Antonio Sciarretta's Toponymy Ancient Toponymy

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Gallia Transpadana

Contents

This chapter considers the XI regio of Italy, bounded southward by the river Po, northward and westward by the Alps, eastward by the river Adda. The region includes various Roman colonies and municipalities, on the lands previously belonged to Ligurian and Celtic tribes, including the Taurini, the Salassi, the Libici or Libui that occupied the lands of the Sallui, the Vocontii that occupied the lands of the Vertamocori, the Insubri, the Boii, the Ligurian Laevi and Marici, the Orumbovii or Oromobii.

Common remarks: the place-names are given in the nominative case

Taurini

Taurasia, Augusta Taurinorum

• Place: Torino, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Augusta Taurinorum (Ptol., Plin.) Taurini (Burd., Peut.) Taurasia (Polyb.)
• Etymology: A Roman colony, like Augusta Praetoria it took its name from emperor Augustus, while the specification is from the tribe of the Taurini. Their name is probably related to the prior settlement of Taurasia, destroyed by Hannibal. This is likely a Celtic or Ligurian word meaning 'bull', ultimately from the IE *tauros 'bull'.

Duria (Minor) fl.

• Place: river Dora Riparia, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Dorias fl. (Ptol.) Duria fl. (Plin., Liv.)
• Etymology: It is considered a pre-IE *duria by UTET and by some substratists (Alessio-De Giovanni). More likely, it is related to other Celtic hydronyms like Durius fl. (Lusitania) and possibly also Doriscum (Thracia). The alternation between *dor- and *dur- makes impossible to choose between the IE root *der- at the O-grade, and *dheu-, both meaning 'to run'.

Forum Vibii Caburrum

• Place: Cavour, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Vibi Forum (Plin.) *Caburrum from Caburriates (Plin.)
• Etymology: A toponymic series *cab- was recognized by Villar, including Caballio (Narbonensis) and Cabyllinum (Lugdunensis). Considering its mainly Celtic distribution, tentatively, the name may be related to an unclear IE root *(s)keb(h)- 'to work with a sharp instrument'. Compare also Cabum (Latium). The Roman name Forum Vibii was given in honor of a proconsul of Caesar, named Vibius.

Ocelum

• Place: Malano di Avigliana, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Ocelum (Strab., Caes., Peut.)
• Etymology: A diffused Celtic name, to be compared with Ocelus pr., Ocelum (Lusitania), Ocelum (Tarraconensis). The ending -celum is diffused in the Celtic domain, Albocela (Tarraconensis), Cintocelum (Britannia), Itunocelum (Britannia). Compare also with Man(n)icelus fons, which is probably of pre-Celtic (at least pre-Gaulish) origin.

Orgus fl.

• Place: river Orco, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Orgus fl. (Plin., Peut.)
• Etymology: According to some substratist scholars (UTET) the hydronym is pre-IE and related to Latin urceus 'a kind of pottery'. A series *org-/urg- is referred to by Moreno quoted by Villar, including also Orgia (Tarraconensis), Orcelis (Tarraconensis), Urcesa (Tarraconensis) and Urgao (Baetica).

Stura fl.

• Place: river Stura, province Cuneo, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Stura fl. (Plin.)
• Etymology: According to UTET the name derives from a Celtic *stor- 'to precipitate' or an IE root *stur-. Possibily, the hydronym could be compared with the IE root *steu- 'massive, wide', via an extension *steu-ro-.

Salassi

Augusta Praetoria

• Place: Aosta, region Valle d'Aosta, Italy
• Name: Augusta Praetoria (Ptol., Plin.) Augusta Pretoria (Peut.)
• Etymology: A Roman colony, it took its name from emperor Augustus.

*Bautex fl.

• Place: river Buthier, region Valle d'Aosta, Italy
• Name: *Bautex fl., inferred from the appellative Duria Bautica
• Etymology: Pokorny cites the hydronym Duria Bautica from *Baltica within the IE root *bhel(e)- 'shining, white'.

Duria (Maior) fl.

• Place: river Dora Baltea, provinces Torino-Aosta, regions Piemonte-Valle d'Aosta, Italy
• Name: Dorias fl. (Ptol.) Duria fl. (Plin., Liv.)
• Etymology: see under Duria (Minor) fl.

Eporedia

• Place: Ivrea, province Torino, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Eporedia (Ptol., Plin., Cic., Tacit., Peut.) Eporedium (It. Ant.)
• Etymology: It is a Gaulish name, meaning 'city fortified by horse chariots'. The name is derived with the suffix -ia from Gaulish eporeda 'horse chariot', a compound of epos (*ekwo-s) 'horse' and reda (*reidha) 'chariot'.

Vitricium

• Place: Verres, region Valle d'Aosta, Italy
• Name: Vitricium (It. Ant., Peut.)
• Etymology: Possibly a Celtic name related to the IE root *uitero- 'further', with reference to the location of the settlement. Locally, the name is now interpreted as being from Latin vitris 'glass'.

Libici, Sallui, Vocontii, Vertamocorii

Ceste

• Place: Crescentino, province Vercelli, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Ceste (Burd.)
• Etymology: Tentatively, from a participe of the IE root *kes- 'to scratch, itch'.

Novaria, Novaria fl.

• Place: Novara (Novaria), river Sesia (Novaria fl.), province Novara, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Novaria (Ptol., Plin., Tac., Svet., Paul. Diac.) Novaria fl. (Peut.)
• Etymology: The stem *nov- may be related to Gaulish *novio- 'new' or to Latin novus 'new'. But according to some German scholar (Marjan), it may also be a hydronymic stem, to be compared with the French appellative noue 'fat, humid land'. Compare with Novaesium (Germania). This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the fact that Novaria in the Tabula Peutingeriana is a river name.

Rigomagus

• Place: Verne di Trino Vercellese, province Vercelli, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Rigomagus (Peut.) Regomagus (Burd.)
• Etymology: A Celtic name likely (Pokorny) meaning 'field of the king', from rix, rigo- 'king' and magos 'field' (possibly from the IE root *meg'(h)- 'big').

Sesites fl.

• Place: river Sesia, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Sesites fl. (Plin.)
• Etymology: The hydronym is possibly an extension of the IE root *sei- 'to be damp, to drip'.

Vercellae

• Place: Vercelli, province Vercelli, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Vercellae (Ptol., Strab., Plin., Tacit., Mart., It. Ant.) Vergellae (Peut.)
• Etymology: Usually (UTET) it is explained as a Gaulish compound of ver- 'upper' and *cella 'settlement'. The latter is like Latin cella 'cell' from the IE root k'el- 'to conceal', the former is the IE praeposition *uper- 'over, above'. The meaning of the placename is thus 'upper settlement'.

Victimulae

• Place: San Secondo di Salussola, province Biella, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Victimula (Rav.) Ictimuli (Strab.)
• Etymology: Likely the placename reflects the ethnic name of the Ictimuli. The settlement originated from a mine used by the latter tribe and by the Salassi.

Laevi et Marici

Cuttiae

• Place: Cozzo, province Pavia, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Cutiae (Peut.) Cottiae (Burd.)
• Etymology: The name likely reflects a participe form *kuk-t-io, from the IE root *keuk- 'to bend'. A similar name is Alpes Cottiae, usually explained from that of a king Cottius.

Duriae

• Place: Dorno, province Pavia, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Duni (?) (Burd.)
• Etymology: Unclear.

Laumellum

• Place: Lomello, province Pavia, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Laumellum (Ptol., Burd., Peut., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: The ending -mellum is likely a Gaulish word meaning 'hill', to be compared with Middle Irish mell 'hill', from the IE root *mel- 'to appear, come up', through a formation *mel-no-. The first part of the name is possibly related to the IE root *lou(e)- 'to wash' or more likely to *leu- 'stone'.

Retovium

• Place: Robbio, province Pavia, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Retovium (? inferred from the survival of the name?)
• Etymology: Likely it contains a Gaulish word *-reto- meaning 'run' and also used to form names of chariots. Compare for the meaning with Eporedia.

Ticinus fl., Ticinum

• Place: river Ticino (Ticinus fl.), regions Piemonte and Lombardia, Italy, canton Ticino, Switzerland, Pavia (Ticinum) province Pavia, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Ticinus fl. (Plin., Sil. It., Paul. Diac.) Ticinum (Ptol., Strab., Burd., Paul. Diac.) Ticenum (Peut.)
• Etymology: Its has been explained (De Bernardo-Stempel) from the suffixed form *tekw-ino-s of the IE root *tekw- 'to run, flow'. Thus the hydronym meant 'the runner'. Compare with Ticer fl. (Tarraconensis) in the same Celtic domain.

Insubri, Boii

Acerrae

• Place: Gera di Pizzighettone, province Cremona, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Acerrae (Peut.)
• Etymology: The name has two exact counterparts, Acerrae (Campania) and Acerrae (Umbria). All these names has been interpreted as of Etruscan origin, particularly from acerra 'casket for incense' (UTET).

Adua fl.

• Place: river Adda, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Adua fl. (Strab.) Addua fl. (Plin., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: According to Pokorny, the hydronym belongs to the series *adu- for which an IE root *ad(u)- 'water current' was postulated.

Argentia

• Place: Gorgonzola, province Milano, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Argentia (Burd.)
• Etymology: It is not clear whether it is an old Celtic name derived from the IE root *ar(e)g'- 'glittering, white', or a later Roman toponym from argentum 'silver'.

Lambrus fl., Lambrum

• Place: river Lambro (Lambrus fl.), San Colombano al Lambro (Lambrum), province Milano, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Lambrus fl. (Plin.) Ambrus fl. (Peut.) Lambrum (Peut.)
• Etymology: For Pokorny the hydronym derives from a northern Italian appellative meaning 'light', from the IE root *le(n)gwh- 'light'.

Laus Pompeia

• Place: Lodivecchio di Lodi, province Lodi, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Laus Pompeia (Plin., Burd.) Laus (Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: A Latin name given to the town in honor of a consul Pompeius who gave the Roman citizenship to the Galli Cisalpini. Laus is Latin for 'praise'.

Mediolanum

• Place: Milano, province Milano, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Mediolanum (Ptol., Strab., Plin., Liv., Tac., Burd., Peut., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Like many other similar placenames in the Celtic domain, it has to be divided as medio- 'in the middle of', from the IE root *medh- 'middle', and -lanum, which is a Celtic word meaning 'plain', from the IE root *pel 'wide and flat'.

Melpum

• Place: Melzo, province Milano, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Melpum (Plin.)
• Etymology: According to Pliny, it is the name of an Etruscan town destroyed by the Gauls. The name compares with This compares with Melpis fl. (Latium), Melpes fl. (Lucania) and *Melfa (Apulia). According to De Giovanni they all derive from a "mediterranean" stem *melf-/melp- with uncertain meaning (maybe 'mud'). Actually, from this series it seems possible to postulate an IE *melbh- that gave melf- in the Eastern Italic languages and possibly melp- in the languages belonging to the Liguro-Sicanian stock. Thus the pre-Celtic Melpum should be one of the placenames of Ligurian origin.

Modicia

• Place: Monza, province Milano, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Modicia (Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Usually it is considered as of late origin, from a Roman personal name.

Ollius fl.

• Place: river Oglio, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Ollius fl. (Plin.)
• Etymology: Usually (UTET) considered a Gaulish adjective *oll- 'big', derived from the IE root *ol- 'besides, other' and related to Old Irish oll 'big'.

Olonna fl.

• Place: river Olona, province Varese, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Olonna fl. (Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Possibly related to the other hydronym Ollius fl. or, alternatively, to the names of various water birds, like Latin olor 'swan'. These names are grouped by Pokorny under the IE root *el- 'red, brown'.

Lepontii

Bilitio

• Place: Bellinzona, canton Ticino, Switzerland
• Name: Bilitio (Greg. Tur., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Possibly related to Gaulish bili- 'good' in personal name compounds. Alternatively, from the IE root *bel- 'strong'.

Ceresius lac.

• Place: lake Lugano (Ceresio), canton Ticino, Switzerland
• Name: Ceresius lac. (Greg. Tur.)
• Etymology: Possibly, like other lake names in the region, it is due to the lake's shape. Likely is reflects a Celtic word meaning 'horned', from the IE root *k'er_es- 'horn' through the form *keres-io-.

Clavenna

• Place: Chiavenna, province Sondrio, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Clavenna (Peut., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Usually related to Latin clavis 'key' or - by the substratists - to a pre-IE stem *klava. Possibly the name is related to clavis in the sense that they both derive from the IE root *kleu- 'hook'. Thus the origin of the placename is to be found in the shape of a hill.

Oscela

• Place: Domodossola, province Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, region Piemonte, Italy
• Name: Oscela (Ptol.)
• Etymology: According to Udolph, it is a variant *ask- of the series *as- 'dry'. Alternatively, and considering also the counterparts in the Celtic domain Osca (Baetica), Osca (Tarraconensis), Oscincium (Aquitania), Oscua (Baetica), a Gaulish appellative *osk- could be assumed. The latter may derive either from the IE *ud-es-sk-i-o (similarly to Old Irish uisce 'water'), an extension of the root *(a)ued- 'water', or from a different IE root

Verbannus lac.

• Place: lake Maggiore, regions Piemonte and Lombardia, Italy, canton Ticino, Switzerland
• Name: Verbannus lac. (Plin.)
• Etymology: Possibly related to the IE root *uerb(h)- 'to turn, bend', for the shape of the lake.

Orumbovii

Bergomum

• Place: Bergamo, province Bergamo, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Bergomum (Ptol., Plin., Peut.) Bergamum (Burd.) Bergamus (Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Usually derived from the IE root *bher(e)g'h- 'high, mountain'. The Gaulish appellative derived from this root is briga 'hill', thus the origin of the place-name is likely Celtic but pre-Gaulish.

Comum

• Place: Como, province Como, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Comum (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Peut., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: It is usually (UTET) considered Celtic. A possible etymology could be *kos-mon, from the IE root *kes- 'to scratch, itch'.

Eupilis lac.

• Place: lake Pusiano, province Como, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Eupilis lac. (Plin.)
• Etymology: Unknown.

Forum Licini

• Place: not identified, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Forum Licini (Plin.)
• Etymology: A market (forum) dedicated to a Licinius.

Larius lac.

• Place: lake of Como (Lario), region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Larius lac. (Ptol., Plin., Paul. Diac.)
• Etymology: Unknown.

Leucera

• Place: not proveably Lecco, province Lecco, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Leucera (Peut.)
• Etymology: It is the Gaulish appellative leukos 'clearance', comparable with many placenames in the Celtic domain and ultimately derived from the IE root *leuk- 'bright, to shine, to see'.

Pons Aureoli

• Place: Canonica d'Adda (Pontirolo Vecchio), province Bergamo, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Pons Aureoli (Burd., Vict.)
• Etymology: A bridge on the Adua fl., it took its name from Aureolus, emperor Gallienus' cavalry commander.

Sebinnus lac.

• Place: lake Iseo, region Lombardia, Italy
• Name: Sebinnus lac. (Plin.)
• Etymology: It may be reconducted to a IE root *seib-, considered by Pokorny a variant (explaining Latin sebum) of *seip- 'to pour, rain, sift'.

Conclusions

The wider part of Transpadana's placenames surely belongs to the Celtic stratum, particularly Gaulish. These are recognized mainly from the comparison of known appellatives in modern or extinct Celtic languages.

Not considering obvious late Latin names, there are traces of two more strata. The former, probably the oldest, can be reconducted to the wide family that I propose to call Liguro-Sicanian. These names can be recognized for the typical shift of the type *bh>p.

A third stratum could include names that are not Ligurian, since they don't show the typical Ligurian consonant shift, but cannot be Celtic either, since they show an initial p or they derive from appellatives which are different in Gaulish. This tentative stratum is called here Pre-Celtic.

Last modified: May 18, 2004
by Antonio Sciarretta
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