--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>> "Zürich" is a corrupted germanized form of Latin "Turicum" --
>> the name Romans give to the city they founded in 15 B.C. -- which
>> has nothing to do with "Thor", being probably connected to Celtic
>> "dur" `water`.
> Full of Tur-/Tor- names. As for what *tur- in Turicum is, none of
> us can say.
Well, a 100% safety would be excessive, but since:
a) the city was founded by Romans in 15 B.C. and called "Turicum";
b) first inhabitants were Celtic lake dwellers;
c) "dur" means `water` in Celtic;
d) there were no "Thor"-inspirational sources in immediate vicinity
of the city at Roman establishment: Alamans came centuries later;
... there is little hope for "Thor" being the root for Latin name
"Turicum" (for which a Celtic origin looks most likely).
> I'm just observing that the element *tur- is all over the place.
Which place? Examples?!
Outside Germanic area, why on earth should a geographical unit
name containing the initial _string of characters_ "tur-" or "tor-"
assigned a particular meaning to that string (as "element"), and
further assumed that meaning has to be related to "Thor"?! That
sounds pretty bad for usual pertinence standards in linguistics.
Not every "tur" ("tor") in the world has something to do with your
favorite matching god name (for instance, Romanians have "tur" as
legitimate word meaning `trousers' posterior` but I wouldn't relate
it even for a joke with the mighty Thor...).
Regards,
Marius Iacomi