As there are many ideas about the etymology of Rome, it is just unfair to
assert that Ro:ma: can be the base for the PIE word for "people" - in fact,
such a semantics is not being considered at all. Here are some views found
on the Net but based on works of serious scholars.
<--
The old view, according to which Roma could be connected with ruma, rumon,
'a stream,' made it easy to explain the gate as the river-gate; but if the
name is a tribal name, 'why can we not explain the porta Romana most easily
by supposing that this powerful Etruscan clan, or family, dwelt at this
north-west corner of the hill - where tradition puts the first settlement,
and that the gate, as well as the whole enclosure, got its name from this
fact?' A still later view is that of Herbig (BPW 1916, 1440 ff., 1472 ff.,
summarised by Nogara in DAP 2.xiii.279 and BC 1916, 141), that Roma is the
latinized form of the Etruscan ruma, 'breast' (cf. Varro, RR ii.11.5: mamma
enim rumis sive ruminare) and as a proper name means 'large breasted,' i.e.
strong or powerful.
-->
(
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Porta_Romana.html)
<--
The etymology of Roma was a mystery even in Classical Antiquity. There is no
explanation from Latin. There are even explanations from Etruscan, where the
name is Ruma; but of course you cannot expect good etymology from an unknown
language.
-->
(
http://www.rmki.kfki.hu/~lukacs/WHYROME.htm)
<--
W. Schulze (Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen, 581 f; Roma, Gründung
der etruskische Gens Ruma, 218 und 518 ff: Ramnes Tities Luceres,
etruskische Gentilnamen) published a theory, in which it is assumed that
even the name ROMA would be directly derived from the Etruscan language.
Usually, the explanation of this name has been sought in the adaptation by
the Etruscans of the Greek (i.e. Corinthian-Dorian) word "Rhômè/Rhômà",
which would have become "Rûmà" in Etruscan and "Rôma", used by the local
population, the Romans. By the way, the word in Greek means "force". So,
instead of the usual explanation, Schulze's theory was, that the name RUMA
(>Roma) was given immediately by the Etruscans and that Etruscan clans had
been directly involved in the foundation of Rome.
-->
(
http://www.geocities.com/jackiesixx/caere/ritus.htm)
<--
There are also diverse theories on the origns of the name Rome. One, partly
discredited in ancient times, suggests it derived from the Greek 'Rhome',
which meant strength or force. Another suggests its came form the word
Rumon, introduced by the Etruscans whose territory extended up to the Tiber
and siginified river.
It could also have derived from the Greek 'Reuma', which meant flow, and
thus once again 'river'.
Finally, a source suggets that Rome comes from Ruma, perhaps an archaic
Latin term meaning an animal's breast, hence hill.
Anyway, Ruma was what the Etruscans actually first called Rome. It is not to
be ignored that in ancient Anatolian idiom 'Ruma' meant village. There were
many city states in Etruria.
-->
(
http://www.deliciousitaly.com/etruria2b.htm)
And finally, the Mc Callister's explanation:
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 1999 11:36:56 -0500
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Sender: The NOSTRATIC mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
From: Rick Mc Callister <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Etruscan *remna, remzna vs. Latin Roma, Pontius
Comments: To: [log in to unmask]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
In I documenti etruschi [1996], our list colleague Adolfo Zavaroni has
rem-z-na as the Etruscan equivalent of the Roman name "Pontius" --i.e.
Etruscan families named Remzna used the name Pontius when writing Latin
I seem to remember that Palmer and others had postulated *remna as a
precursor of Ruma, Roma
Zavaroni links "Pontius" < *pont- to Greek puthme/n & Latin fondus and
links remzna to IE words meaning "support" [He sees Etruscan as IE]
But, given that "Pontius" strongly resembles "pons, pontis", then could
*remna essentially mean "bridge, ford". I'm thinking of Rome's location as a
citadel overlooking a river crossing [Isn't it the only natural crossing for
miles around?]
(
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9906&L=nostratic&D=1&F=&S=&P=72)
Grzegorz J.
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