Pre-Slavic Names and FYROM

[akritas]

Universitatea din Bucuresti

A comparative-etymological analysis of the archaic place-names in the Balkans, the Adriatic islands, Romania and also in Central Europe leads to some general conclusions.
All the major river-names are not only Pre-Slavic, but also Pre-Romance, of Thracian, Illyrian or Celtic origin. Some admit an Indo-European root, others are obviously of Pre-Indo-European origin.



Veles,
NL, near de Skopje. Ancient Bylazora. The phonetic evolution is not clear. In any case, the explanation from ND Veles, a divinity of the Old Slavs, cannot be admitted (Franck 1932: 6). It may be surmised that, starting from the ancient form and the shift b > v, a chain of folk-etymologies played their role, ultimately the association with the root *vel- ‘big, great’.


Vardar,
NFl, the most important water-flow of Macedonia; flows into the Aegean near Thessaloniki. Ancient Greek spelling Bardarioq, reflecting an indigenous Thracian river-name derived from IE *sword(o)-wori ‘black water’. The usual ancient name of the river was Axios (Duridanov 1975: 30–36; the author comprehensively analyses the river-names of the Vardar basin).


Tavor,
Taor, NL, near Skopje. Pre-Slavic, of Illyrian origin, ancient Taurision > Sl. *Tavrъ (Duridanov 1975; Franck 1932: 6). A homophonous place-name is in the Užice region, Serbia. Preie. *T-R- as in Tarcea, Tarcău (Lexicon C).

Serava,
NFl, tributary of Vardar. Pre-Slavic Thracian (eventually Illyrian), related to NFl Saar, Baltic Seria, Rom. Siret, Siriu etc. It is possible that Slavic root sěr- ‘grey’ influenced the modern form by folk-etymology (Duridanov 1975: 86).


Skopje,
NL, FYROM. Pre-Slavic, ancient Scupi, Skoypoi, capital of Dardania. Related to NFl Skoplje, Bosnia; NFl, NL Uskoplje, near Dubrovnik; NFl Uskoplje, Hercegovina, Trebinje region (Duridanov 1975: 19; see also Papazoglu 1969: 171; one of the three major Dardanian centres together with Naissus/Niš and Ulpiana/Lipljan).

Pirin,
NM, Bulgaria. Explained from Thracian *Pheruna ‘a cliff, rock’; the root *p(h)er- is attested in several place-names (Dečev 1957). The explanation from ND Sl. *Perunъ cannot be accepted. The root *p(h)ar-, *p(h)er- is probably Preie., cf. Parma, Parnassos etc. and NM Rom. Parîng.


Plovdiv,
NL, Bulgaria. Thr. Pulpudeva, the equivalent (calque) of the Greek form Philippopolis ‘Philip’s township’. This place-name has been recently analysed by Duridanov (1986: 25–34 and 1989: 19–22). By relating this form to Kokodiva, Kukudiva (supra) and bringing forth various arguments regarding the phonetic evolution, Duridanov concludes that it is a Daco-Moesian form, borrowed by the Bulgarians “directly from a late phase of Thracian”. See also Deva, Deda, Deta in Lexicon C.

Nerav,
NL, ; NFl Neravska reka, Vardar basin. Related to Nera, Neretva etc. (Duridanov 1975: 128).

Neret,
NL, . Pre-Slavic Thracian, related to NFl Nera, Neretva.

Morač,
NM, Pre-Slavic Thracian, derived from river-name Morača, related to NFl Morava.

Morane,
NL, near Skopje. Attested in 1300 as Tmorane (< *Tъmor-) and suffix -ane, cf. NM ancient Tmaros, Tmarus, NM Tomór, Albania. Cf. Tmor, infra.

German,
NM, FYROM and NFl Germanska reka. Pre-Slavic Thracian *german- < IE *gwhermo- ‘warm’, cf. NL Germisara (Geoagiu Băi), NL Thr. Germania etc. (Duridanov 1975: 127–128). Cf. NL Thr. Germania, Germanos, Germas (various spellings for the same place-name), on upper Strymon, as well as a homographic form, today Saparevska Banja (Dečev 1957: 102). A god-name German is recorded with the south Slavs.

Cuculka,
NFl, Vardar basin, NM Cucula, Veles region, Macedonia. Probably Pre-Slavic Thracian or borrowed from Arom. ţuţulcă ‘a peak’ (Duridanov 1975: 109). The Romanian root ţuţ- may be of Pre-Indo-European origin transmitted to Romanian via Thracian. Cf. Ţuţora in Lexicon C.

Bregalnica,
NFl, tributary of Vardar. Ancient Astibos. The river-name is derived from NL Bargala, a locality on Bregalnica, indigenous Pre-Slavic of Thracian origin, IE *bhergh- ‘a peak, a hill’, with a phonetic adaptation after Sl. brěgъ ‘a hill, a mountain’ (etymological substitution).

Bader,
NL, near Skopje. Ancient Bederiana, reflecting a Thracian place-name (Duridanov 1975: 19; Franck 1932: 6). Cf. NP Thr.-Dac. Bedarus, Baedarus. Cf. Badica (infra) and Rom. bade.

Algunja,
NL;Algunštica, NFl, Pre-Slavic of Thracian origin, cf. Lat. alga, Lith. alksna ‘a marsh, a moor’, NFl Lith. Alga. The Thracian reconstructed form is *Alg-on (Duridanov 1975: 131). We may also refer to Preie. *AL-, *AR-.