tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post1911507421987620645..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: River RiverAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-51328763537980725662022-03-31T11:16:51.510-04:002022-03-31T11:16:51.510-04:00The Spanish "Guad-" is the Spanish spell...The Spanish "Guad-" is the Spanish spelling of the Arabic "wadi", which means "river". So "Guadalquivir" is the Spanish spelling for the Arabic "wadi el-kabir", which means "big river".<br />JohnBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03281811115527125277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-10547252728196305072017-04-10T14:45:15.255-04:002017-04-10T14:45:15.255-04:00While traveling in Spain a few months ago I was st...While traveling in Spain a few months ago I was struck by the thought that the Guadiana, Guadaira, Guadalope, Guadalete, Guadiaro, Guadalfeo, Guadalhorce and Guadalquivir rivers have a lot of Agua in them and their names. Maybe the Arga and Ega too.<br /><br />Perhaps a lot of such names just mean 'water'.iOpenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059950887197561123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-88477080194182802892015-04-11T20:26:22.694-04:002015-04-11T20:26:22.694-04:00The comment about "Lake Superior" spurre...The comment about "Lake Superior" spurred me to do a little research.<br /><br />Lake Superior; from French for "Upper Lake". However, the geographers who anglicized the named mentioned that it was the largest lake they knew of.<br /><br />Lake Michigan, from an Ojibwe word "mishigami", "Large Lake"<br /><br />Lake Huron, named for one of the tribes of Natives in the area.<br /><br />Lake Erie, from the name of another tribe in the area.<br /><br />Lake Ontario, from a Huron word meaning "shining waters".<br /><br />So they're not all "big lake", but two of them are, after a fashion. And a third is "shining water"; while the other two are tribal names.SJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12043843405366080460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-30043531948718241492015-04-09T20:09:31.025-04:002015-04-09T20:09:31.025-04:00As McWhorter is one of my most-admired people, it ...As McWhorter is one of my most-admired people, it inflates me greatly to think I might have been confused with him, however briefly. It was indeed here: http://assistantvillageidiot.blogspot.com/2011/09/toponomy-myth.htmlAssistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-66334017112580609802015-04-09T10:00:17.527-04:002015-04-09T10:00:17.527-04:00Was it here, or in one of McWhorter's books, t...Was it here, or in one of McWhorter's books, that I ran across an English location that was three old words for "pretty good-sized hill" all run together? Something with Tor in it. Wiki suggests that I'm thinking of Torpenhow.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-72109261869660381772015-04-08T14:39:53.217-04:002015-04-08T14:39:53.217-04:00There's a Nana B up the street from me--that&#...There's a Nana B up the street from me--that's on her license plate.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-21502056004261942432015-04-07T22:30:38.647-04:002015-04-07T22:30:38.647-04:00King Arthur is said to have fought many battles by...King Arthur is said to have fought many battles by the Black River: "Dubhglas" in Gaelic, which Anglicizes to "Douglas."Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-48413369547454260212011-02-22T18:31:09.659-05:002011-02-22T18:31:09.659-05:00So I'm river river in Athabaskan to my grandda...So I'm river river in Athabaskan to my granddaughter!Assistant Village Idiot's wifenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-68982115570198692872007-02-04T14:33:00.000-05:002007-02-04T14:33:00.000-05:00Here in Alaska, most river names end in "na," whic...Here in Alaska, most river names end in "na," which means "river" in Athabaskan. We have "Chitina," "Tustumena," "Gilahina," etc. We even have "Nana."Old Sourdoughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12930423495853377145noreply@blogger.com