Toponymy 144869 223380726 2008-07-03T20:48:34Z Wetman 21492 /* Toponymists */ Powicke quote on the uses of place-names '''Toponymy''' refers to the scientific study of place-names ([[wikt:toponym|toponyms]]), their origins, meanings, use and [[typology]]. The first part of the word is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''topos'' (τόπος), ''place''; followed by ''ōnoma'' (όνομα), meaning ''name''. It is itself a branch of [[onomastics]], the study of names of all kinds. A toponym is a [[name]] of a locality, region, or some other part of Earth's surface, including natural features (such as streams) and artificial ones (such as cities). In [[ethnology]], a toponym is a name derived from a place or a region. In [[anatomy]], a toponym is a name of a region of the [[body]], as distinguished from the name of an [[organ (anatomy)|organ]]. In [[biology]], a toponym is a [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] of a plant. == Toponymists == A '''toponymist''' is one who studies toponymy. According to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], the word ''toponymist'' first appears somewhere towards the middle of the nineteenth century. It can be argued that the first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of certain place names in order to elucidate their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for the legends themselves. The process of [[folk etymology]] usually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds. Thus, the toponym of [[Hellespont]] was explained by Greek poets as being named after [[Helle (mythology)|Helle]], daughter of [[Athamas]], who drowned here as she crossed it with her brother [[Phrixus]] on a flying golden ram. The name, however, most likely is derived from an older language, such as [[Pelasgian]], which was unknown to those who explained its origin. [[George R. Stewart]] theorized, in his book ''Names on the Globe'', that ''Hellespont'' originally meant something like "narrow Pontus" or "entrance to Pontus," "Pontus" being an ancient name for the region around the [[Black Sea]], and by extension, for the sea itself.<ref>{{cite book | last = Stewart | first = George Rippey | year = 1975 | title = ''Names on the Globe'' | publisher = | isbn= | pages = }}</ref> Toponymists attempt to approximate the original meaning of a place-name, their conclusions often competing with popular or spurious etymologies that may sound more poetic or attractive to tourists. Thus, the river-name "[[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]" is popularly claimed to mean "Father of Waters" (though it may mean simply "Big River"), and the state name "[[Idaho]]" was said to mean "Gem of the Mountains" (though it is merely an invented name). Scholars have found that toponyms provide valuable insight into the historical geography of a particular region. As long ago as 1954 F. M. Powicke said of place-name study that it "uses, enriches and tests the discoveries of archaeology and history and the rules of the philologists."<ref>Powicke, reviewing Armstrong, Mawer, Stenton and Dickins ''The Place-Names of Cumberland'' (1950-53) in ''The English Historical Review'' '''69''' (April 1954), p 312.</ref> Toponyms not only illustrate ethnic settlement patterns, but they can also help identify discrete periods of immigration.<ref>{{cite journal | last = McDavid | first = R.I. | year = 1958 | title = Linguistic Geographic and Toponymic Research | journal = Names | issue = 6 | pages = pp. 65–73 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kaups | first = M. | year = 1966 | title = Finnish Place Names in Minnesota: A Study in Cultural Transfe | journal = The Geographical Review| issue = 56 | pages = pp. 377–397 | doi = 10.2307/212463 | volume = 56 }}</ref> Toponymists are sometimes used by governments in order to verify the accuracy of certain names as used by [[cartographer]]s, the media, researchers, publishers, and their duties also include the inputting of new names into databases and [[topography|topographical]] maps. ==Noted toponymists== *[[George Broderick]]<ref>http://www.george-broderick.de/iom_docs/iom_introduction-to-celtic-studies.htm Retrieved Mar 05 2008 Isle of Man toponyms</ref> *[[John McNeil Dodgson]] *[[Eilert Ekwall]] *[[Margaret Gelling]] *[[Gillian Fellows Jensen]] *[[Oliver Padel]] *[[Robert L. Ramsay]] *[[Henry Schoolcraft]] *[[Albert Hugh Smith]] *[[George R. Stewart]] *[[Isaac Taylor (canon)|Isaac Taylor]] *[[William J. Watson]] ==See also== *[[Etymology]] **[[List of continent name etymologies]] **[[List of adjectival forms of place names]] **[[List of country name etymologies]] **[[List of places named after Lenin]] **[[List of places named after Stalin]] **[[List of etymologies of country subdivision names]] *[[List of words derived from toponyms]] *[[Hydronymy]] **[[Latin names of European rivers]] **[[List of river name etymologies]] **[[Old European hydronymy]] *[[Planetary Nomenclature]] ===Regional=== *[[Historical African place names]] *[[Names of European cities in different languages]] *[[List of Latin place names in Europe]] *[[Latin names of rivers]] *[[British toponymy]] **[[List of generic forms in British place names]] **[[Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom]] **[[List of places in the United Kingdom]] **[[List of Roman place names in Britain]] **[[List of British places with Latin names]] **[[Welsh placenames]] *[[Japanese place names]] *[[Korean toponymy and list of place names]] *[[Maghreb toponymy]] *[[List of towns in New Zealand]] *[[Roman place names]] *[[Place names in Sri Lanka]] *[[List of English exonyms for German toponyms]] *[[List of U.S. state name etymologies]] *[[List of U.S. state nicknames]] *[[List of U.S. place names connected to Sweden]] *[[Toponyms of Finland]] ===Other=== *[[List of political entities named after people]] *[[List of places named after peace]] *[[List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations]] *[[List of adjectival forms of place names]] *[[List of double placenames]] *[[List of words derived from toponyms]] *[[List of tautological place names]] *[[Place names considered unusual]] ===Related terms=== *[[Demonym]] and [[Ethnonym]] ==Notes== <!-- DO NOT ADD A SCROLL-BAR TO THESE REFERENCES-IT BREAKS THE FORMATTING --> <!-- Don't add <div class="references-small"> either, this is included in the template already --> {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/onoma/ Who Was Who in North American Name Study] * [http://exonyme.6x.to/ Forgotten Toponymy Board (under construction)] * [http://www.asu.edu/lib/hayden/govdocs/maps/geogname.htm Placename indexes] * [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/freefun/didyouknow/placenames/ The origins of British place names] *[http://cornovia.org.uk/ihpnc/ An Index to the Historical Place Names of Cornwall] *[http://emc.elte.hu/~hargitai/hargitai/planmaps.pdf Planetary Maps: Visualization and Nomenclature] Cartographica 41/2 2006 *[http://emc.elte.hu/~hargitai/hargitai/topomdrs.pdf Development of a Local Toponym System at the Mars Desert Research Station] Cartographica 42/2 2007 [[Category:Place names]] [[Category:Toponymy| ]] [[be:Тапаніміка]] [[bg:Топонимия]] [[ca:Toponímia]] [[cs:Toponymum]] [[da:Stednavne]] [[de:Toponym]] [[es:Toponimia]] [[eu:Toponimia]] [[fa:جاینام]] [[fr:Toponymie]] [[gl:Toponimia]] [[it:Toponimo]] [[hu:Földrajzi név]] [[nl:Toponymie]] [[ja:地名学]] [[no:Toponymi]] [[nds:Toponym]] [[pl:Toponimia]] [[pt:Toponímia]] [[ru:Топонимика]] [[sl:Toponomastika]] [[su:Ngaran tempat di Jepang]] [[sv:Ortnamn]] [[tr:Toponimi]] [[wa:Toponimeye]] [[zh:地名学]]