Cercedilla
Comunidad de Madrid
Toponym derived from the Latin ceresetum with diminutive suffix, 'small cherry orchard', formed on cerasum ('cherry tree'). The compound designates a discreet grove of cherry trees, a frequent formation in the transition forests between Meseta holm oak and Guadarrama pinewood and beech grove. The diminutive form, irregular in Castilian —Cercedilla instead of the expected Cerezuela—, reflects an early fixation of the toponym in late Hispanic Latin.
Cerasum, 'cherry tree', derived from the Greek toponym Kerasoûs (the present Turkish Giresun, city of the Black Sea coast from where Lucullus brought the first cultivated variety to Rome in 73 BC), generalised in Hispanic Latin a series of toponymic derivatives: Ceresetum ('cherry grove'), Ceresinum ('land of cherries'), Cerasetum, all applied to forest formations. The diminutive suffix -illa, derived from the Latin -ella, fixes in Castilian the current form from 10th-century medieval documentation. The first mention of Cercedilla dates from the year 1247, in a diploma of King Ferdinand III. The medieval settlement rose at the foot of the Fuenfría pass, where the Roman road between Mantua (Manzanares) and Cauca (Coca) made a technical halt before the ascent to the col. The remains of the road and of a Roman bridge over the Guadarrama river are preserved in good condition.
Evolution of the name
- cerasum / ceresetum Latin 1st centuries BC–4th
- Ceresedella medieval Latin 9th–11th centuries
- Cercedilla medieval Castilian from the 12th century
Glossary
- Diminutive
- A derived form indicating smaller size or affection, formed with suffixes such as -illo, -ito, -uelo, -ete. Substantivised plural diminutives abound in toponymy: Hornillos, Boadilla, Calzadilla, Comillas, Pradillos.
- Road XXIV
- Roman road of the Antonine Itinerary that connected Emerita Augusta (Mérida) with Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) crossing the central peninsula in a straight line, passing through the civitates of Mantua (Manzanares el Real), Cauca (Coca), Segovia, Avila and Toletum (Toledo). The Cercedilla stretch, on the ascent to the Fuenfría pass, preserves one of the oldest Roman pavements in continued use of the Central Meseta.
- Roman road
- A stone-paved Roman highway, part of the imperial communications network (Via Aquitana, Via Augusta, Iter ab Asturica); many such roads became medieval routes and, later, stretches of the Camino de Santiago.
Sources
- Sánchez Albornoz, C. — Tres viajes a la Sierra de Madrid
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Camino de Madrid