Logroño
Camino Francés · Camino del Ebro
La Rioja
Here Camino Francés and Camino del Ebro converge. It is one of the points where the pilgrim shares the way with those arriving by another route.
Toponym of disputed origin. The two main hypotheses derive it from the Latin personal name Lucronius + diminutive suffix -ño, or from a pre-Roman root loko- 'lake, wetland' —the town grew beside a lacustrine floodplain of the Ebro—.
Evolution of the name
- Logronio medieval Latin 11th — 12th century
- Logroño Castilian from the 13th century
Reflections, to the letter
You enter Logroño across the stone bridge over the Ebro, and that crossing is the name. The toponym is disputed, but the two strongest hypotheses both point to water: a pre-Roman root loko- (“lake, wetland”) and, above all, the Celtic gronna / gronnio “stagnant waters, marshy place,” with the article lo- prefixed. It was the still, fordable waters of the Ebro’s lake-flooded plain that first opened the path and later the town. The earliest written mention is Lucronio, in the year 915.
Glossary
- Anthroponym
- A personal name, often used as the base of toponyms (Lucronius → Logroño, Sigerici → Castrojeriz).
- 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.
- Etymology
- The origin and history of a word and the phonetic and semantic changes it has undergone. An etymology may be confirmed, probable or disputed depending on documentary attestations and linguistic parallels.
- Fuero
- A medieval legal privilege granted by a king to a town, conferring special rights and freedoms.
- Hydronym / hydronymic
- A place name derived from the name of a river, lake or watercourse.
- Hydronymic
- Pertaining to hydronyms (place names from watercourses).
- Onomatologist
- A specialist in onomastics, the linguistic discipline that studies proper names — of persons (anthroponyms), places (toponyms) and institutions.
Sources
- Sáenz de Tejada, F. — Logroño y su nombre (Logroño: Instituto de Estudios Riojanos, 1996)
- Menéndez Pidal, R. — Toponimia prerrománica hispana (Madrid: Gredos, 1952)
- Corominas, J. & Pascual, J.A. — Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (Madrid: Gredos, 1980–1991, s.v. tapa, tapar)
- Pascual Tejerina, F. — El vocabulario del vino en La Rioja (Logroño: IER, 2003)
If you have a correction or an observation about this information,
please write to us through the form at the foot of the site.
We will grow more precise thanks to your contribution.
Camino Francés