and easily seen as coming from the same source as 'basin' and ultimately from bacca 'water vessel'.
Culet is the skirt-like strips of metal covering the buttocks and derived from Old French cul 'bottom' and ultimately from Latin culus 'arse'.
Gauntlet, most often used today as part of a phrase meaning a challenge, is from Proto-Germanic wantuz 'glove'.
Gorget is the name given to the steel collar attached to the top of the breast and back plates. It is derived from Latin collare 'necklace band', earlier kwol-o 'neck' and itself from the root kwel 'move about, turn'.
Hauberk, also recorded as Haubergeon, is a coat of mail which lengthened over the centuries until it came to the knee. Possibly the name tells us the earliest forms had no sleeves, thus really a cape of mail, as the name shares an origin with the previous entry where Proto-Germanic hwals and Proto-Indo-European kwolso referred to the 'neck'.
Tuille are the bands hanging from the breastplate to protect the top of the legs. Here the origins are Old French teuille and Latin tegula meaning 'tile'.
Vambrace is the forearm guard and means just that - avant 'before' and bras 'an arm'.
Visor is from Old French visere and from vis or 'face'. Both are derived from Latin videre 'to see'.
Sunday, 5 June 2016
Ethiopia 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 to cast my net a little wider. This time Ethiopia and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.
Addis Ababa is easily translated from the Amharic addis abeba or 'new flower'. This is not a place where some striking fauna once grew, here the reference is to natural springs.
Dire Dawa is another translation from Amharic and means 'the place of remedy'.
Bahir Dar translates from the Amharic for 'sea shore'.
Arba Minch comes from the Amharic for 'forty springs'.
Debre Marqos is named after its principal church, dedicated to St Mark.
Debre Tabor takes its name from Mount Tabor, the hemispherical hill in an otherwise flat area having a name describing its shape.
Kibre Mengist takes its name from the Amharic for 'glory of the state'.
Tepi is traditionally held to be named after a Majangr man who managed a hive of bees found in a large tree in the marketplace.
Addis Zemen takes us back to the Amharic tongue and a meaning of 'new era'.
Gelemso at last provides us with a little more to say other than the simplest translation. It is thought this comes from the Oromo tongue, where galma Usso means 'the hall of Usso'. This referred to the mosque named after Usso, who came here to preach Islam to the indigenous people who called him ima gossa or 'the adopted son'.
Adis Alem is from Amharic meaning 'new world'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
Addis Ababa is easily translated from the Amharic addis abeba or 'new flower'. This is not a place where some striking fauna once grew, here the reference is to natural springs.
Dire Dawa is another translation from Amharic and means 'the place of remedy'.
Bahir Dar translates from the Amharic for 'sea shore'.
Arba Minch comes from the Amharic for 'forty springs'.
Debre Marqos is named after its principal church, dedicated to St Mark.
Debre Tabor takes its name from Mount Tabor, the hemispherical hill in an otherwise flat area having a name describing its shape.
Kibre Mengist takes its name from the Amharic for 'glory of the state'.
Tepi is traditionally held to be named after a Majangr man who managed a hive of bees found in a large tree in the marketplace.
Addis Zemen takes us back to the Amharic tongue and a meaning of 'new era'.
Gelemso at last provides us with a little more to say other than the simplest translation. It is thought this comes from the Oromo tongue, where galma Usso means 'the hall of Usso'. This referred to the mosque named after Usso, who came here to preach Islam to the indigenous people who called him ima gossa or 'the adopted son'.
Adis Alem is from Amharic meaning 'new world'.
Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.
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