Re: [tied] Re: Celtic two-components place-names

At 01:56 22.11.2001 +0000, Christopher Gwinn wrote:

>Anyone interested in Gallo-Brittonic etymologies should purchase
>immediately the excellent and inexpensive "Dictionnaire de la langue
>gauloise" (CNRS, 2001) by Xavier Delamarre.

Thank you, I will search for it

> > Samarobriva (Bel.)
>
>Samaro- seems to be related to samo- "summer", and it may have the
>meaning of "summery" or even "fallow" - Briua = "bridge", so "Summer
>Bridge"?

So also Sambroca (Tar.) comes out from Samar- ?

> > Mirobriga (Bet., Lus., Tar.)
>
>Miro- may be related to Gaulish mero-, apparently "wild/agitated" +
>briga "hill". Perhaps "Wild hill".

Actually there is a Meribriga (Lus.) and also Merua (Tar.), this latter
could be from *Mer-ova, since the suffix -ua seems to be very
distinguishing of Celtic Hispania. Do you agree ?

> > Darioritum (Lug.)
>
>Dario = "agitation/tumult/rage" + riton "ford" -
>so "Agitated/Furious Ford"

So, is it the same as the hydronym Darus fl. (Pan.) (but also spelled
Draus) and Daruveda (Bri.) ?
The root *dar(u)- should be referred as an hydronymic one in the McBain
dictionary, if I remember well.

> > Va(r)goritum (Lug.)
>
>I think Uagoriton is the accepted form - it may be related to the
>Gaulish root uac-, of uncertain meaning, but perhaps related to
>Latin uaccilare - may mean something like "curved" - so
>maybe "Crooked Ford".

This meaning seems dangerously fitting Vagum pr. (Corsica), also because
the sonorisation of (above all intervocalic) stops should be a feature of
southern Celtic dialects.
Would someone start a discussion about the presence of Celts in ancient
Corsica ?
I can soon put in the middle Centurinum, in which I'd see *centu-/cintu-
'before' + *rino- < *rei-no-, like Rhenus fl. < *rei-
And also Mora < *mori- 'sea' (if it is so, in the more restricted sense of
'bog, lake')

> > Arabriga (Lus.)
>
>Perhaps related to aramo- "sweet/calm" - so maybe "Gentle Hill".

Could we include Araducta (Lus.) with the variant Araducca (Tar.) into this ?
Or *ara- should be merged into the series with Arar fl. (Lug.), Aranus (Bri.) ?
For F. Villar, Arabriga means simply 'the hill of Ara', being *Ara a
pre-celtic (but IE) place-name

> > Arcobriga (Lus., Tar.)
>
>Arco- may be a variant of argo- "white" - so "White Hill"

This I don't see. Shouldn't it be the contrary: *Arco- > Argo- in Hispania,
if the case ?
And consider that arc- is present also in Arcilacis (Bet., Tar.)

>- Chris Gwinn

Antonio