Salamanca
SalamancaCastilla y León
From pre-Roman Helmantica or Salmantica, a Vaccaean-Celtic word attested by Polybius in the 2nd century BC. Disputed etymology: possible hydronymic sal- root (referring to the river Tormes) + suffix -mantica of opaque meaning. The initial S- replaced the original aspirated H- after Latinisation.
The toponym is attested in Polybius (2nd century BC) as Helmantike and in Livy (1st century BC) as Hermandica, a Vaccaean city conquered by Hannibal in 220 BC. The pre-Roman etymology is one of the most debated in peninsular onomastics. The two main readings coexist without either prevailing: the hydronymic derives the name from the root sal- present in European hydronyms like French Salins or German Salzach, applied to the river Tormes; the anthroponymic proposes a Celtic root helm- with the value of 'protection, refuge' (parallel to Germanic helm, 'helmet'). The original aspirated H-, preserved by educated Greeks and Romans, was progressively replaced by S- in vulgar pronunciation; the Arabs fixed it as S-, and from there it passed to Castilian. Today Salamanca is famous for the University, founded by Alfonso IX of León in 1218 — the third oldest active European university, after Bologna and Paris — and for its urban centre carved in piedra de Villamayor, golden sandstone that gilds at sunset.
Evolution of the name
- Helmantica / Salmantica Latinized Vaccaean-Celtic 2nd century BC — 5th
- Šalamanqa (شلمنقة) Andalusi Arabic 8th — 11th century
- Salamanca Castilian from the 12th century
Glossary
- Attested
- A form or word documented in writing in historical sources; opposed to "reconstructed" (forms proposed by comparative inference but not actually documented).
- 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.
- Hydronym
- A place name derived from the name of a river, lake or watercourse (Carrión, Eo, Sella, Deba, Cueza).
- Hydronymic
- Pertaining to hydronyms (place names from watercourses).
- Onomastics
- The linguistic discipline that studies proper names — of persons, places and institutions. "Onomastic readings" are competing etymological hypotheses about a name.
- Pre-Roman
- Prior to the Romanisation of the Iberian peninsula (3rd century BC); applied to toponyms, linguistic roots and populations.
Sources
- Polibio — Historiae, III, 14
- Tito Livio — Ab Urbe condita, XXI, 5
- Menéndez Pidal, R. — Toponimia prerrománica hispana
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