Redecilla del Camino
BurgosCastilla y León
Compound toponym. Redecilla is a diminutive of Latin retis ('net'), alluding to a system of branched canals or watercourses that irrigated the meadow — 'small net of waters'. Del Camino is a Jacobean complement added in the Middle Ages to distinguish it from other Redecillas, fixing its belonging to the Camino de Santiago.
Retis ('net'), from which come Castilian red, redil, redondo, generated in late Latin the diminutive reticella applied both to small fishing nets and, by extension, to branched irrigation canal systems that distributed water from a parent river to cultivable plots. The Riojan-Burgos toponym commemorates that network of channels in the Tirón meadow. The complement del Camino appears in medieval documentation of the San Millán de la Cogolla monastery from the 12th century as a distinctive mark — there were other Redecillas in Castile (Redecilla del Campo, in Soria) and the full name avoided confusion for the pilgrim and the toll collector. It is the first locality in Burgos when crossing the road from La Rioja.
Evolution of the name
- retis / reticella Latin 3rd — 9th centuries
- Redeziella medieval Castilian 11th — 14th centuries
- Redecilla del Camino modern Castilian from the 15th 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.
Sources
- Diputación de Burgos — Inventario de patrimonio jacobeo
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Camino Francés