Re: inscriptions

From: tolgs001
Message: 26816
Date: 2003-11-02

Nevertis wrote:

>What meaning are of Romanian place names Ilean, Ileana, Ileni,

Ileana = Helen(a) (compare with its Hung. variant, Ilona).
Ileni might be (I don't know for sure) a toponymic plural of
Ilea ['i-lea, where <ea> is to be treated as a diphtong], a
Romanian name quite frequent in Transylvania, one of the Rum.
reflexes of the Biblical Elias (Hebr. Eliahu). (The most
frequent Elias in Romanian is Ilie [i-'li-e] or [i-'li-je].
Hence Iliescu, the current Romania's president's 2nd name.)

>Ilencfalva and Ileu?

I doubt this spelling: "Ilenc;" I don't know its
meaning; but the 2nd part of the toponym is "village" in
Hungarian: <falva> ['fOl-vO] or <falu> ['fO-lu].

>Also, what about Romanian place names Grinari,

[grI-'narj]

<grînar> (official spelling 1954-1992) or <grânar> means
a place/area where cereals, esp. <grâu> "wheat," are abundant.
Another, related, meaning is "deposit of <grâne> "cereals"
(esp. wheat). Therefore, the American notion "the Wheat Belt"
can be translated into Romanian as <grânarul (Americii)>.

Also: <grânar>, plural <grânari> is an old-fashioned term
for someone who buys-sells wheat.

>Malinis

[m&-li-'niS]

An area covered with the plant/tree <Prunus padus> "bird
cherry", i.e. in Romanian <malin> [m&-'lin]. A secondary
meaning of it (in some Romanian regions): lilac.

>and Retis?

I assume it is only a -t- for -d- variant of the Rum.
word <redi$> (or <rediu>): "a young forest".

George