[This post appears on the American Dialact Society List; I've
forwarded it for its very interesting etymological workup. I note that
'Hochelaga' is a district of the city of Montreal. It's what I
regarded as a 'silly word' the first time I heard it.
Piotr, Miguel, Glen and Joao might suggest other etymologies, or throw
water on the one presented here.
Mr. Weber's email address is "carljweber" then the usual symbol
accessed by hitting shift-2, and then followed the three initials in
Bill Gates' isp, as in 'MicroSoftNetwork', followed by dot.com.
--Mark Odegard]
--start forward--
Hochelaga Etymology: Portuguese
Carl Jeffrey Weber
As an aside to Chicago Etymology. Hochelaga is a place name, writ
large and mysterious in the mid-16th century on the famous maps of the
deep interior of the North American Continent. It seems always to have
been thought by scholars to be first recorded by the famous French
explorer, Jacques Cartier, in 1535 - on his second voyage of discovery
(and appearing, directly attributable to Cartier, on Pierre
Descoliers' maps in the 1540s). It has been considerer a
Huron-Iroquois word, variously meaning Large Town, Big Rapids, or
Beaver Dam.
However, Hochelaga (Ochelage), appearing on the following
EARLIER Portuguese map, of 1534, challenges the traditional view, and
opens the strong possibility that it is of IndoEuropean origin -- a
water morpheme obviously suggested by "-laga."
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/lavrador.html .
The first part of the word, if by authentication, signifies the
number "eight," the appearance of the word shows an uncanny
prescience, the Great Lakes not having been (even roughly) sketched in
on any map for another 116 years. (Of this "Hoche-" as the number,
though, I'm at this point reserved.)
The Portuguese in the Gulf of St. Laurence area was known early
- as was the presence of other Europeans (but primarily as fleet
fishing industries, not explorers).
Particularly illustrative, though, the Portuguese are seen on
the famous Cantino map of 1502. The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494, is
expressed on this map as the famous line separating the Spanish from
the Portuguese --
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/port_cantino.html .
Note how little of the Continent was known. The word "Portugal," not
very legible here, nonetheless, shows their claim in the St. Laurence
region, near the top of the 1494 line.
If these observations could be directed to the attention of a
scholar of historical Portuguese, I would appreciate it. On similar
Iberian cartographic evidence and historical context, "Canada" might
also be determined to have been Portuguese, relating to the early
descriptions of water foul that, to the astonished bedazzlement of the
Europeans, blackened the skies betwixt the vast horizons.
--end forward--