From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 13068
Date: 2002-04-07
----- Original Message -----From: x99lynx@...Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 8:02 AMSubject: [tied] RE: Proto Romanian Cradle
> Another thing that bothers me is how the Balkans got their name. The name to me looks like another form of vlakh, blac-, walha, wallach, etc., all with the implication of Romance speaker. How old is it? Where did it come from?It isn't particularly old. I think it's first documented in 16th-c. sources as the name of the Balkan mountain range (if anyone has an earlier date, please correct me), and its use with reference to the entire peninsula is still more recent. The old Greek name of the mountains in Thrace was Haimos (Lat. Haemus, Aemus), apparently meaning 'oak copse, thicket', the Slavic (Bulgarian) name is Stara ('old') Planina ('mountain grassland'). The word Balkan is of Turkish origin (from <balqan> 'densely wooded mountain'), and like the ancient name emphasises the features of the lower parts of the range.Piotr