Re: More on Italian briga, brigare, and brigante

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Francesco Brighenti" <frabrig@...>
wrote:

>
>
>
>
> To complicate things, my It. etym. dictionary (by M. Cortelazzo and
> P. Zolli) questions the derivation of the verb brigare and of its
> substantived participle, brigante, from the term briga, although in
> this work, too, the latter is considered a probable loan from

Celtic

> bri:go- 'strength' as says Watkins.
>
> Cortelazzo and Zolli think as follows:
>
> 1. It. BRIGA may have originally meant 'strength, vigour' (it is
> used with this meaning by Dante). The semantic development
> into 'strife, quarrel, controversy' would have occurred later, and
> still later would that into 'nuisance, harassment, difficult
> problem'. If this is the case, it is not necessary to postulate, as
> does Watkins, a Proto-Celtic lemma *bri:ga:- 'strife' to accout for
> It. briga 'strife etc.' Indeed, Cortelazzo and Zolli think Pr.Celt.
> bri:go- 'strength' is the direct source of It. briga.
>
> 2. It. BRIGARE has as its original meaning 'to deal, to intrigue
> (secret plans) to obtain something' (in Dante, 'to struggle to do
> one's best'); to frequent (someone), to meet in small groups'. In
> Old Italian texts, a tenuous link with the meaning 'to fight' is,
> thus, only found in Dante, who also uses the noun briga with the
> meaning 'strength'.
>
> 3. It. BRIGANTE has as its original meaning -- in early authors

such

> as G. Boccaccio and G. Villani -- 'good companion, man-about-town'.
> Thus, a positive meaning. This is a semantic development from the
> meaning 'to deal, to meet in small groups' of the verb brigare. The
> negative meaning of the term brigante ('one who behaves badly',

then

> just 'a brigand') would have evolved later.
>
> In sum, a brigante would not be 'one who fights' (= a member of a
> confraternite of mercenaries)! At least, not plainly, i.e. with no
> break in the chain of semantic transmission, from a supposedly
> Celtic-derived Vulgar Latin term briga meaning 'strife'!
>
> Sigh! I hope someone's gonna make up something of all this...
>
> Francesco

If it were my name I would take the meaning "good companion, man-
about-town". But what about the idea as from IE *bhrg^hnt- "high,
lofty, towering"? Maybe it's a plural form, indicating a clan or
family, meaning "those of the mountains", "the superior ones", "the
tall ones", or some other such meaning from *bhrg^hnt- (and therefore
not necessarily connected to the goddess Brigantia)(maybe even
related to the Burgundians or Burgundy). But you obviously know
reams more about word and name origins than I do, so I really need
not have written anything -- really just wanted to show my interest
and sympathy in the matter.

AJ

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