Pannonia

Contents

The Roman province of Pannonia was bounded north and east by the Danube river, it was coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy (Venetia et Histria), and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located mostly over the territory of the present-day western-half of Hungary with small parts in: Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Its original inhabitants were the Pannonii, of unknown stock, although likely related to other Central European and Balcanic peoples. Under the emperor Trajan, the province was divided into Pannonia Superior (the western part) and Pannonia Inferior (the eastern part).

Common remarks: the place-names have been put in the nominative case, an asterisk * means not attested, reconstructed form. The late place-names of probable Latin origin have not been included. The IE roots are in the form given by Pokorny's Indogermanische Wörterbuch. The links will be active when the single pages will be published, see the main page. For any comment, suggestion, email me.

Upper Pannonia

Andautonia

Aquae Balisae

Arrabo fl., Arrabona

Bolentium

Botivo, Iovia
  • Place: Ludbreg, county Varaždinska, Croatia
  • Name: Botivo (Peut., Rav.) Iovia (It. Ant., Burd.)
  • Etymology: The original name is unclear. Anreiter relates it tentatively to Old Irish both 'hut'. The later name Iovia likely is related to the Latin name Iovius found, e.g., as the surname of Diocletianus, although Anreiter thinks that it is a genuine Pannonian placename. Other two places named Iovia are mentioned in Pannonia, and a Iovista pagus.

Brigetio
  • Place: Szony of Komarom, county Komarom-Esztergom, Hungary
  • Name: Brigaetium, Bregaetium (Ptol.) Bregetio (Amm., It. Ant.) Brigetio, Bregetio (Not. Dign.) Brigantio (Peut.)
  • Etymology: Usually (Anreiter) considered a Celtic name, related to Gaulish briga 'hill'.

Cannabiaca
  • Place: Zeiselmauer of Zeiselmauer-Wolfpassing, state Lower Austria, Austria
  • Name: Cannabiaca (Not. Dign.)
  • Etymology: Similarly to a Gaulish *Canaviacum (Belgica), the meaning is disputed. Likely it is a Celtic placename with the typical suffix -acum/-a. It may derive from a personal name *Canavus that seems to exhibit a suffix -ouio. Otherwise, if the town was located on the banks of the Danube, it might have been a small landing place for ferries. The name could indeed be derived from a Celtic or, even better for the phonetics, Germanic cognate of the IE root *gandh- 'vessel'. Still another hypothesis is that it is the Celtic equivalent of Latin cannabis.

Cardellaca
  • Place: Tokod, county Komarom-Esztergom, Hungary
  • Name: Gardellaca (Peut.) Cardabiaca (Not. Dign.) Cardelaca (Rav.)
  • Etymology: Unclear.

Carnuntum

Carrodunum

Celemantia
  • Place: Leanyvar of Iz^a, region Nitra, Slovakia
  • Name: Celamantia (Ptol.) Celemantia (inscr. ?)
  • Etymology: The ending -ant-ia is found in other Pannonian placenames of the area. As for the root, it recalls the Latin word calamo 'adversity' and thus the IE root *kel- 'to hit, cut down', from whence also Slavic names meaning 'pole' that could explain a toponymic formation.

Cetius m., Cetium

Chertobalus

Cocconis
  • Place: Possibly Sopje, county Virovitic^ko-podravska, Croatia
  • Name: Cocconis (Burd.) Cucconis (Rav.)
  • Etymology: Usually (Anreiter) related to a Celtic element *coc(c)o- to which the meaning 'bright red' is given. The latter has been reconstructed from words such as Middle Welsh coch 'red', Latin coccineus 'scarlet', Greek kokkos 'a type of scarlet fruit', although no IE root has been reconstructed yet.

Colapis fl.

Corcoras fl.

Curta

Dravus fl.

Emona

Gerulatae

Lentulum

Lepavista

Limusa

Matrica
  • Place: Szazhalombatta, county Pest, Hungary
  • Name: Matrica (It. Ant., Not. Dign.)
  • Etymology: If not directly Latin, the name could be a Celtic cognate (Anreiter) of Latin materia 'timber'.

Mogentianae
  • Place: Tüskevar, county Veszprém, Hungary
  • Name: Mogentianae (It. Ant.), Mogetiana (inscr.)
  • Etymology: The name derives from a personal name Mogetius of Celtic origins.

Muroela

Mursella

Murus fl.

Mutenum

Nedao fl.

Noarus fl.

Noviodunum

*Odiavum
  • Place: Almasfuzito, county Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary
  • Name: Azaum (It. Ant.) Odiabum (Not. Dign.)
  • Etymology: Unclear (Anreiter).

Olimacum
  • Place: Lendava, region Pomurska, Slovenia
  • Name: Olimacum (Ptol.)
  • Etymology: Unknown.

Pelso lacus

Piretae
  • Place: not identified, Croatia
  • Name: Piretae (Peut.) Peritur (Burd.)
  • Etymology: Unclear. Maybe a Latin collective form.

Poetovio

Ramista

Savaria fl., Savaria

Sala fl., Sala

Savus fl.

Scarbantia

Serenae

Serota

Silicenae

Siscia, Segesta

Sunista

Urpanus fl.

Valcum

Valdasus fl.

Vindobona

Vinundria

Visontium

Lower Pannonia

Acumincum

Adnamantia
  • Place: Dunaföldvŕr, county Tolna, Hungary
  • Name: Adnamantia (Not. Dign.) Annamatia (Peut., It. Ant.) Annama (Rav.)
  • Etymology: Usually (Anreiter) interpreted as reflecting the Celtic appellative *namant-s 'enemy' with a preposition ad, meaning 'the enemy's (land)'. That interpretation can be justified if one considers that the place could have been at the frontier between a Celtic-speaking tribe and the Pannonian proper domain.

Alisca

Alma m.

Altina

Altinum

Aquincum

*Basantius fl., Basantis

Budalia

Bolia fl.

Bononia Malata

Burgenae

Bustricius fl.

Campona

Celena

Certissa

Cibalae
  • Place: Vinkovci, county Vukovarsko-srijemska, Croatia
  • Name: Cibalis (Ptol.) Cibalae (Burd., Amm., Paul. Diac., Rav.)
  • Etymology: Tentatively related to the IE root *(s)keib- 'vessel, ship', through a Pannonian word meaning the same, for the presence of a small river port. The explanation proposed by Anreiter from the IE root *ghebh- 'head' requires a problematic shift *gh > k.

Carpis

Cornacum

Crumerum

Cuccium

Cusum
  • Place: Petrovaradin, district Juz^na Bac^ka (autonomous province of Vojvodina), Serbia
  • Name: Cusum (Peut., Not. Dign., It. Ant.) Usum (Rav.)
  • Etymology: Since the town was a guardpost on the limes, its name could tentatively reflect the IE root *keu-s 'to notice, observe, feel, hear'. Other possible etymologies are listed by Anreiter.

Gorsium

Idiminium

Iovallio
  • Place: Valpovo, county Osjec^ko-baranjska, Croatia
  • Name: Iullum, Iubulum (Ptol.) Iovallio (Peut.) Iovalia (Burd.)
  • Etymology: Likely from the presence of a temple of Juppiter.

Ira fl.

Leuconum

Leutuanum

Lugio

Lusomana

Lussonium

Marsonia

Metubarbis i.

Mursa

Mursa Minor

Rittium

Saldae

Serbinum

Singidunum

Sirmium

Solva

Sopianae

Spaneta
  • Place: not identified, Croatia or Serbia
  • Name: Spaneta (Burd., Rav., Peut., It. Ant.)
  • Etymology: Unknown. Tentatively related to an old IE word meaning 'breast', as an allusion to a mound over the plain. Another etymology (Anreiter) is from a reconstructed Pannonian appellative meaning 'yoke', in the sense of 'pice of land that can be worked by a pair of yoked animals'.

Tarsium

Taurunum

Teutoburgium

Ulca fl., *Ulcaea pal.

Ulcisia

Vacontium

Conclusions

Two main linguistic strata appear in Pannonian toponymy. A genuine "Pannonian" stratum has been identified by scholars like Peter Anreiter (University of Innsbruck) as being an A-language, i.e., a language where IE *o>a (at least long o), with a development of sonants to un, ur, etc., de-aspiration of aspirated voiced stops. This Pannonian language seems closesly related to the Central Illyrian identified by Katicic and found also in Southern Italy. They are all centum languages.

The second stratum is Celtic, brought in Pannonia by tribes like the Boii, the Scordisci, the Taurisci, etc. This stratum is recognizable for typical appellatives and suffixes. Traces of other linguistic strata also appear in Pannonia, possibly including a Germanic one at the northern Danube border, and a satem one (early Slavic? Moesian?) toward Illyria and Moesia.