PART
7 –
Ch.XLI.10
The
great Pelasgian empire
(The
Pelasgian language)
XLI.
10. I. Elements of barbarian Latin language.
In order to have a better
understanding of the characteristics of the ancient barbarian language, we
shall reproduce a series of words of Latin origin, which had belonged to the
national idiom of the populations forming the ethnic substratum of the
provinces subjected to Roman domination, words which do not derive, either from
Greek language, or from the Italic language.
Some of these
remains of ancient language have been transmitted by the Greek and Latin
authors, while others have been preserved in the Egyptian mortuary papyri. It
is understandable though that these words, which were subjected to other mode
of pronunciation, to other grammatical laws, and written in a foreign alphabet,
could not reach us but in a more or less altered form.
What we present
here is only a specimen of Latin
barbarian language, as much as the pages of this book allow us. But a more
general glossary, which contained also the barbarian Latin words which have
entered the Slavic, German, Gallic, Britannic and Hispanic languages, would be
a true light for the philological studies devoted to knowing the foundation on
which have developed, the Italic rustic language on the one hand, and the Roman
languages of the provinces on the other.
The research of the
origin of a language, as well as in the appreciation of its elements and forms,
cannot proceed but in a historical way; any other system, lacking a basis,
cannot lead to the truth.
From the examples
which we reproduce further it shall be seen that a great number of Romanian
words, considered by some as originated from the Slavonic language, have
belonged in fact to the Pelasgian, barbarian language, only many hundreds of
years before the arriving of the Slavs in Europe.
(TN – In the
following I took the liberty of omitting most of the references, as most of
them have been already mentioned throughout this book).
.A.
- Aapas – in the language of the Oscii, Lat. aquas?, Romanian apa. Aphas, river in the
- Aaru and Anru,
sown field, champ des moissons, in
the northern regions of the ancient world where, according to the Egyptian
religious legends, the stalk of the wheat was 7 ells high, and its ear 2 ells.
Il circule dans les champs d’Aarou,
ou lui sont donnes le ble et l’orge (Pierret,
Le livre d. morts, p. 8. 225. 331. 335. 508). The word derives from the root aro, Greek aroo, to plow, Romanian a ara, from which aroura, place of plowing.
- ababa, mother, mama in the language of the Thracians. Maximinus senior de vico
Thraciae vicino, barbaro etiam patre
et matre genitus…Et patri quidem nomen Micea,
matri Ababa fuisse dicitur (Capit.
Maximini duo). It is a derivation from an ancient form ab – ava = abavia, see Baba.
- Ababus on a Latin inscription, instead of abavus (Reines, Synt. Inscr. Lat. I, 10. 6. 71).
- ’Abba,
tata, Lat. pater (Suidas). The word has existed also in the ancient Pannonic
language. Rex Samuel (c.1040), qui pro sua pietate Oba vocabatur (Anonym. Bel. reg. not. 32) see ‘Appa.
- Abbae, tata,
in the language of the inhabitants of Bogos in
- ‘Abioi
(Abii), migratory people of
shepherds, who, coming from Asia to Europe, had divided in two currents, one advancing
westwards along the shores of the Northern Sea, the other along the Carpathians
and the Danube. With Homer, the Abii
appear at the north of
- ‘Abos
(Abus), part of the Taurus mountain
in northern
- ‘Aboula
(Abula), a city of
- Accion. According to Aviennus (Or. Mar. 683),
- Aker, as called in the Egyptian papyri,
the fertile territory, the divine region from the northern parts of the
Pelasgian empire. Roi de la contree
Aker; region Aker (Pierret, Livre d. m. 47. 19. 7. 570). The word corresponds to the
Latin form ager, Germ. Acker, as results from the
interpretation of this word in the Egyptian papyri. The great agricultural
festivity, “La fete Haker”, is also
called “grande fete du labourage” (Pierret, ibid. 84. 85). See Aaru.
- ach and acha,
ancient barbarian words with the meaning aqua,
apa. In Rhetia and on the territory of
Germany, where part of the Arimii Perlasgians dwelt (Herminonii, Arminii,
Alamanii), ach is the final word in
the name of a number of rivers, like Altach,
Kronach, etc (Grimm, D. W.; Jung, Romer). The same word appears in the
German language also under the form Ache,
Aache and Oche. Aucha, river in
Daica, at the place called Galtis, where the king of the Goths, Ostrogotha, had
defeated the king of the Gepidii, Fastida (Jornand.
Get. 17).
- ‘Achaia
(Achaia), in older times a general
geographic term for the lands situated near the sea. With Homer, Achaia is sometimes the name of
Hellada. In a more constricted term, Achaia
was the name of a province of the
- ‘Acheloos
(Achelous), a
- Achon.,
throwing lance (Homer). In Romanian aconiu,
instrument of iron, thin and sharp.
- ‘Ades
and ‘Aides
(Hom), Orcus,
- aesar, in the language of the Etruscans deu, Lat. deus (Suet. Oct. 97), Hesychius aisoi; in the language of
the Getae, Anses, demigods (Jornandes, c. 13); Anxur, the co-name of Jove with the Romans, venerated as Jupiter puer (Serv. Aen. 7. 799); all dialectal forms of a single word. Romanian anger; Lat. angelus; Fr. Ange;
Bress. Anzo; Burguig. Ainge; Port. Anjo.
- aar,
aer (TN – air), atmosphere (Hom.).
- Aeternitate(m) imperi(i), the durability of the empire (Henzen, Acta Fr. Arv.). In the ancient
rustic language, the word aeternus
did not have the meaning of “sempiternus” (TN – for ever), but it meant only diu vivere, to live long.
- agele, flock, multitude,
Lat. grex. With Homer, cattle herds, armentum.
In Romanian arghelia, argela (Marienescu, Bal. I), hargelia (Lex.
Bud.), hergelia, erghelia, equorum grex, equorum armentum; argelar, pl. argelari,
the owner, or the man who watched the horses. In Romanian the word derives from
the root “arg” (
- agon, place of
assembly, the space destined for the war games, locus congregationis, locus
certaminis (Homer, Herod.), Romanian ogoiu,
sphaeristerium, space for the game with balls.
- agos, dux exercitus, duce (Homer, Iliad, Iv.
519). With Plato, agis
(Cratyl. 15). In Deuteronomy, Og,
the king of the Amoreii, the last of the Giants. In Romanian epic songs the
word agu has the meaning of emperor (Bragadir village,
Teleorman).We find in the language of the Secuii of Transilvania, who have
borrowed a lot of words from the Romanians, the verb agal, pretending, playing the “lord”, meaning “agul” (Kriza, Vadrozs.
493). In an ancient Egyptian papyrus, Hermes is called Aah-Toth, where his title Aah
(= Ag) is also explained by the words “Marchant a la tete” (Maspero, Et. II. 448). To the root agu (agos) seems to be reduced
also the Latin word Augustus
(Agustus), adopted by Octavianus as imperial title, a proof that this term had
had in the popular language the meaning of dux,
imperator. Ovid and Festus think that “Augustus” was a word synonymous with
“sanctus”, but this was a more remote meaning in any case.
- agros, with Homer field and the countryside, as opposed to the city. In
Latin ager, in Romanian, field in
general, agru, tilled field
(Hasdeu), in
- aia, having the same
meaning as gaia, terra, tellus,
earth, country (Homer). In the folk poetry of Dobrogea, aieni, indigenous people,
of the land (Burada, Dobrogea, p.
128).
- aietos, vulture (Homer),
in Romanian, arete and erete, bird from the genus of the
hawks.
- ala, equus, cal, in the language of the
Pelasgians from
- ‘Alba (Alba), the ancient name of the river
- Alba, with Tacitus Albis, the great
- ‘Albachos (Albacus), a mountain in
- ‘Albanon oros (Albanus mons), a mountain in southern
- albeum, instead of alveum, Romanian albia.
Padus relicto albeo suo (Grom. Vet. 50).
- ‘Albia
ore (Albii montes), was the
ancient name of the Alpes (Strabo), see Alpes.
- ‘
-
- Albocola, locality in
- Albula, the ancient name of the
- Album promontorium in
- Albus, Albanus, Albonus, Albicus,
Albicianus, personal co-names in Hispania (C I.L. vol. II).
- alces, a species of deer in
- alphos,
Lat. albus, Rom. alb, alfos in the Iguvine dialect, Retorom. alf.
- alphos,
white spots on the skin, Lat. vitiligo.
- allos,
alius, Rom. altul, another.
- Alpes (sing. Alpis), the name of the high chain of mountains at the north of the
Italic peninsula. The word derives from albus.
According to Strabo, the ancient name of the Alpes was ‘Albia ore (Albii montes). The changing of b in p also appears in the Romanian language: alpia instead of albia (Marienescu,
Bal. II. 15).
- ‘Alpis
(Alpis), the name of a river in the regions above the Umbrii. In the Roman
epoch Alba, Albis, today
- alpus, in the language of the Sbinii, Lat. albus, Rom. alb.
- Altanus, the name of a wind in the Latin rustic
language (Pliny,
- ‘Altenai (Altenae), a castle near the
- alutatium (aurum). This is how the ancient workers of
mines called the gold found on the surface of the earth, “in summo cespite” (Pliny, 33. 4. 2).
- alutia, gold mines in the language of the
inhabitants of
- Alutum river, the name of the river Olt in a Roman inscription from the
time of Trajan (Froehner, Col.
Traj.). With Herodotus Atlas, with
Ptolemy Aluta.
- ‘Amaia
(Amaia), a name of the divinity
Ceres, Maia, Terra Mater with the
Romans.
- amalusta, the name of a plant in
- amarachos, the name of a
plant with the inhabitants of Cyzic, near Propontis, Lat. amaracus. In Romanian, a similar form is maracina.
- amelgein, Lat. mulgere,
- ‘Amnias
(Amnias), a river in Paflagonia, in Latin amnis,
river.
- ‘Amnisos
(Amnisus), river and port in Crete (Odyss.).
- amnos, fem. amna,
uniu anni agnus, in Romanian miel and mnel (TN – lamb).
- amolgos, crepusculum,
Romanian amurgul, with Homer nochtos
amolgo, evening.
- amino, to abate, to
reject. With Homer the word is in connection with the “hands”; Romanian a amana (TN – mana=hand), proferre,
procrastinare.
- anaxyris, used only in pl. anaxyrides,
Romanian cioarecii, or the long and
wide trousers of the Scythes (Herod.), Lat. braccae. The word corresponds to the Romanian nadragi, the peasant wide trousers worn eve today in some parts of
Romania (Vlasca, Teleorman).
- agchylos, crooked, curved
(Homer), Lat. angulus, Rom. unghiu (TN – angle).
- ‘Anemoreia
(Anemoria), a city near Delphi on a high hill (Homer, Steph. Byz.). With Homer nemos,
Lat. nemus, forest with pasture for
cattle.
- ‘Anigridai
nymphai (Anigridae nymphae). In the province Elis in the Peloponnesus,
according to Pausanias, the people who had black or white marks on the body
addressed their prayers to the nymphs called Anigridae (Descr. Gr. 5. 5. 11). See ‘Anigros.
- ‘Anigros
(Anigrus), river in Triphylia in the Peloponnesus (Strabo).
- anti and
ankh, in the mortuary papyri of the Egyptians with the meaning of unguentum, oleum, butyrum. The word
corresponds to the Romanian form unt,
Lat. unctum.
- Anxurus, the co-name of Jove, venerated as Jupiter
puer. The word belongs to the rustic, barbarian language and corresponds to the
Romanian anger, Romaniol anzul, Lat. angelus.
- ‘Apa, title of the
Egyptian priests. See ‘Abba and ‘Appa.
- Apammari, a locality in Mesopotamia near the
Euphrates. The word corresponds to the Romanian form Apa mare (TN – big water). In Persian ap means also apa, Lat. aqua. See apo.
- aparcha, primae anni
fruges. Romanian parghie (TN –
lever).
- Aphas, river in the Epirus. In Latin aqua, Rom. apa, see ach and acha.
- Aplu, the name of Apollo with the Etruscans, Aplus on the national coins of Dacia.
- Apo fl., a river of Dacia which flew into the
Danube near the Roman road coming from Viminaciu towards Sarmizegethusa. Appion with Ravennas, Apion with Guido. See the forms Aapas,
Apammari, Aphas.
- ‘Appa =
pappas, atta,, father, with Calimachus.
- ‘Apsorros
(Apsorrhus), river in Cappadocia (Ptol.
5. 6), river of the Pontus (Scylax).
In the language of the Romanian people, apsora
and apusora, diminutive forms of apa, Lat. aqua. Apsora, a stream
in Romania near Muntele sec in Mehedinti.
- Apulum and Aplum, the name of a city of Dacia in
Roman inscritptions. With Ptolemy ‘Apoulon, on the Tab. Peut. Apula. The form of the name corresponds
to A(l)bulum, A(l)bula. In the
Middle Ages Alba Transilvaniae.
- aroaesa, in the language of the inhabitants of
Bogos (Ethiopia) means aratoriu,
plowman, Lat. arator, Germ.
Ackersmann.
- arborria, the name of a plant with the Dacians;
with the Greeks chissos melas, and with the inhabitants of Italy hedera nigra.
- archale and archane,
the wood on which ropes were tied in order to catch or pull something, Romanian
arcan.
- ‘Archas, pl. ‘Archades
(Arcas, Arcades), the inhabitants of Arcadia. According to Suidas, the
Arcadii were the most bellicose among all the Greeks, who led a military life
in the beginning (Strabo, 5. 2. 4).
With the Athenians, there existed a class of soldiers with the name ‘Argadeis
(Herod. 5. 66). Pausanias mentions also arcasi
(TN – bowmen) among the fighters of Arcadia (4. 4. 3). Without doubt, in
the beginning ‘Archas had the same meaning as the Romanian arcas, Sagittarius. In Maramures arcas, hunter, or soldier armed with a
bow.
- ‘Argetares
(Argetares), a castle fortified by Justinian in the regions of the
river Timoc.
- argilla,
subterraneum aedificium, subterranean dwelling in the language of the
Cimmerians (Crimea), in Romanian argea,
Lat. cella subterranea.
- argillos, mouse in the
language of the Thracians, Lat. mus.
- argos, agru, field, untilled earth,
countryside. With the ancient Macedonians and Thessalians argos = pedion. The word
was especially used by the Pelasgians. Pelasgichon ‘Agros, the plain of
Thessaly; Pedion ‘Argon or pedion tou ‘Argou, a plain in
Arcadia. In Romanian argat, paid
hand employed in farming work, Greek ‘argates.
- arima, Scythian word,
Lat. unus, Rom. unu. This word has been preserved in a close form in the folk
verses recited by children in the Hungarian regions of ancient Pannonia - where
we find the forms unuma (unoma,
onoma) and dunuma, with the meaning
of one, two -, and in the verses recited by the Romanian children: una mia, una-i mara, anarama. ‘Arima
in the Scythian language is a rotacised word, like with the Istro-Romanians ur = unu (TN – one).
- Arius, river near the Indus, which flew along
Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great. Macedo-Rom. ariu.
- aroo, Lat. arare, Rom. a ara (TN – to
plough).
- arotar, Lat. arator, he who ploughs, Rom. plugar.
- ‘Arotos. Lat. aratus, Rom. arat, aratura (Hom.).With Hesiodus arotos, tempus arationis,
the time of ploughing.
- arotron,
aratrum, plough. ‘Aroura (Hom.), Lat. arvum,
arata terra, ager, campus; Rom. camp de aratura, ploughed field.
- arrabon, Rom. arvuna (TN – initial deposit for owed
money). From the Romanians the word has passed in the language of the Ruthenii
under the form arawona (Miklosich).
- arren, ram, animal of
masculine sex. In Latin ares and aries. Rom. arête, ariete and ireu,
not gelded ram.
- ‘Arsa
(arsa), a castle in Dardania in the time of Justinian.
- ‘Arsena
(Arsena), a castle in the regions of Illyria, repaired in the time of Justinian.
A similar form is found in Romanian incantations: the woods of Arsinii (Marian).
- ‘Arzos
(Arzus), a city and river in Thrace, which flew in the Propontis. ‘Arzon,
castle in the Rhodope mountains. In the regions of the Carpathians, Ars and Arsul, the name of a number of mountains.
- ‘Asarachai
(Asaracae), a people from the region of the Getulii in Libya (Ptol. IV. 6. 296). Seraca
(var. Saraca), locality in Media (Ptol. VI. 2). In Rom. sarac, pauper, infelix.
- ‘Asarath
(Asarath), river in Mauritania. Zaratha (Zaratha), locality in Mauritania. Zalathos (Salathus), river in Libya. On the
Romanian territory from the Carpathians, a number of streams and localities Sarata.
- aschu
(aschu), According to Herodotus, the
Arimaspii from Scythia made from the fruit of the tree “ponticon” a sort of
drink, and from the peel of the fruit a sort of bread named aschu
(lib. IV. 23). It is the same word as the Latin esca, nutriment alimente, In Cumanic language as, cibus.
- ‘Asilba
(Asilba), a castle near the Istru, repaired in the times of Justinian. A
barbarian form of the word silva,
wood.
- ateros,
alter, Rom. altul, another.
- ‘Atlas
(Atlas), a river which flew into the lower Istru (Herod.). In the Roman epoch Alutum, Aluta. In the medieval documents of Hungary Olt and Olta, Romanian Olt.
- atta, allocution of
respect of a youth towards someone older (Suidas). In the language of the
inhabitants of Bithynia attis had the meaning of papas,
tata, father, in the Latin rustic language atta. The word has been also in use in Dacia (C. I. L. III. 1435). In this inscription Atta corresponds to Tata
from the inscription from Palestrina, placed on the grave of a child, by
Primitiva Mat(er) and Arius Tata (Torquati, Orig. d. l. ital. 304). In the Comasc dialect of Italy atta = father. With the Swiss ate, with the Romansche at, in the word bis-at, ancestor. In the language of the Cumanii, ata means pater.
- aule, Lat. aula, the courtyard of a house. With
the Romanians from Banat avila =
courtyard.
- aure, Ionic aura,
aer, air, Lat. aura, the gentle
breath of air. In the Megleno-Rom. dialect aura
= coolness, Lat. refrigerium.
- Austravia (Austrania), the name of an
island from the Suevic Sea, renowned in ancient times for the “electrum”
brought from there (Pliny, XXXVII.
12. 2). Austravia corresponds to Ostravia, Romanian ostrov, island.
- ‘Axenos and ‘Axeinos (Axenus or Axius), an ancient name
of the Euxine Pontos, an altered Greek form of the word ocean(os), see ‘Ocheanos.
- ‘Axios (Axius), a river of lower Mesia, which flew into
the Danube, near the marsh called Ociu
at Rasova; ‘Axios, the great river of Macedonia, today Vardar; ‘Axios,
river in Syria, near which was the city Apamea;
Axium, river in Britannia; Axon, river in southern Caria; Axona, river in Gallia Belgica, at the
frontiers of the Remii. These are words which also appear under the forms of Oaxes, river in Crete; Oxus, the most important river of Asia
after the Indus and Ganges; Accion,
the name of the lake Leman, all of which are reduced to aqua, aha, Rom. ociu,
see ach
and ‘Ocheanos.
- AXBVCTE – A graffiti discovered in the basilica S.
Alexander in Via Nomentana in Rome, whose age goes back at the most to the 4th
century ad, contains in its first part the letters of the alphabet in the
following order:
AXBVCTESDR
FQGPH….M
The learned
archaeologist Garrucci had observed
that in this series of letters, A is
united with X, B with V, and so forth.
Another graffiti discovered in the termes from Stabiae near Pompeii, contains
the letters of the alphabet almost in the same order: AXBVCTDSER. Other
examples have been also discovered on the walls of Pompeii and Herculanum,
cities buried under the ash of the Vesuvius in 79bc. Finally, the illustrious
numismatist Eckhel has realized too
that on some series of the denarii of the Roman Republic could be seen
imprinted the letters AX, BV, CT, DS,
ER, FQ, GP, HO, IN, KM. The archaeologist Cavedoni has been the first to suppose that this curious
combination of letters was reduced to an ancient didactic use, to have the
children repeat the letters of the alphabet not only in their established
order, but also in this way of jumping from the first letter to the last, the
second to the second last, and so forth. What Cavedoni had only supposed, is
completely confirmed by the following words of S. Hieronymus: As we read the Greek alphabet in its normal order to
the last letter, similarly, in order to imprint even more in the minds of the
children the memory of letters, we have the custom to change the order of
reading, and to add to the letters from the beginning those from the end,
saying AlphaOmega, BetaPsi (Ierem.
XXV, 26). In the above graffiti and examples, the letter A is combined with X,
which according to some, had been introduced in the Latin alphabet in the times
of Cicero, and according to others, of Augustus. But before the borrowing of X
from the Greeks, as it was said, the last letter of the Latin alphabet had been
Z (cf. C. I. L. vol. VIII. 20. 21). Without doubt there also had existed a
combination of A with Z, in the form AZBVCTDSERFQ.
Through prolonged
use, this mixed order of the letters had started to form a sort of groups or
words, like AZ, BUCTE, DSERFQ, which
later have been applied as particular names for some letters, as seen in the
names of the letters in the ancient Romanian alphabet, wrongly called Cyrillic: A = Az(AZ); B = Buchie (BVCT and BVCTE);
C (which corresponds to ce in Romanian epigraphy) = cerfa (DSERFQ).
The bishop Isidorus of Sevilla tells us also that
the names of the letters were of barbarian origin (Orig. lib. I. 4. 17). Later,
this combination of letters AZ – BVCTE
became in the language of the barbarian populations the name of the alphabet, and the letters were
generally named buchi by the
Romanians and Slavs (Germ. Buchstabe).
The Greeks had borrowed the letters of the alphabet from the Barbarians or the
Pelasgians of Europe, not from the Phoenicians. This results from the
similarity of the ancient Greek letters with the Latin letters (Pliny, VII. 58). And this resemblance
of forms had made Caesar to believe
that the Helvetii and Druidii used Greek letters (B. G. I, 29; VII, 14). The
ancient terminology of the graphic art has in fact a barbarian character,
pastoral and agricultural. With the Greeks, the ancient way of writing was
called bustrophedon, meaning “as the
oxen turn during ploughing” (Pausanias,
5. 18). The first row was written from left to right, the second from right to
left, and each following row started from where the preceding had ended. For
the term “to write”, the Greeks used
the word graphein (in ancient form grapein), “to scratch, to engrave,
to hide underground, identical with the Romanian “a grapa”, occare agrum (TN -
harrow). In the same way, the Romanians said often exarare instead of “scribere”, meaning “to imitate the way of
ploughing (TN – a ara)”.
The Greeks called
the material on which they wrote, biblos, more correctly byblos
= diphdera (pellis rasa, pellis bubula), “piele lucrata” (TN - worked
skin), because the barbarians, as Herodotus tells us, wrote on animal skins.
In regard to the
name of the first letters of the Greek alphabet, ‘Alpha corresponds to the
feminine Umbric adjective alfa,
Retorom. alf, alva; Sab. alpa, Lat. and Rom. alba; and Beta is without doubt the
same word from which derives the form italus
(bos, taurus), Rom. vita, Fr. bete and beta (Littre). Varro
also writes (L. L. VIII. 64): “alpha,
etc. non esse vocabula nostra sed penitus barbara”.
From the language of the Pelasgians, and maybe through the mediation of the
Greeks, the names of these letters had also passed to the Hebrews, under the
forms aleph and beth.
.B.
- Baal (Baal), a king of the
Tyrians, who had ruled after Itobalus.
In the Semitic language the word had the meaning dominus. In the language of the Pelasgians from
- Baau (Baau) in Phoenician
language = night. In Rom. bau, expression for scaring the children
in the dark, or at night.
- Baba, a personality from mythical times. In
Romanian epic poems Baba with the
meaning of old: Baba-Novac=Novac the
old, Greek pappos. With Varro, pappus is senex, with Ausonius is avus. Italian babo, Sard. babu, father,
Macedorom. baba, father, Retorom. bab, father. In Romanian babac and babaca = tata, father. The word had also existed in the rustic
language of
- Baba, Egyptian divinity, the guardian of the
- Babas
(Babas), a commander of the Roman troupes, originally from
- Babyle
(Babule), city on the territory of the Odrysii of Thrace. In the Romanian
language baba, mama, mother, grandmother,
old woman, Lat. mater, avia, anus, vetula. Baba,
pl. Babe, rocks in various regions
of the Carpathians, which present from afar a more or less resemblance with the
figure of an old woman.
- Baba (Baba), city in
- Bebia ore (Bebii montes), part of the mountains of upper
- Babas
(Babas), castle in
-
- Baitulia
(Baetulia), animate lapides, animated stones, about which the ancients told that
had been invented by Uranos; probably a sort of explosives used in war. The
word is barbarian, deriving from battuo,
a bate, to beat. Italian battaglia, Fr. bataille, Rom. bataia
and batalia.
- Baitulos
(Baetulus), a son of Uranos, brother with Saturn. In some Romanian epic songs, Iovita, the illegitimate son of Novac
the old (Saturn), figures only with the name Baiatul. “Baetulus” is a
traditional barbarian name, as also results from the words of the grammarian Priscianus (Inst. V. 19): lapis ille,
quem Saturnus vorasse traditur pro ioue,
quem Graeci baitulon vocant; where the word baitulon referred in more
ancient texts to “ioue” (Iovis), not
to “lapis”.
- Balan
(Balan) in the accusative form. According to Procopius (B. G.), the Barbarians
called Balan a black horse with a
white forehead, as had been the horse of Belisarius in the war with the Goths
in
- Balan, king in the
language of the Phrygians. See Baal and Banus.
- Balios
(Balius), one of the horses used by Achilles in the Trojan war. With the
Romanians, cal balan and cal bal; with the Macedoromanians, cal baliu, with a little white star on
the forehead; in the dialect from Meglena, baliu
= balan.
- balle, the last word in
the composed name Mauroballe, castle repaired by Justinian in the Thraco-Illyrian
regions.
- Balthutha and Balducta, in Latin medieval
language in the regions of Geneve, lac
pressum. The word belongs to the barbarian Latin language, Rom. lapte batut, Lat. lac batutum (TN – butter milk).
- Baltia, a vast island in the
- balucem (accus. from balux), gold dust in the popular language of Hispania (Plin.
XXXIII. 21. 11). In Cod. Theodos. balluca,
Romanian beuta = white round little
stone, found in the bed of rivers, bal
and bel with the Maceodromanians.
- banausos, he who works at
the hearth or oven. Rom. banias or baias, miner, see Baunos.
- banda, in the barbarian
language of the Pelasgians from
- Baniana, city in Hispania Baetica. Banienses, minicipium in
- Bannas, as Hesychius
writes, meant “king” for the inhabitants of the lower parts of
- banus. A king of the Alanii near the Istru is
called by Jornandes Sangibanus. The
last part of this name, banus,
indicates a national political position, like rix in “Boiorix”. The Alanii were neighbors of the Dacians. With
the Romanians, ban is the most
ancient title of the Domni (TN – the equivalent of king) from the country of
Ardel (Transilvania). The Bani of Ardel
are also mentioned in the epic poetry of the Serbs. Bani were called also the ancient Domni from Tera Severinului. In
Romanian traditional poetry, Banul
also had the sovereign title of Domn.
In Bulgarian epic poetry, ban is
synonymous with “crai”. See Bannas.
- barbiton
(barbitum), old musical instrument
used by the Hyperborean poetess Sapho (Eupnorion.
Fr. 8).
- baschanon,
remedy against spells used by Barbarians. Rom. boscona.
- bathron,
pl bathra,
Rom. vatra, hearth, the place where
the fire burns.
- batocura. A graffiti discovered on the
walls of a brothel in Aquincum (
- battos
(battus), king, rex, in the language
of the inhabitnts of
- batrachos,
Lat. rana, batrachus; Rom. brosca, brotac, frog.
- baunos,
fornax, caminus, oven for the melting of metals; in Romanian bania or baia, the place where metals arre extracted and purified, Lat.
metallifodina.
- becchos
in Phrygian, Lat. panis, Rom. pane. Seems to be the same word as the
Latin victus (etym. from “vivo”),
aliments, nutrients, Fr. vivres.
- bedu (bedu), aer (TN – air) in the religious language of the ancient
Macedonians; Rom. vezduh,
atmosphere, but in the Voronetian Codex vezduh = air.
- bedu
(bedu), aqua, apa, in the language
of the Phrygians. Viada, var. Viadus, river in
- bela, oie (TN – sheep), Lat. ovis. Rom.
bela, name given to the sheep in
general, and to white sheep in particular. In its diminutive form the word has
also passed in the Hungarian language of the Secuii of Transilvania: belicze, an entirely white lamb.
- Balos
(Belus), the king of Chaldeea and
- berbeces, in the Acts of the Arvali
brothers, instead of “verveces”. Berbicem (Lex Sal. 286), berbecibus (Baluz. Capit. T. 83), Rom. berbece, pl. berbeci (TN – ram), in Gallic Latin berbiz and berbis. The
word has existed under this form also in
- berounos,
Lat. vir unus. It is the same word
as the French v. ber, Hisp. baro, robust, strong, Lat. fortis, Gael. bar, hero, Macedorom. bura.
In ancient Romanian biruire = reign;
biruitoriu = brave.
- Bescera, a locality in
- betisare. The emperor Augustus, as
Suetonius tells us, wrote betisare
instead of “languere”.
- biblos,
more correctly byblos, the
material on which people wrote in ancient times, called by Ionians diphthera,
worked skin (pellis rasa), because the Ionians, as Herodotus tells us (II. 58),
wrote on goat and sheep skins, like many barbarians of his times. The word biblos
from which has been later formed biblion, book, was therefore of
barbarian origin and corresponds to the Latin adjective bubulus (corium bubulum, pellis bubula).
- Blandus, co-name in
- blastema, instead of “blasphema”. In the archaeological
Annals of the
- blecha,
balatus ovium, bleating of the sheep,
- blas (bles), the name of a
plant with the Dacians, blitum with
the Romans. The word corresponds to the Rom. vres (vrej), branch of
plant separated by the stem; Serbian vriez,
Gr. briz.
- bodincus. In the language of the
Ligurii of Italy meant “without bottom”, Rom. adanc, Lat. profundus.
- bontys,
shouting, Rom. vuet, Lat. strepitus,
clamor, tumultus.
- bolas,
the birth pains, Rom. bola (TN –
illness), Lat. morbus.
- boleoi
(sing. boleos), gathered heaps of stones, Rom. bolovan, big rough stone, Lat. rudis lapis, saxum ingens, bolus.
- boreas
and borras,
aquilo, the cold and violent wind of
the north. Rom. bura, negura (TN –
fog), which turns to ice when falls on the ground; Lat. pruina, nebula;
Macedorom. bora, storm; in the
dialect of the Romanians from Meglena, boari,
wind.
- Boxs(ani) vicani, a community of
inhabitants near the shores of the Rhodan, close to the Alpes. Rom. bocsa, colliery; Lat. fornax,
carbonaria. Bocsani, a locality in
- brabulon,
the name of a plant with the inhabitants from
- braca (pl. bracae and braccae), Gr.
anaxirides,
the long and large trousers used by the barbarian populations, especially the
Scythians and the Gallii.
- bracile, Lat. med, Rom. bracire. “Cingulum, quod bulgo bracile
dicitur”.
- branca, claw. With the Romans: branca lupi and branca ursi, signs on boundary stones. In Romanian branca = hand, and branca, pl. branci, are
the forelegs of the animals of prey; branca
ursului, a plant, Heracleum spondilium. In the Prov. and Retorom. languages
branca = claw, Germ. Kralle.
- brandonum (
- Brathy
(Brathy = Brathu), a mountain in Phoenicia. Bardeton oros, var. Bardetos
(Bardetus mons) in Ethiopia. In Romanian, brad, abies, pinus, larix, fir tree; bradet, pinetum, silva pinea, forest of fir trees. In the dialect
of the Romanians from Meglena, bardet,
fir tree forest.
- bratus, a species of tree in the
southern parts of Assyria, resembling the cypress, with branches spread out and
separated. The Gauls called Padi the
trees which contained resin. In Romanian brad,
Lat. abies, pinus, larix.
- brechion,
brachium, Rom. brat (TN – arm).
- bremo,
Lat. fremo, murmuro; Rom. a mugi (TN
– to bellow), a murmura (TN – to murmur, about the waves of the sea), to
produce confusing and prolonged sounds, a vajai (TN - to whiz), a urla (TN - to
scream, about the wind and snowstorms). Romanian vreme, bad weather, with rain, snow and wind, Lat. tempestas; vreme tare, tempestas tonitrualis. As
impersonal verb, vremuesce,
tempestas pluvial, tempestas nivalis.
- Bruda, a locality in Dacia between
Apula and Salinae, which corresponds to the place of crossing the Mures called
by the Romanian people bruda and brudina, moving bridge, Lat. pons
mobilis. Ital. proda (p. sponda,
riva), Fr. bord.
- bruone
and bruonia,
a plant (Pliny, XII. XXIII), Rom. buruiana, herba inutilis. In the
dialect from Calabria burrajena,
lingua di bove; Ital. borrano, Mrom.
burane, boiled nettles.
- Brundulus, a port at the mouths of the
river Pad, in upper Italy. Rom. prund,
Lat. vadosum vel arenosum littus.
- byas,
a type of nocturnal birds. Rom. buha
(TN – owl), Lat. bubo, noctua.
- boubon,
the swelling near the genitals. Rom. buboniu
and buboiu, Lat. ulcus, tumor.
- buchane,
Lat. buccina, Rom. bucium (TN – Alp horn).
- Bouchatia
(bucatia), was called in Greek
antiquity the sacrificial banquet hold at Delphi in honor of Zeus patros. There
was also the renowned oracle of Apollo, founded by the Hyperboreans. In
Romanian language bucata, pl. bucate = cibus (TN – food). The word
has passed also in the Hungarian language of the Secuii of Transilvania, for
whom bukata means “bag”, and fel-bukatazni means “to place in the bag
food for the road”.
- boucholos,
cattle shepherd. In Romanian language the word has been preserved only as a
personal name, Bucur, in use
especially at the inhabitants of the mountains, who raise cattle. Like all the
pastoral terms, the word is not of Greek origin. There is no verb in the Greek
language from which could have derived the ending cholos, which is reduced
to the Latin form curo and colo, to look after.
- boudalla,
the name of a plant with the Dacians, lingua
boum with the Romans. It is a composite word, if not a corrupt word from bubula. The first part shows that in
the language of the Dacians existed the word bou = bou (TN – ox), and the second part dalla,
dela, or dula (like in the names of other plants of the Dacians, diodela,
propedula), corresponds to the Greek thalos from thallo, to flower; thalia,
flower, Germ. Bluthe, as the plant miriophillos with the Greeks, millefolium with the Italians, is
called in Kymric dialect milddail,
Brit. mildelyen and milfler, Fr. millefleur.
- Boynos
(Bunus), Bounaia (Bunaea). In
- boys
and boos,
bou, Lat. bos (TN – ox). In the composite words was used only the form bou:
boubotes,
boucholos, cattle shepherd. According to Varro, the prefix bou (bu) expressed in Greek composite words the idea of big, huge.
- butyrum, butter from cow milk. It is a
word composed from boys, fem. cow, and tyros, cheese (Homer).