From: Juha Savolainen
Message: 25414
Date: 2003-08-29
--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel J. Milton" <dmilt1896@...>
wrote:
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Peter P" <no1@...> wrote:
> > This brings up a question. What is the etymology of the Swedish
> > word 'Finland'? I would guess that it is connected with the
> > English word 'fen' meaning bog, but I don't have any evidence.
> Tacitus (Germania XLVI) discusses the Fenni, who are generally
> accepted to be the Finns (or at least Finnic). So, whatever the
> etymon might be, don't look for it in Swedish!
<fen> (OE fenn, ON fen) comes from PGmc. *fanja- and is clearly
distinct from the name of the Finns (sensu lato, including various
Finnic peoples), OE/ON Finn- < *finna- < *fenna- (cf. Tacitus'
<fenni:> and Ptolemy's Finnoi). I was being serious about 'the manly
ones': Huld's etymology, deriving *fenna- from *pes-n�- is convincing,
a.f.a. I'm concerned.
Piotr
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