| Antonio Sciarretta's Toponymy |
Hirpinia et Daunia
Contents
This is the first page of the two devoted to the second region of Italy, Apulia et Calabria. For the other part, see under Apulia (which includes Calabria or Messapia). This first part considers the region of the Hirpini, bounded by Campania and Samnium, the region of the Dauni, between the river Ofanto and the Gargano, and the region of the Apuli proprie dicti and of the Frentani Larinates, between the Gargano and the river Biferno.
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.
Hirpini
Abella
- Place: Avella Vecchia, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Abella (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Verg.)
- Etymology: The name is ususally [DNGI, p. 30; TI, p. 62] derived from a *abel-na meaning '(city) of the apple(s)', in analogy to the shape of a hill or similar. The IE name of the 'apple' has been reconstructed as *abel-.
Abellinum Protropi
- Place: Civita di Atripalda, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Abellinum (Ptol., Plin., Peut.)
- Etymology: The name is likely an Oscan appellative, a diminutive of Abella, and is preserved in the modern Avellino. According to Pliny there was another Abellinum Marsi in Apulia.
Aeculanum
- Place: Mirabella Eclano, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Aeculanum (Ptol., Plin., Cic.) Eclana (Peut.)
- Etymology: The existence of a IE root *aikwo- 'plain', from which Latin aequor, is disputed. To explain some Italic names like Aequi, Aecae (Apulia) and Superaequum (Samnium), Ribezzo thought to a pre-Oscan stratum, because in Oscan it is IE *kw>p. Aecae and Aeculanum could have been therefore Daunian, but this does not explain all the other place names.
Aequum Tuticum
- Place: Sant'Eleuterio di Ariano Irpino, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Aequum Tuticum (Peut.) Tuticum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: The first name is identical to latin aequum 'plain'. The specification is Oscan, from touto 'people, town', which is derived from the IE root *teuta- 'volk, land', an extension of *teu- 'to swell, crowd, folk, fat, strong, boil, abscess'.
Aletrium
- Place: usually identified with Calitri, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Aletrium (Plin.)
- Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Aletrium (Latium), in the same Italic domain. The name seems to be built with an IE suffix *-ter-, which denotes an agent. Thus, the stem could be derived from the IE root *al- 'to grow, nourish', or even from a parallel root with a meaning 'to grind', from which the Armenian word alauri 'mill', originally reconstructed as *alatrio-. The UTET dictionary at the entry Calitri mentions a pre-IE *galatro- 'a kind of grass'.
Aquilonia
- Place: possibly Lacedonia, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Aquilonia (Ptol., Plin., Burd., Peut.)
- Etymology: There were two Aquilonia in the old Samnium. The other one is Aquilonia (Samnium). Both names may be explained from a stream-name like Aquilo fl.. According to some scholars (UTET), the name Aquilonia is Oscan and compares with Latin aquilus 'dark (water)'. The Oscan version, found on coins is Akudunnia-.
Beneventum
- Place: Benevento, province Benevento, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Beneventum (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Burd., Peut.) Maleventum (Plin., Liv.) Beneventus (Paul. Diac.)
- Etymology: The Oscan name was Maleventum. When the Romans captured the town and defeated Pyrrhus, since they intepreted Male- as Latin malus 'bad', they changed the name into Beneventum. The stem *mal- has been explained by the substratists [DNGI, p. 47; TI, p. 424] as from a pre-IE 'mountain', likely because of the Albanian mal 'mountain'. But this appellative is related to the IE *mel- 'to appear, come up', so there is no need for invoking a pre-IE stratum for Maluentum. In fact, the ending is likely the IE *-uent- 'rich of', while the stem can be derived from an appellative meaning 'young cow, sheep' or similar, related to the IE root *melo- 'small animal'.
Calor fl.
Caudium, Furculae Caudinae
- Place: Ponteligno di Montesarchio, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Caudium (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Peut.) Furculae Caudinae (Liv.)
- Etymology: Possibly the name is related to Latin cudo, -ere (*caudo-) 'to cut', from the IE root *kau- 'to hit, cut', referred to a cut in the wood or to the famous gorge of the Furculae Caudinae. Othe possible IE roots show a phonetics that is not compatible with the Oscan language.
Compsa
- Place: Conza della Campania, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Compsa (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Vell. Pat.)
- Etymology: The name may come from an earlier *Comesa, which has the same formation as Tempsa (Bruttium). Tentatively, *Comesa may be derived from the O-grade of the IE root *keme- 'piece (of land)'. Compare also with Cominium (Latium), in the same Italic domain.
Fratuolum
- Place: not identified, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Fratuolum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: The name has likely the same origin as Fratuentium (Calabria), from an appellative *fratuo- of unknown origin.
Plistica
Romulea
- Place: Bisaccia, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Romulea (Liv., Sil. It.), Subromula (Peut.)
- Etymology: Unknown. Tentatively, if it is not a diminutive of Roma, the name can be related to a series *ram- that shows a correspondence with the modern Baltic languages, and has been derived (Duridanov) from the IE root *rem- 'to rest, to support'. The name *Romula can be explained with an O-grade of the root, and must have been originally referred to a stream, 'the calm'.
Saticula
- Place: Sant'Agata de' Goti, province Benevento, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Saticula (Liv., Verg.)
- Etymology: The name is likely to be a diminutive of a *sati-ko-, but the etymology is unknown.
Sicilinum
- Place: not identified, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Sicilinum (Liv.)
- Etymology: It recalls clearly the name of Sicilia, but also other place names of a series *sic-, found especially in Italy and Greece.
Taburnus m.
- Place: mount Taburno, province Benevento, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Taburnus m. (Verg., Sil. It.)
- Etymology: The name could be explained from the IE root *steb(h)- 'post, pillar, stump, to support', but this would require that the initial s was mobile (like some Anatolian appellative seems to require also). The A-grade of Taburnus is problematic, but maybe is the result of a zero-grade.
Tamarus fl.
- Place: river Tammaro, province Benevento, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Tamarus fl.
- Etymology: The hydronym has an exact counterpart in Tamarus fl. (Britannia) and shows a very common ending -arus, which is found also in Silarus fl. (Campania). The stem *tam- is explained by Pokorny from the IE root *tei- 'to melt, dissipate, decay', which is rather problematic. Another explaination is from the IE root *tem(e)- 'dark', through a zero-grade form *teme(s)-ro- 'the dark (river)'.
Taurasia
- Place: Taurasi, province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Taurasia (inscr.) *Taurasia from ager Taurasinus (Liv.)
- Etymology: It is not clear whether the *Taurasia of the ager Taurasinus, the one of the inscription of Barbatus, and the one which name survived in Taurasi are the same. In any case, the name can be related to the Oscan tauro- 'bull', through an ethnical name, or a locative ending -asi. According to an old substratist theory [DNGI, p. 519], a "Mediterranean" *tauro- 'mountain' would have given many ethnical and place names.
Telesia
- Place: close to San Salvatore Telesino, province Benevento, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Telesia (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Front.)
- Etymology: It has been compared with a Telesium (Epirus) and explained as a pre-IE name (UTET). But the name may be also derived from the IE root *tel(e)- 'flat, flat ground, board', through an S-stem.
Vescellium
- Place: province Avellino, region Campania, Italy
- Name: Vescellium (Plin., Liv.)
- Etymology: Livy mentions also a Vercellium that could be a pure reduplication of Vescellium (Salmon). This name has a counterpart in Vescia (Campania), in the same Italic domain and, like this, can be explained from an earlier *ueds-ski-, and then from the IE root *(a)ued- 'water'.
Dauni
Aecae
- Place: Troia, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Aecae (Plin., Burd., Peut.)
- Etymology: The name can be compared with Aeculanum (Hirpinia) and Superaequum (Samnium) in the same Italic domain and, outside of Italy, Aequum (Illyria). For these names Ribezzo thought to a pre-Oscan *aikwo- 'plain', because in Oscan it is IE *kw>p. Therefore, Aecae could have been Daunian, but this does not explain the other place names. Actually, the very reconstruction *aikwo- is dubious, and it could have been a different root.
Altaenus fl.
- Place: possibly river Carapelle, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Althainos (Lycophron)
- Etymology: This name mentioned only in one Greek source has been interpreted by Alessio and De Giovanni as from a pre-IE stem *alt- meaning 'marsh'. On the contrary, some hydronyms showing an initial alt- are explained by Duridanov from the IE *ol-to- 'flooded', from a IE root that he reconstructs as *el- 'to flow'. But following Frisk and Pokorny, this root is the dental extension *alt- of *al- 'to grow, nourish', which is very productive of hydronyms.
Anxanum
- Place: not identified, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Anxanum (Peut.)
- Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Anxanum (Samnium), in the same Italic domain, and compares also with Anxa (Samnium) and Anxur (Latium). Possibly, it may be explained as 'hillock', from the IE root *ank- 'to bend, bow', but it was intepreted by the substratists (De Giovanni) as a "mediterranean" formation, from a stem *anc-sa-. In addition, the name is possibly related to the portus Aggasus mentioned by Pliny but not identified.
Aquilo fl.
- Place: river Celone, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Aquilo (Burd.)
- Etymology: The hydronym has been derived by Pokorny from the IE root *akwa- 'water'. Since in the eastern Italic languages, it was *kw>p, only a different stratum can explain the name Aquilo. This could have been the language of the Dauni, possibly close to the Western Italic. Compare also with Aquilonia.
Arpi, Argos Hippium, Argyrippa
- Place: Arpi di Foggia, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Arpi (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Peut.) Argos Hippium (Plin., Strab.) Argyrippa (Strab., Plin.)
- Etymology: The town is said by Pliny and Strabo to have been founded by Diomedes from Argos after the war of Troy. Later, the name Argos Hippium was changed into Argyrippa and then Arpi. This story could be of great importance because it shows a name of the same series -ipo, -ipa which is very productive in Southern Iberia. Moreover, the eastern (Mycenean) influence hidden behind the story of Diomedes is in agreement with what postulated by Villar for the series mentioned. The stem of Argyrippa is related to the Greek arguros 'silver', or it is a reduplication of the Greek city Argos, or even an independent appellative from the IE root *ar(e)g'- 'glittering, white', from which also the Greek word and place name come. The ending could be compared in Italy with Archippe, the legendary town of the Marsi.
Aufidus fl.
- Place: river Ofanto, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Aufidus fl. (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Mel., Peut.)
- Etymology: Usually derived from a stem *auf- (UTET) or from the IE root *eudh- 'udder, fecund', and explained as 'rich of water'. Given the intervocalic f, the name can be reconstructed as Oscan. Compare for the stem with Aufidena, Aufinum (Samnium), Aufugum (Bruttium) and especially Aufentus fl. (Latium), since the Aufidus fl. was called in late medieval souces also Aufentus fl. According to some substratists (Alessio, De Giovanni), all these names are from a "mediterranean" root *of-.
Ausculum
- Place: Ascoli Satriano, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Ausculum (Plin.)
- Etymology: Unknown. Usually compared with Asculum (Picenum). Tentatively, the two names can be explained from an earlier *aus-tlo-, from the IE root *aus- 'to draw' and the instrumental suffix -tlo-. Then, the name could have been referred to a drain channel or similar.
Cerbalus fl.
- Place: river Cervaro province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Cerbalus fl. (Plin.)
- Etymology: This name means likely 'the curved (river)', as it may be derived from the IE root *(s)kerbh- 'to turn, curve'. Since the preservation of intervocalic b<*bh, the name cannot be Oscan but must be attributed to the language of the Dauni instead.
Furfana
- Place: not identified but possibly close to Cerignola, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Furfane (Peut.)
- Etymology: Certainly from an Oscan-type dialect for the intervocalic f. It has been compared (De Giovanni) with *Furfo (Samnium), in the same Italic domain, and derived from a "thyrrenian mediterranian" *forf-, as opposed to "balkanian mediterranian" *borb-, both 'slime, mud'. Behind this assumption, there is a confusion with the Greek cognates of the IE root *gwor- 'mud', while Furfane can be derived from *bheredh- 'board', and explained from the zero-grade of the root. But, given the ending -ane, also a late praedial formation from a personal name is possible.
Garganus m.
- Place: mount Gargano, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Garganus m. (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Mel., Paul. Diac.)
- Etymology: The name seems to be a reduplication form, probably from the IE root *ger- 'to gather, put together' from which also the Latin grex, gregis and the place name Gurgures m. (Samnium). The name should have meant 'mass(es)' and thus is equivalent to Romance place-names like Morra, Morrone and very appropriate for a 'massif' as the Gargano is. The phonetic development is such that the sonant r was vowelized into ar. The explaination provided by UTET is simply from a pre-Latin stem *garg-, probably meaning 'group of stones'.
Garnae
- Place: disputed, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Garnae (Plin.)
- Etymology: Unknown. Possibly, the name derives from the same root as Garganus m., but in this case the semantics is problematic, because it is a harbor.
Herdonia
- Place: close to Ordona, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Herdonia (Ptol., Strab.) Herdoniae (Plin.) Herdonea (Liv.) Erdoniae (Peut.) Serdoniae (Burd.)
- Etymology: The name seems to fit perfectly the IE root *gherdh- 'to encircle, enclose', which gave many cognate appellatives meaning 'fence', 'garden', 'town'. But this etymology requires a language in which it is *gh>h in initial position, like all the Italic languages, but *dh>d in intervocalic position, like the Western Italic branch. This language can be the one of the Dauni. A different explaination is the one give by Krahe and reported in Pokorny, which compares Herdonia with a Messapian ardannoa 'a river's name (?)', from an IE root *dhen- 'to run'.
Hyrium
- Place: possibly close to Cagnano Varano, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Hyrium (Ptol.) Iria (Plin.) Urium (Strab.)
- Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Uria (Apulia), which has been related to a Messapian urios 'portam'. Given the oscillation Hyrium/Uria, the similarity between the two names can be only apparent. Then, for the Daunian Hyrium, a relationship with the zero-grade *ur- of the IE root *(a)uer- 'water, rain, flow'. The presence of a laryngeal in the root (*uh1r-) could explain the initial aspiration.
Luceria
- Place: Lucera, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Luceria (Plin., Strab., Liv., Cic., Tacit., Paul. Diac.) Nuceria Apulorum (Ptol., Peut.)
- Etymology: The name is pre-Latin for UTET, to be compared with Etruscan luchre, while De Giovanni mentions an hypothetical pre-IE *leuc- 'head'. But the stem *luk- is very diffused (Villar) and derives from the IE root *leuk- 'bright, to shine, to see'. Compare, for example, with Luca (Etruria), in the same Italic domain. Thus, Luceria could have originally meant 'the shining', or maybe more practically 'a clearance (in the wood)'.
Metina
- Place: Agnulli di Mattinata, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: *Metina from Metinates (Plin.)
- Etymology: Possibly, the name is related to the IE extension *met(a)- of the root *me- 'in the middle of, by, around, with' (Pokorny). According to the substratists, many place names showing the stem *met-/*mat-, like Mattinata, are pre-IE.
Pantanus lac.
- Place: lake of Lesina, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Pantanus lac. (Plin.)
- Etymology: In Latin, pantanus is also an appellative meaning 'marsh'. It is not clear if it derives from the name of this lake, or if both reflect a pre-Latin appellative. According to Alessio and De Giovanni, this latter case is true, and pantanus is a "Tyrrhenian" counterpart of a pre-IE name which also gave that of Bandusia fons (Latium). If, vice versa, pantanus only reflects the place name, this one could be related to Latin pons 'bridge' originally 'way through a swamp', from the IE root *pent- 'to go, walk, way'. This explaination fits very well the circumstance that the Pantanus lac. is separated from the Adriatic sea by a narrow tongue of earth (the 'bridge').
Salapia
- Place: Salpi di Trinitapoli, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Salapia (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv.)
- Etymology: The name is undoubtedly related to the salinae of the area, and can be derived from the IE root *sal- 'salt, salty water' and compared, among the others, with Salernum (Campania). The second part of Salapia has been explained by Pokorny as 'water', from the IE root *ap- 'water, river', together with the very name of Apulia, Mess-apia, etc.
Sipuntum
- Place: Siponto di Manfredonia, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Sipuntum (Ptol., Plin., Strab.) Sipontum (Peut.) Sepontum (Paul. Diac.)
- Etymology: According to Strabo, it derives from the Greek name for the sepia. The ending -untum may be certainly derived from the IE suffix *-ent-, a participe marker, or *-uent- 'rich of'. The phonetic development of sonant n into un is not Italic and usually is considered "Illyrian". This could fit with the notion of the Dauni as an Illyrian people.
Frentani et Apuli
Cliternia
- Place: Civitate di Chieuti, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Cliternia (Plin., Mel.)
- Etymology: The name is certainly related with Cliternum (Samnium), in the same Italic domain. Likely, they may be derived from the IE root *k'lei- 'to tip, incline, lean'. In particular, the names can be explained from a participe *k'li-to- 'inclined', referring to a hill or to the position of the town.
Fertor fl.
- Place: river Fortore, regions Molise-Puglia, Italy
- Name: Fertor fl. (Plin.) Frento fl. (?)
- Etymology: The name seems to be identical to Latin *fertor 'who brings', which shows a clear Italic phonetics. But for the substratists, the name is related to the ethnical Frentani (the people by the Fertor), from a pre-IE stem *frent- 'deer'.
Geronium
- Place: Gerione di Casacalenda, province Campobasso, region Molise, Italy
- Name: Gereonium (Liv.) Geronium (Polyb.) Geronum (Peut.)
- Etymology: The stem *ger- may be have been derived from the IE root *ger- 'to gather, put together', as referred to a hill or similar.
Larinum
- Place: Larino, province Campobasso, region Molise, Italy
- Name: Larinum (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Mel., Peut.)
- Etymology: It has been related (UTET) to Latin laridum 'bacon, grease', Greek larinos 'fat', and to the various place names Larissa in Greece. Then a meaning of 'strong' has been postulated. From the Latin and Greek appellatives an IE root *lei- 'fat' has been reconstructed (Pokorny), but without other cognates. Moreover, Georgiev gave a completely different explaination for the place name Larissa. So the etymology of Larinum is unclear.
Teanum Apulum
- Place: close to San Paolo di Civitate, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Teanum (Ptol., Plin., Liv.) Teanum Apulum (Strab.) Tene Apulum (Peut.)
- Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Teanum Sidicinum (Campania) and is usually compared also with Teate (Samnium). Given the well-known Oscan feature *ei>e, the name can be explained from an earlier form *teia-no-, which may be derived from the IE root *(s)tei- 'sharp', with reference to a hill.
Vibinum
- Place: Bovino, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Vibinum (Plin.) Vibarna (Ptol.) (?)
- Etymology: The name has been compared with Vibo Valentia (Bruttium) and explained as a pre-Greek toponym (UTET). Tentatively, it can be postulated a relationship with the IE root *ueib- 'to turn, sway', and then the name can be explained from an appellative meaning 'call' or 'small head', or similar, possibly in analogy to the shape of a hill.
not identified
*Alfella
- Place: not identified
- Name: *Alfella from Alfellani (Plin.)
- Etymology: The name is likely Oscan, from an adjective like Umbrian alfu 'white', which is related to the IE root *albho- 'white'. The place could have been attributed originally to a settlement in a clearance.
*Atrium
- Place: not identified
- Name: *Atrium from Atrani (Plin.)
- Etymology: Possibly the name is related to Atella (Campania), and thus is from the Oscan counterpart of Latin ater, Umbrian atru, adro 'black'.
Murgantia
- Place: not identified
- Name: Murgantia (Liv.)
- Etymology: It has been included (Udolph) under a series *morg-, which may be derived from different IE roots, (i) *mergw- 'to shimmer, shine', or (ii) *mereg'- 'edge, border', or (iii) *meregh- 'to soak, drizzle'. Since the vecalization -ur- of the sonant is typically Eastern Italic, and since in these languages it is *gw>b and *gh>h, the most probable in this case is the option (ii). Compare with Murgentia (Sicilia) and, ouside of Italy, with Murgi (Baetica).
Isles in the Adriatic sea
Diomedia i.
- Place: one of the Tremiti islands, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Diomedia i. (Plin.) Diomedeiae i. (Strab.)
- Etymology: From the name of Diomedes, a Greek hero of the Trojan war who, according to the legend, became a leader in the region of the Dauni.
Teutria i.
- Place: one of the Tremiti islands, province Foggia, region Puglia, Italy
- Name: Teutria i. (Plin.)
- Etymology: Maybe related to the IE root *teuta- in the meaning of 'land'. According to the substratist De Giovanni, the name was spelled *Teuthria and explained with a pre-IE *teut- 'black'.
Conclusions
The largest part of the placenames in this region is clearly of Oscan origin, which can be traced from some distinctive phonetic traits. Also the languages of the Frentani and (probably) of the Apuli belonged to the Eastern Italic stock, but were different from the Oscan.
In the region of the Dauni, there is evidence of some names that, if their etymology is correct, cannot be Oscan because they show intervocalic voiceless stops from IE aspirated. Considering that the very name of Dauni shares the same feature, being from IE *dhau-no- 'the wolves' (a totemic name) as opposed to Latin Faunus (with f<*dh), it is possible to attribute this stratum to the Dauni themselves. This language has been often considered as part of the Illyrian branch.