Noricum
Contents
The Roman province of Noricum was bordered on the north by the Danube river, on the west by the Aenus river and Raetia, on the south by the Alps (with some parts south of them) and Italy (Transpadana and Venetia), on the east by Pannonia. Noricum was thus located over the territory of present-day Austria, with small parts in Italy, Germany, and Slovenia.
Its original inhabitants were of unknown stock. A kingdom flourished there in the 2th century B.C., at which time the region was mainly populated by Celtic tribes, among which the Taurisci, also called Norici. Noricum was incorporated by Rome in 16 B.C. Under Diocletian, the province of Noricum was divided into Noricum Mediterraneaum (southern part) and Noricum Ripense (northern part bordering the Danube).
Common remarks: the place-names have been put in the nominative case, an asterisk * means not attested, reconstructed form. The late place-names of probable Latin origin have not been included. The IE roots are in the form given by Pokorny's Indogermanische Wörterbuch. The links will be active when the single pages will be published, see the main page. For any comment, suggestion, email me.
Noricum Mediterraneum
Adrans
- Place: Trojane, Lukovica, Slovenia
- Name: Adrans (It. Ant., Peut.) Hadrans (Hier.) Atrans (inscr.)
- Etymology: Possibly related to Adrium m. (Illyria) and thus to Sanskrit adri 'stone', which reflects a long sonant nasal *ned-ri-, from the dubious IE root *end- 'stone'. More likely, a participial form reflecting the extension *ad-ro- of the IE root *ad(u)- 'water current'.
Aguntum
- Place: Stribach, Dölsach, state Tirol, Austria
- Name: Aguntum (Ptol., Plin., It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Usually related to the IE root *ag'- 'to lead' and to its Celtic cognate *ag- 'fight', either as a descriptive name ('battle place') or from a personal name *Aguntos 'the fighter' [Delamarre, p. 42]. For the suffix, compare with Carnuntum.
Beliandrum
- Place: possibly by Zweinitz, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Beliandrum (Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained by [Delamarre, p. 74] as *Belianderum 'domain of Belianderos', from a Celtic personal name.
Candalicae
- Place: possibly Micheldorf, Friesach, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Candalicae (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Explained [Delamarre, p. 100] as a Celtic compound name 'the glowing stones' formed from the adjective *candos 'white', which is a cognate of the IE root *(s)kand- 'to glow, bright', and the name *lic(c)a 'stone', which is a cognate of the IE root *leu- 'stone'.
Celeia
- Place: Celje, Slovenia
- Name: Celeia (Ptol., Plin., It. Ant., Peut.)
- Etymology: Formally the same as *Celeia (Cispadana) and both could be derived from the IE root *kel- 'to tower, be high, hill', presumably because the towns were fortified settlements on the top of hills (which is true for this Celeia). But explained by [Delamarre, p. 111] as 'domain of Celios', from an attested personal name Celius, possibly related to Celtic *celios 'comrade'.
Colatio
- Place: Sari Trg, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
- Name: Colatio (Peut.)
- Etymology: Possibly to be compared with Collatia (Latium). However, [Delamarre, p. 118] has posied an hypothetical personal name *Colatis to explain this place name.
Gavanodurum
- Place: not identified, Austria
- Name: Gavanodurum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: A clear Celtic compound name, whose second element is the same as Gaulish duron 'market', although the first element is unclear.
Gesodunum
- Place: not identified, Austria
- Name: Gesodunum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: For [Delamarre, p. 154] to be reconstructed as *Gaisodunum, which would be a Celtic compound name, with gaiso- 'spear' and dunon 'castle'.
Graviacae
- Place: Stadl-an-der-Mur, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Graviacae (Peut.)
- Etymology: Reconducted [Delamarre, p. 161] to Gaulish *grava 'gravel', which is a cognate of the IE root *ghreu- 'to rub'. However, the suffix would rather point to a personal name Gravios.
Idunum
- Place: not identified, Austria
- Name: Idunum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: Phonetics unclear, cf. [Delamarre, p. 163].
Immurium
- Place: Moosham, Unternberg, state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: in Murium (Peut.)
- Etymology: Unclear.
Iuenna
- Place: Jaunstein, Globasnitz, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Iuenna (Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained [Delamarre, p. 167] from a possible theonym *Ivennos. Alternatively, to be compared with IE root *ieu- 'young' and its cognates.
Littamum
- Place: San Candido/Innichen, province Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
- Name: Littamum (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Usually [Delamarre, p. 179] interpreted as 'the very wide (place)', from the superlative form *lit(u)-tamo- of the Celtic adjective *lit(u)-, which in turn would reflect the IE root *pla-t 'wide, flat'. Compare with Litubium (Cispadana) in the same Celtic domain.
Loncium
- Place: Mauthen, Kötschach-Mauthen, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Loncium (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Reconstructed by [Delamarre, p. 180] as Longium and explained as 'the domain of Longius'.
Matucaium
- Place: Treibach, Althofen, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Matucaium (Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 194] as a Celtic compound name *matu-caion, from matu- 'bear' (possibly as a personal name) and ca(g)jon 'hedge, fence', which is from the IE root *kagh-io- 'to sew, plait, etc.'.
Monate
- Place: Nussdorf, Sankt-Georgen-ob-Judenburg, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Monate (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Interpreted [Delamarre, p. 200] as 'domain of Monos' from an attested personal name Monus. The suffix -ate actually formed placenames from personal names in a wide ex-Celtic, then Romance domain.
Noreia
- Place: possibly Wildbad Einöd, Dürnstein-in-der-Steiermark, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Noreia (Peut.)
- Etymology: The suffix -eia is the same found in Celeia. The stem is interpreted [Delamarre, p. 207] as a theonym *Nora, but it could rather reflect the IE root *ner- 'vital energy, man', with the meaning of 'the strong (place)'.
Poedicum
- Place: Bruck-an-der-Mur, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Poedicum (Ptol.)
- Etymology: Unclear.
Ragando
- Place: Spodnje Grus^ovje, Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia
- Name: Ragindo (It. Ant., Burd.) Ragando (Peut.)
- Etymology: Analyzed by [Delamarre, p. 217] as *ro-gandon 'place where crockery is sold', from a Celtic *gand- 'vessel'.
Sabatinca
- Place: possibly Sankt-Johannes-am-Tauern, Pölstal, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Sabatinca (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Tentatively explained [Delamarre, p. 225] as 'domain of a *Sabatincos', from an unattested personal name without clear etymology.
Saloca
- Place: possibly Sallach, Pörtschach-am-Wörther-See, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Saloca (Peut.)
- Etymology: Possibly to be compared with Salona (Illyria).
Santicum
- Place: probably Warmbad, Villach, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Sianticum (Ptol.) Santicum (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Commonly derived with a suffix *-iko- from the Celtic name *sento- 'pathway', which is a cognate of the IE root *sent- 'to take a direction, go'. So the overall meaning could be '(the town on) the pathway'. However, the vocalization in (I)A is unclear. On the other hand, [Delamarre, p. 228] posits an hypotethical personal name *Santicos.
Sebatum
- Place: San Lorenzo di Sebato/Sankt Lorenzen, province Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
- Name: Sebatum (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Tentatively related to the IE root *sebh- 'tribe', with a possible meaning of 'assembly'.
Flavia Solva
- Place: Wagna, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Solva (Plin.)
- Etymology: Similarly to Solva (Pannonia) and Solentia (Illyria), the name could be derived from the IE root *suel- 'foot, sole, ground', with metathesis of -u-. However, both for [Anreiter] and [Delamarre, p. 240], it is rather related to a Celtic word *selwa- 'property', derived from the IE root *sel- 'to take, grab'.
Tarnasicum
- Place: Flattnitz, Glödnitz, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Tarnasicum (Peut.)
- Etymology: Formed with the prefix tar-, which is from the PIE root *ter- 'to cross, transgress, to stay', to designate a crossing. However, the second part of the name is unclear.
Tasinemetum
- Place: unkonwn, probably state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Tasinemetum (Peut.)
- Etymology: Interpreted [Anreiter] as 'holy place of (the) Tasis', where *Tasis would be a theonym reflecting the adjective *tasi- 'merciful, mild', while nemeton is the Gaulish word for 'shrine, holy place', a cognate of the PIE root *nem- 'to bend (to bow, venerate)'. See also Nemetodurum (Lugdunensis).
Teurnia
- Place: Sankt-Peter-im-Holz, Lendorf, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Teurnia (Ptol., Plin.) Tiburnia (late antiquity)
- Etymology: Commonly derived (like the name of the Tauern mountains) from the IE root *teur- 'to swell, crowd, folk, fat, strong, boil, abscess'.
Upellis
- Place: Sara Vas, Velenje, Slovenia
- Name: Upellis (Peut.)
- Etymology: Difficult to explain as Celtic due to the preservation of the intervocalic P if from the IE root *upo- 'under'. However, it could reflect the Celtic shift *kw > p and derive, for instance, from the IE root *wekw- 'to speak, to sound out' as a hydronym.
Vacorium
- Place: possibly Pfarrwerfen, state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Vacorium (Ptol.) Vocarium (Peut.)
- Etymology: If Ptolemy's reading is correct, then compare with Vacontium (Pannonia) in a related domain. However, [Delamarre, p. 276] prefers the second reading and assumes a personal name *Vocorios.
Vipitenum
- Place: Vipiteno/Sterzing, province Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
- Name: Vipitenum (It. Ant.) Vepitenum (Peut.)
- Etymology: Unknown. It has often been related to the Etruscan gentilice vipitene and it could be definitely Rhaetian.
Virunum
- Place: Maria Saal, Zollfeld, state Kärnten, Austria
- Name: Virunum (Plin., Ptol., It. Ant., Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained by [Delamarre, p. 274] with positing a reconstructed personal name *Virunos.
Viscellis
- Place: possibly Möderbrugg, Pölstal, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Viscellis (Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained by [Delamarre, p. 274] with positing a reconstructed personal name *Viscellos.
Noricum Ripense
Aenus fl.
- Place: river Inn, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Aenus (Ptol., Tacit., It. Ant.)
- Etymology: To be compared with Aenona (Illyria). According to [Udolph], the stem *aen- is the A-language counterpart of the IE root *ein-, an extension of *ei- 'to go'.
Albianum
- Place: not proveably Ebbs, state Tirol, Austria
- Name: Albianum (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: The formant seems to point to a placename derived from a personal name and actually [Delamarre, p. 44] posits a personal name Albianos.
*Altisia fl.
- Place: river Alz, province Oberbayern, state Bayern, Germany
- Name: inferred from the survival of the name
- Etymology: Likely from the hydronymic IE root *alt- 'to grow, nourish'. Compare with Altinum (Pannonia).
Anisus fl., Anisum
- Place: river Enns (Anisus fl.), Altenmarkt-im-Pongau (Anisum), state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Anisus fl. (inferred from the survival of the name) Ani (Peut.)
- Etymology: Villar and others have speculated about a hydronymic stem *an- (see Anio) and also [Anreiter] has reconstructed this hydronym as an O-grade *on-is. Overall unclear.
Arlape, Arlape fl.
- Place: Pöchlarn (Arlape), river Erlauf (Arlape fl.), state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Arelate (Ptol., Peut.) Arlape (It. Ant.) Arelapa (inscr.) Arlape fl. (inferred from the survival of the name)
- Etymology: Often analyzed as a Celtic compound name *are-lapis, where are is Gaulish 'in front of'. The second element has been interpreted [Delamarre, p. 58] as *labi- and compared with various Romance river names reconstructed as *Labara 'talkative', or [Bichlmeier] as *lapa 'lake' reflecting the IE root *loku-/lakuo- with the general meaning of '(river) which has a lake in front'. However, observing the similar construct Tergolape, a segmentation *arel-apis seems more probable, with the second element that reflects the IE root *ap- 'water, river' and compares with Colapis fl. (Pannonia) in a related domain.
Artobriga
- Place: possibly Traunstein, province Oberbayern, state Bayern, Germany
- Name: Artobriga (Ptol., Peut.)
- Etymology: Usually interpreted as 'fortress of the Bear' or [Delamarre, p. 62] 'fortress of Artos'. The second element is the Celtic noun briga, originally meaning 'hill', see the IE root *bher(e)g'h- 'high, mountain'.
Bedaium
- Place: Seebruck, Seeon-Seebruck, province Oberbayern, state Bayern, Germany
- Name: Bedacum (Ptol.) Bidaium (It. Ant.) Bedaium (Peut.)
- Etymology: Likely explained by the Gaulish noun bedos 'channel', which is from the IE root *bhedh- 'to pierce, dig'.
Boiodurum
- Place: Innstadt, Passau, province Niederbayern, state Bayern, Germany
- Name: Boiodurum (Ptol., It. Ant., Peut.) Boiotrum (Not. Dign.)
- Etymology: A clear [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 82] Celtic compound name Boio-durum 'fortress of (the) Boii', from a cognate of the IE root *dhuer- 'door'.
Canabiaca
- Place: Zeiselmauer, Zeiselmauer-Wolfpassing, state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Canabiaca (Not. Dign.)
- Etymology: Likely a Celtic placename with the typical suffix -acum/-a. However, similarly to Gaulish *Canaviacum (Belgica), the meaning is disputed. It may derive from a personal name *Canavus that seems to exhibit a suffix -ouio or [Delamarre, p. 101] from a personal name *Cando-bios 'shining haxe'. Otherwise, if the town was located on the banks of the Danube, it might have been a small landing place for ferries. The name could then be derived from a Celtic or, even better for the phonetics, Germanic cognate of the IE root *gandh- 'vessel'. Still another hypothesis is that it is the Celtic equivalent of Latin cannabis.
Cetius m., Cetium
- Place: mount Wienerwald (Cetius m.), St. Pölten (Cetium), state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Cetius m. (Ptol.) Cetium (It. Ant.) Citium (Peut.)
- Etymology: Clearly [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 95] explained as a Celtic noun *kaito- 'wood', which is a cognate of the IE root *kaito- 'forest'.
Comagena
- Place: Tulln, state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Comagena (It. Ant., Peut., Not. Dign.)
- Etymology: Unclear. [Delamarre, p. 118] posits a personal name *Comagios (as *com-ag-io- 'the fighter').
Cucullae
- Place: Kuchl, state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Cucullae (Peut.)
- Etymology: If not a Latin loan, it might be derived from the IE root *keuk-, an extension of *keu- 'to bend', with some oronymic meaning like 'hill' or 'bump'. But [Delamarre, p. 130] posits instead a personal name *Cucullis.
*Druna fl.
- Place: river Traun, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Truna fl. (late antiquity)
- Etymology: Commonly (Delamarre, p. 142; Greule) attributed to the IE root *d(e)reu- 'to run', meaning 'the running (river)'.
Ernolatia
- Place: possibly Sankt-Pankraz, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Ernolatia (Peut.)
- Etymology: Given the suffix, it can be explained [Delamarre, p. 152] with a personal name *Ernolatis ('the furious eagle', from Gaulish *erno- 'eagle' and *latis 'warrior, hero').
Gabromagus
- Place: Windischgarsten, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Gabromagus (It. Ant., Peut.)
- Etymology: A Celtic compound name [Anreiter] *Gabro-magos, where the second element is the Celtic word for 'field', a cognate of the IE root *meg'(h)- 'big', while the first element is either a Celtic word for 'goat', cognate to Gaulish gafr, or a personal name with the same meaning.
Iuvavum, Iuvavus fl.
- Place: Salzburg (Iuvavum), river Salzach (Iuvavus fl.), state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Claudiuium (Ptol.) Iuvavum (Plin.) Iovavum (It. Ant.) Iuavum (Peut.) Iuarus fl. (Peut.)
- Etymology: Explained [Brandestein] as *ieu-auo-s from the IE root *ieu- 'to mix', with reference to its mixed (with sand, etc.) waters. Instead, [Delamarre, p. 167] explains it with the attested personal name Ivavos.
Ivesis fl.
- Place: river Ybbs, state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Ises (Peut.) *Ivesis fl. (inferred from the survival of the name)
- Etymology: Possibly an old hydronym from the IE root *ei- 'to go'.
Laciacum
- Place: Mösendorf, Frankenmarkt, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Laciacum (It. Ant., Peut.)
- Etymology: Usually explained [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 169] from a Celtic personal name *Lacios.
Lauriacum
- Place: Lorch, Enns, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Lauricaum (It. Ant.) Blaboriciacum (Peut.)
- Etymology: Usually explained [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 170] from a Celtic personal name *La(g)urios (reconstructed from Gaulish lagu 'small, weak').
Lentia
- Place: Linz, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Lentia (Not. Dign.)
- Etymology: Likely related to the IE root *lento- 'ductile, soft'. But [Delamarre, p. 174] prefers a derivation from a personal name Lentios.
Namare
- Place: Melk, state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Namare (Peut.)
- Etymology: Unclear. [Delamarre, p. 203] explains it by positing a personal name *Namaris. But it could be related to the IE root *nem- 'to bend' and thus be cognate of Gaulish nantu (< *nem-tu) 'valley'.
Ovilava
- Place: Wels, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Ovilavae (It. Ant.) Ovilia (Peut.)
- Etymology: Likely a compound name to be analyzed as ovi-laua. However, [Delamarre, p. 213] posits a personal name Ovil(i)os, with a derivation -auo-.
*Sala fl.
- Place: river Saalach, state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Sala fl. (late antiquity)
- Etymology: Commonly (Greule) explained with the IE root *sal- 'salt, salty water'. Compare with Sala fl. (Pannonia).
Stiriate
- Place: possibly Liezen, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Stiriate (Peut.)
- Etymology: Given the praedial suffix -ate, [Delamarre, p. 243] explains it with the attested personal name Stirios (apparently related to the IE root *aster- 'star').
Stanacum
- Place: Oberranna, Engelhartszell-an-der-Donau, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Stanacum (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Given the praedial suffix -aco- [Delamarre, p. 242] posits a personal name *Stannos related to the theonym Stanna.
*Sura fl.
- Place: river Sur, province Oberbayern, state Bayern, Germany
- Name: inferred from the survival of the name
- Etymology: Likely related to the IE root *su-ro- 'salty, bitter, cheese' and thus meaning 'salty river'.
Surontium
- Place: possibly Trieben, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Surontium (Peut.)
- Etymology: Likely related to the IE root *suro- 'salty, bitter, cheese'. Instead, [Delamarre, p. 244] posits a personal name *Su-rontio-s but without attributing to it any known meaning.
Tarnantone
- Place: Neumarkt-am-Wallersee, state Salzburg, Austria
- Name: Tarnantone (Peut.)
- Etymology: [Delamarre, p. 248] explains as *tar-nantu-on-, '(place) on a crossing river' from Gaulish tar- 'across' (from the IE root *ter-) and nantu 'valley, river' (from IE *nem- 'to bend')
Tartursanae
- Place: possibly Hohentauern, state Steiermark, Austria
- Name: Tartursanae (Peut.)
- Etymology: Based on a possibly praedial suffix -ana, [Delamarre, p. 248] posits a personal name *Tartussos (tertu-ste-o-), based on a cognate of the IE root *ters- 'dry, thirst', to be compared with Irish tart (*ters-tu-) 'dryness, thirst'. However, a compound descriptive name (of the type 'dry X') with a plural marker seems more likely.
Tergolape
- Place: possibly Breitenschützing, Schlatt or Schwanenstadt, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Tergolape (Peut.)
- Etymology: [Delamarre, p. 251] posits a hydronym *Tergolapis, to be compared with Arelape. The stem might point to an IE root extension *(s)ter-g- 'dirty water, mud, smear', not to be confused with *(s)ter- 'stiff, solid', or *tergh- 'market (?)'.
Tragisama fl., Tragisamum
- Place: possibly Traismauer (Tragisamum), river Traisen (Tragisama fl.), state Niederösterreich, Austria
- Name: Trigisamum (Peut.) Tragisama fl. (inferred from the survival of the name)
- Etymology: Reconstructed [Anreiter, Delamarre, p. 253] as *trag-isama, where the stem is related to the IE root *tragh- 'to drag, move, run', and the ending is the Celtic superlative suffix. The overall meaning of the hydronym is thus 'the most running (river)'.
Tutatio
- Place: possibly Kirchdorf-an-der-Krems, state Oberösterreich, Austria
- Name: Tutastio (Peut.) Tutatio (It. Ant.)
- Etymology: Often connected to the name of the Celtic deity Toutatis (itself from the IE root *teuta- 'people, land') and explained as *Toutati-on-.
Conclusions
The main linguistic strata appearing in Noric toponymy is a Celtic stratum, virtually indistinguishable from Gaulish. This stratum is recognizable for typical appellatives and suffixes.
Like most of the European hydronymy, an Old-European A-language emerges from hydronyms particularly. Likely, this stratum is older than the Celtic one, at least in some parts of the region.
At least one place name with an Etruscan etymology is present in the region south of the Alps belonging to Noricum, which is usually thought as to be representative of a "Rhaetian" (Etruscan) stratum.
