-tania
The suffix -tania or -etania (English demonym "-tanian", "-tanians")[note 1] denotes a territory or region in the Iberian Peninsula. Its historical origin is in the pre-Roman Iberia. Its etymological origin is discussed by linguists. Spanish Jesuit philologist Hervás y Panduro proposed their link to the Celtic languages, in which the root *tan or *taín means department or region.[1] "In Irish, tan (genitive, tain) expresses the idea of country, territory."
Other philologists such as Pablo Pedro Astarloa suggest a combination of the Basque abundance suffix *-eta (as in Arteta, Lusarreta, Olleta) with the Latin root *nia used in place names (such as Romania, Hispania, Italia).[1]
The form of demonym used by some epigraphs in the Iberian language found in coins is -ken or -sken, as in Ikalesken, which is unrelated to the Latin-Hispanic -tanus. This suggests that -tania may be a denomination of Roman origin. According to the historian and archaeologist Manuel Gómez-Moreno, the Latin suffix -tani corresponds to the Iberian -scen,[2] For example, the Ausetanians (Ausetani) who called themselves Ausesken. The Romans also applied this suffix to other peoples of the western Mediterranean (Sardinia and Sicily), and to a lesser extent to those of the Italian Peninsula, where however the suffix -ates prevails. Before Roman contact with the Iberian peoples, there were already Greek colonies in Iberia. The ancient Greeks used the older suffix -ητες (-etes), -εται or -ηται (-etai), which would be replaced by -ητανοι or -ετανοι (-etani), according to researcher Ulrich Schmoll (1953).[3]
Another theory, partially developed by the Aragonese jurist Joaquín Costa, relates that suffix to the Berber *ait, which means both "son of" and "the tribe", or with *at, meaning "people." This theory that supports that "aide" (aita) is a relative in Basque.[4]
Examples
[edit]
C1: Galaicos / C2b: Brácaros / C3: Cántabros / C4: Astures / C5: Vacceos / C6: Turmogos / C7: Autrigones-Caristios / C8: Várdulos / C9: Berones / C10: Pelendones / C11: Belos / C12: Lusones / C13: Titos / C14: Olcades / C15: Arévacos / C16: Carpetanos / C17: Vetones / C18-C19: Célticos / C20: Conios / L1: Lusitanos / I1: Ceretanos / I2: Ilergetes / I3: Lacetanos / I4: Indigetes / I5: Layetanos / I6: Ilercavones / I7: Sedetanos / I8: Edetanos / I9: Contestanos / I10: Oretanos / I11: Bastetanos / I12: Turdetanos / G21: Galos / G1: Griegos / P1: Fenicios/Cartagineses / B1: Bereberes.
- Accitania
- Ausetania, nowadays Osona.
- Bergistania, nowadays Berga.
- Bastetania
- Carpetania
- Ceretania
- Contestania, nowadays Cocentaina.
- Cosetania
- Ilergitania, nowadays Lérida.
- Ilorcitania, nowadays Lorquí.
- La Jacetania
- Lacetania
- Layetania
- Lusitania
- Oretania
- Ossigitania
- Sedetania
- Turdetania
Outside the Iberian Peninsula
[edit]- Aquitania (Aquitaine)
- Mauritania
- Tingitania or Transfretania
- Zeugitania
- Occitania
- Tripolitania
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Campión, pg. 261 "Doctor Hervás, quoted by Astarloa, adopted the Celtic origin. Celtophiles claim that tan or tain means department, region – In Irish tan, genitive tain, expresses the idea of country, territory."
- ^ Gómez Moreno, Manuel (1949). Misceláneas: historia, arte, arqueología. p. 253.
- ^ Pérez Vilatela, Luciano (2000). Lusitania: historia y etnología. Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia. p. 94.
- ^ Campión, pg. 261 "Sir Costa believes that etania expresses the generic concept of nation or tribe. And it is supported by the following reasoning: in the berber countries they use the word ait (children of ... as an ethnic to express the concept of kabila or tribe. At, syncopated form of ait, also means people. Especially in Figuig and Oran, being a correlative word of the said Berber plural ait the singular basque aide, "relative".
Sources
[edit]- Campión, Arturo. Revista Bascongada (ed.). "Celtas, íberos y euskaros - Capítulo XIII: Estudio de la toponimia ibérica á la luz de la lengua euskara" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.