Re: [tied] Eh, Catherine!

From: P&G
Message: 11450
Date: 2001-11-23

Message
Isn't it easier to guess that the Portuguese is from the Latin Catharine (from Greek katharos, pure), rather than from the later Greek aei-catharine (or hekatarine)?
 
Peter
----- Original Message -----
From: João S. Lopes Filho
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Eh, Catherine!

Maybe a crossing between katharos and aikaterine.
In Catholic countries the preferred form was CAT(H)ARINA, CAT(H)ERINA. The syncope of initial vowel often occurs in Portuguese (apotheca > bodega; episcopu > bispo), but in this case it would be expected Gatarina instead of Catarina.
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Eh, Catherine!

Fair enough, but where does her Russian name come from -- *h1katerina? :))) Her original name was Marta Skavronska (a Livonian/Latvian version of what is certainly a Polish surname). Different versions of "Catherine" (including Polish Katarzyna < *Katarina) have long been popular round the Baltic, so it may have been her middle name (I don't know what the historians say), but I am not aware of any initial E's except in this curious Russian variant. Presumably an adaptation of Greek Aikaterine was found suitable for her -- there _is_ a saint with that name -- St. Catherine of Sinai is worshipped as Aikaterine in the Greek Orthodox Church, AFAIK.
 
Piotr
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 2:33 PM
Subject: RE: [tied] Catharina.Catherina etymology - Katharos or Aikaterine - Slav
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Joćo S. Lopes Filho [mailto:jodan99@...]
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 3:21 PM
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [tied] Catharina.Catherina etymology - Katharos or Aikaterine - Slav

 
IFAIK the name hasn't been used in Russian till Peter the First time. It seemes there has been no Orthodox saint bearing this name. <Jekaterina> was adapted from German as the official name of the second Peter's wife, whose past is rather murky (some authors call her 'a camp-follower from the Baltic region').
 
Sergei


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