Re: [tied] Re: Pre-Germanic speculation

31-10-03 17:07, tgpedersen wrote:

>> [Piotr:] ... Sam is an attested personal name, we can regard the
>> Sams- part as a fossilised genitive -- Sam's Island. Now the common
>> adjective <sámr> _is_ connected with Saami: it means 'swarthy,
>> dark-skinned' (the Norse stereotype of a Lapp), but of course it
>> doesn't mean that the name was given by Finno-Ugrians or even that
>> any of them ever lived in that area. It was a Norse name and was
>> brought to Denmark by Norse-speakers.
>>
>
> And what might the Norse-speakers then have meant by calling it
> "swarthy, dark-skinned island"?

Torsten, read my paragraph again, and try to understand what you're
reading. I was explaining the etymology of the _personal name Sam_
(which derives from a common adjective), and it's the personal name that
the name of the island comes from, in my opinion. If you need examples
of island names where the personal name is longer and therefore easy to
identify, consider Eskilsø (Eskil or Askil are attested Old Danish
variants of OIc. Ás-ketill/Áskill) or Agersø (from Ager = Á-geirr).

Piotr