What is the etymology of Madrid, the name of the capital of Spain?
Cuál es la etimología de Madrid, el nombre de la capital de España?
Cuál es la etimología de Madrid, el nombre de la capital de España?
You could try going from there (Majerit). There are some comments on its possible origins (in Spanish) on the following page:Spanish capital, of unknown origin; first attested 932 as Majerit.
In such case the toponym Madrid would be of Celtic and not Arabic origin. Eextract from WP:The Arabic name for Madrid is Majrīṭ مجريط . There is no way that this could mean “land rich in waters”.
The Arabic name for Madrid is Majrīṭ مجريط . There is no way that this could mean “land rich in waters”.
I know about this. It would be nice to have just one other example of a place-name formed from an Arabic noun plus a Romance suffix.
Why would this be a counter argument? Greek or Latin loans into Semitic languages with emphatic consonants are quite common.1- the ṭ
....Nevertheless, it is now commonly believed that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river. The name of this first village was "Matrice" (a reference to the river that crossed the settlement) ... In the 7th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the name changed to "Mayrit", from the Arabic term ميرا "Mayra" (referencing water as a "trees" or "giver of life") and the Ibero-Roman suffix "it" that means "place". The modern "Madrid" evolved from the Mozarabic "Matrit" ...
Why would this be a counter argument? Greek or Latin loans into Semitic languages with emphatic consonants are quite common.
No, only what I've read in wikipedia. As to the proper toponym, Matrice exists also in Italy, but it may be only a coincidence (speaking of etymology).... Do you have information on this?
There were celts in Italy too, so it could still easily be Celtic in origin.No, only what I've read in wikipedia. As to the proper toponym, Matrice exists also in Italy, but it may be only a coincidence (speaking of etymology).
P.S. I've found this
Of course, and that's my question, i.e. if the today's toponym Madrid can also have it's origin in the Latin word "matrix" (even if not directly, but through it's Arabic modified variant). With other words, if this etymology is considered probable.Italian matrice is Latin matrix 'womb, source' etc. It has nothing to do with Celtic.
I'm not very convinced of Asín's proposed etymology either*, but why do you find it unlikely that hybrid words or toponyms would occur in Mozarabic?
Arabic words with Romance suffixes (and Arabic-Romance hybrids) do occur in Spanish (from Mozarabic), Maltese and Sicilian.
What is the Latin/Romance/Spanish equivalent of the suffix -uun?Many Andalusian names from the Islamic period are composed of Arabic names plus the Romance suffix -uun (Ibn Zayduun, Ibn HafSuun, Ibn Abduun, etc.).
What is the Latin/Romance/Spanish equivalent of the suffix -uun?
What is the gaulish/celtiberian cognate of matrice/matrix I know in many cases celtic languages of the classical era were rather close to the italic languages
I can't think of such a diminutive suffix in the Romance languages of Iberia.I'm not sure, but my understanding is that "-uun" functioned as a diminutive suffix.
I can't think of such a diminutive suffix in the Romance languages of Iberia.
I was mistaken -- the theory is that it might be derived from an augmentative suffix.
Of course, the -ón/-ona (for comparison, in Italian -one/-ona) are augmentative suffixes, but are they really typical or productive in case of place names? (this is a pure question, not an opinion).
Can you give some other examples (not necessarily from Spain) where this augmentative suffix is used for creating toponyms?
Al-andal(us)I know about this. It would be nice to have just one other example of a place-name formed from an Arabic noun plus a Romance suffix.
the quote is from an aljazeera interview with a researcher at complutense university who insists that the word was not mentioned once before its appearance in over 20 arabic manuscripts as a town.وأضافت أن اسم مدريد عربي الأصل، حيث إن "مجريط" هي كلمة من جزأين، أولهما "مجرى" وهو عربي ويشير إلى مجرى المياه وثانيهما "إيتو" وهو لاتيني ويعني الوفرة، وأن مجريط تعني مجاري المياه الوفيرة، وهو ما يميز المدينة ويصفها في ذلك الوقت.
Of course, the -ón/-ona (for comparison, in Italian -one/-ona) are augmentative suffixes, but are they really typical or productive in case of place names? (this is a pure question, not an opinion).
Can you give some other examples (not necessarily from Spain) where this augmentative suffix is used for creating toponyms?