Etymology of London
Encyclopedia
The etymology of the name of the city of London
has been the subject of speculation for centuries, though no generally accepted explanation has been found. While there have been many theories advanced over the centuries, most can be dismissed as fanciful on lingui--[[Special:Contributions/94.165.20.132
or historical grounds. A few have been recognized as having some measure of academic plausibility, but none has any direct evidence.
The city of London
was founded by the Romans in the 1st century CE though some earlier settlements are known to have existed. The roots Londin- and Lundin- are the most prevalent in names used from Roman times onward. The 12th-century account Historia Regum Britanniae
asserts that the city's name is derived from the name of King Lud
who once controlled the city. A variety of other theories have been proposed since.
, in the 1998 article where he published his own theory of the etymology, lists all the known occurrences of the name up to around the year 900, in Greek
, Latin, British and Anglo-Saxon.
Most of the older sources begin Londin- (Λονδινιου, Londino, Londinium etc.), though there are some in Lundin-; but later examples are mostly Lundon- or London-, and all the Anglo-Saxon examples have Lunden- with various terminations. He observes that the modern spelling with <o> derives from a mediaeval writing habit of avoiding <u> between letters composed of minims
.
He asserts that "It is quite clear that these vowel letters in the earliest forms, both <o> and <u>, represent phonemically long vowel sounds": he refers to a number of other writers who have argued this, and adds several arguments of his own, including the form of the name in Welsh .
Coates discusses the ending of the name, whose exact shape he says is a problem. He observes that the ending in Latin sources before 600 is always -inium, which points to a British double termination -in-jo-n. But this cannot be the form from which the Anglo-Saxon names were borrowed, as they all have Lund-, and an /i/ in the following syllable would have caused Lynd- by umlaut
. He tentatively accepts Jackson's argument that the British form was -on-jo-n, with the change to -inium unexplained. However he speculates further that the -i- could have arisen by metathesis
of the -i- in the last syllable of his own suggested etymon (see below).
. In Historia Regum Britanniae
, the name is described as originating from King Lud
, who seized the city and ordered it to be renamed in his honour as Kaerlud. This was then eventually slurred into Karelundein and then London. However, Geoffrey's work contains many fanciful suppositions about place-name derivation and the suggestion has no basis in linguistics.
Other fanciful theories over the years have been:
Coates says (p. 211) that "The earliest non-mythic speculation ... centred on the possibility of deriving London from Welsh , supposedly 'lake fort' (? or 'fort lake'). But derives from British *Lind-, which is incompatible with all the early attestations.
H. D'Arbois de Jubainville suggested in 1899 that the name meant Londino's fortress. But Coates argues that there is no such personal name recorded, and that D'Arbois' suggested etymology for it (from Celtic *londo-, 'fierce') would have a short vowel. Coates notes that this theory was repeated by linguistics up to the 1960s, and more recently still in less specialist works.
"The first of the scientific explanations" according to Coates (p. 212) was from Giovanni Alessio in 1951. He proposed a Ligurian rather than a Celtic origin, with a root *lond-/lont- meaning 'mud' or 'marsh'. Coates' major criticisms are that this does not have the required long vowel (an alternative form Alessio proposes, *lōna, has the long vowel, but lacks the required consonant), and that there is no evidence of Ligurian in Britain.
The other suggestion that Coates considers worthy of discussion was by Jean-Gabriel Gigot in 1974. In an article principally about St Martin de Londres in Hérault
in France
, Gigot tries to apply the Germanic root proposed for that name (*lohna) to the topography of London.
Coates' own theory is that the name derives from an Old European
(pre-Celtic) name *Plowonida, from Indo-European
roots *plew-, which underlies words in different languages meaning 'flow', 'swim' and 'boat'; and *nejd-, an element meaning 'flow', found in various river names around Europe.
His suggestion is that this name, meaning either 'boat river' or 'swimming river' was applied to the Thames where it becomes too wide to ford, in the vicinity of London. (He does admit that compound names are comparatively rare for rivers in the Indo-European area, but they are not unknown). The settlement on its banks would then be named from it, with the suffix -on-jon, in either Old European or Celtic times, giving *(p)lowonidonjon.
Indo-European /p/ regularly disappears in Celtic, so this would have gone through *Lowonidonjon and either *Lōondonjon or *Lōnidonjon to *Lūndonjon and hence Lūndein or Lūndyn. An advantage of the form *Lōnidonjon is that it could account for Latin Londinium by metathesis
to *Lōnodinjon.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
has been the subject of speculation for centuries, though no generally accepted explanation has been found. While there have been many theories advanced over the centuries, most can be dismissed as fanciful on lingui--[[Special:Contributions/94.165.20.132
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
or historical grounds. A few have been recognized as having some measure of academic plausibility, but none has any direct evidence.
The city of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was founded by the Romans in the 1st century CE though some earlier settlements are known to have existed. The roots Londin- and Lundin- are the most prevalent in names used from Roman times onward. The 12th-century account Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
asserts that the city's name is derived from the name of King Lud
Lud son of Heli
Lud , according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain and related medieval texts, was a king of Britain in pre-Roman times. He was the eldest son of Geoffrey's King Heli, and succeeded his father to the throne. He was succeeded, in turn, by his brother Cassibelanus...
who once controlled the city. A variety of other theories have been proposed since.
Attested forms
Richard CoatesRichard Coates
Richard Coates is an English linguist. He is professor of linguistics at the University of the West of England in Bristol. He was formerly professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex, where he served as Dean of the School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences from 1998 to 2003...
, in the 1998 article where he published his own theory of the etymology, lists all the known occurrences of the name up to around the year 900, in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin, British and Anglo-Saxon.
Most of the older sources begin Londin- (Λονδινιου, Londino, Londinium etc.), though there are some in Lundin-; but later examples are mostly Lundon- or London-, and all the Anglo-Saxon examples have Lunden- with various terminations. He observes that the modern spelling with <o> derives from a mediaeval writing habit of avoiding <u> between letters composed of minims
Minim (palaeography)
In palaeography, a minim is a short, vertical stroke used in handwriting. The word is derived from the Latin minimum, meaning "least" or "smallest"....
.
Philology
Coates discusses various aspects of the phonemic form of the name, in order to be able to dismiss other suggestions and support his own proposal.He asserts that "It is quite clear that these vowel letters in the earliest forms, both <o> and <u>, represent phonemically long vowel sounds": he refers to a number of other writers who have argued this, and adds several arguments of his own, including the form of the name in Welsh .
Coates discusses the ending of the name, whose exact shape he says is a problem. He observes that the ending in Latin sources before 600 is always -inium, which points to a British double termination -in-jo-n. But this cannot be the form from which the Anglo-Saxon names were borrowed, as they all have Lund-, and an /i/ in the following syllable would have caused Lynd- by umlaut
I-mutation
I-mutation is an important type of sound change, more precisely a category of regressive metaphony, in which a back vowel is fronted, and/or a front vowel is raised, if the following syllable contains /i/, /ī/ or /j/ I-mutation (also known as umlaut, front mutation, i-umlaut, i/j-mutation or...
. He tentatively accepts Jackson's argument that the British form was -on-jo-n, with the change to -inium unexplained. However he speculates further that the -i- could have arisen by metathesis
Metathesis (linguistics)
Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
of the -i- in the last syllable of his own suggested etymon (see below).
Proposed etymologies
The earliest account of the toponym's derivation can be attributed to Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
. In Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
, the name is described as originating from King Lud
Lud son of Heli
Lud , according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain and related medieval texts, was a king of Britain in pre-Roman times. He was the eldest son of Geoffrey's King Heli, and succeeded his father to the throne. He was succeeded, in turn, by his brother Cassibelanus...
, who seized the city and ordered it to be renamed in his honour as Kaerlud. This was then eventually slurred into Karelundein and then London. However, Geoffrey's work contains many fanciful suppositions about place-name derivation and the suggestion has no basis in linguistics.
Other fanciful theories over the years have been:
- William CamdenWilliam CamdenWilliam Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
reportedly suggested that the name might come from Brythonic lhwn (modern Welsh ) meaning "grove" and town. Thus, giving the origin as Lhwn Town, translating to "city in the grove". - John Jackson, writing in the Gentleman's Magazine in 1792, challenges the Llyn din theory (see below) on geographical grounds, and suggests instead a derivation from - presumably intended as 'valley city'.
- Some British IsraelitesBritish IsraelismBritish Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
claimed that the Anglo-Saxons, assumed to be descendants of the Tribe of DanTribe of DanThe Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...
, named their settlement lan-dan, meaning "abode of Dan" in HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. - An unsigned article in The Cambro Briton for 1821 supports the suggestion of Luna din ('moon fortress'), and also mentions in passing the possibility of Llong din ('ship fortress').
- Several theories were discussed in the pages of Notes and QueriesNotes and QueriesNotes and Queries is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism". Its emphasis is on "the factual rather than the speculative"...
on 27 December 1851, including Luandun (supposedly "city of the moon", a reference to the temple of DianaDiana (mythology)In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
supposed to have stood on the site of St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
), and Lan Dian or Llan Dian ("temple of Diana"). Another correspondent dismissed these, and reiterated the common Llyn din theory. - In The Cymry of '76 (1855), Alexander Jones says that the Welsh name derives from Llyn Dain, meaining 'pool of the Thames'.
- An 1887 Handbook for Travellers asserts that "The etymology of London is the same as that of Lincoln" (Latin ).
- A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare (1918) mentions a variant on Geoffrey's suggestion being Lud's town, although refutes it saying that the origin of the name was most likely SaxonOld English languageOld English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
. - Another suggestion, published in The Geographical JournalThe Geographical JournalThe Geographical Journal is a journal of the Royal Geographical Society and has been published since 1831. Its original title was Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. The journal publishes original research papers and review articles across geography, and has the highest...
in 1899, is that the area of London was previously settled by BelgaeBelgaeThe Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
who named their outposts after townships in BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Some of these Belgic toponyms have been attributed to the namesake of London including Lime, Douvrend, and Londinières.
Coates says (p. 211) that "The earliest non-mythic speculation ... centred on the possibility of deriving London from Welsh , supposedly 'lake fort' (? or 'fort lake'). But derives from British *Lind-, which is incompatible with all the early attestations.
H. D'Arbois de Jubainville suggested in 1899 that the name meant Londino's fortress. But Coates argues that there is no such personal name recorded, and that D'Arbois' suggested etymology for it (from Celtic *londo-, 'fierce') would have a short vowel. Coates notes that this theory was repeated by linguistics up to the 1960s, and more recently still in less specialist works.
"The first of the scientific explanations" according to Coates (p. 212) was from Giovanni Alessio in 1951. He proposed a Ligurian rather than a Celtic origin, with a root *lond-/lont- meaning 'mud' or 'marsh'. Coates' major criticisms are that this does not have the required long vowel (an alternative form Alessio proposes, *lōna, has the long vowel, but lacks the required consonant), and that there is no evidence of Ligurian in Britain.
The other suggestion that Coates considers worthy of discussion was by Jean-Gabriel Gigot in 1974. In an article principally about St Martin de Londres in Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Gigot tries to apply the Germanic root proposed for that name (*lohna) to the topography of London.
Coates' own theory is that the name derives from an Old European
Old European hydronymy
Old European is the term used by Hans Krahe for the language of the oldest reconstructed stratum of European hydronymy in Central and Western Europe...
(pre-Celtic) name *Plowonida, from Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
roots *plew-, which underlies words in different languages meaning 'flow', 'swim' and 'boat'; and *nejd-, an element meaning 'flow', found in various river names around Europe.
His suggestion is that this name, meaning either 'boat river' or 'swimming river' was applied to the Thames where it becomes too wide to ford, in the vicinity of London. (He does admit that compound names are comparatively rare for rivers in the Indo-European area, but they are not unknown). The settlement on its banks would then be named from it, with the suffix -on-jon, in either Old European or Celtic times, giving *(p)lowonidonjon.
Indo-European /p/ regularly disappears in Celtic, so this would have gone through *Lowonidonjon and either *Lōondonjon or *Lōnidonjon to *Lūndonjon and hence Lūndein or Lūndyn. An advantage of the form *Lōnidonjon is that it could account for Latin Londinium by metathesis
Metathesis (linguistics)
Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
to *Lōnodinjon.