Londinium

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin Londinium. Doublet of London.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /lʌnˈdɪn.ɪ.əm/[1]
  • (US) IPA(key): /lʌnˈdɪn.i.əm/

Proper noun

Londinium

  1. (historical) A city in Britannia, Roman Empire: An ancient settlement in the area of modern London.
  2. (poetic) Synonym of modern London: A city in England, United Kingdom.

References

  1. ^ “Londinium”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Latin

Alternative forms

  • Lundinium, Londonium, Lundonium, Londonum, Londinum (Late and Medieval Latin)
  • Lundonia, Londonia, Lundoniae (Medieval Latin, as sg. or pl.)

Etymology

Uncertain, but likely from Proto-Celtic *Londinyom (“place that floods”), from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“heath; wild land”) + *-injo-, a suffix forming specific nouns and found in other Romano-Celtic placenames. Cognate to Proto-Celtic *landā (“low-lying land”), whence Old Irish land, Welsh llan, as well as *londos (“subduing > fierce”, adj.), whence Old Irish lond.[1]

Details

An earlier, more difficult proposal derives it from *Φlowonidonyom, morphologically adapted from a pre-Celtic Indo-European substrate word meaning something like “Boat River, Unfordable River” or “Flooding-River” and made up of Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to flow”) and a disputed *neyd- (“to flow”).[2]

Forms in -don- could be artificial Latinizations modelled after e.g. Old English Wreocen < Latin Viroconium (modern Wroxeter). Appears as Middle Welsh Llundein, Old English Lunden, which may not continue the Classical Latin form, but may continue Late British Latin *Lundeinju if the medial -i- of the original word was short.[1] Cf. Etymology of London.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Londinium n sg (genitive Londiniī or Londinī); second declension

  1. (Classical Latin) Londinium (a city in Britannia, Roman Empire; modern London)
  2. (Medieval Latin, New Latin) London (the capital city of the United Kingdom; the capital city of England)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter), with locative, singular only.

singular
nominative Londinium
genitive Londiniī
Londinī1
dative Londiniō
accusative Londinium
ablative Londiniō
vocative Londinium
locative Londiniī

1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

  • Londiniēnsis

Descendants

  • → Ancient Greek: Λονδίνιον (Londínion)
  • → Old English: Lunden, *ᛚᚢᚾᛞᛖᚾ (*lunden)
  • → English: Londinium
  • → German: London
  • Sicilian: Lògnina, Lònnira

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Peter Schrijver (2013) Language Contact and the Origins of the Germanic Languages‎[1], Routledge, →ISBN, pages 54-57
  2. ^ Richard Coates (1998) “A New Explanation of the Name of London”, in Transactions of the Philological Society‎[2], volume 96, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 203–229

Further reading

  • “Londinium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Londinium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
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