Annebault

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox French commune

Annebault ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

GeographyEdit

Annebault is located in the pays d'Auge, 17 kilometers from Lisieux.

ToponymyEdit

The village Annebault was first mentioned as Olnebac in the beginning of the 12th century, and as Ounebaus in 1195.

Several different theories have been proposed to explain the origins of this name. French linguist René Lepelley has proposed that the name comes from the Old Norrois "almr balkr", or "splitting of the elm".<ref>Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de communes de Normandie, Charles Corlet éditions, PUC 1994. p. 49.</ref> On the other hand, Ernest Nègre, toponymist and specialist in Occitan, has offered that it is derived from the Germanic personal name Allinus followed by the Old Norse bekkr.<ref>Toponymie générale de la France, Librairie Droz, p. 1012.</ref> Yet another theory, courtesy of Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, holds that Annebault derives from the Germanic personal name Hanno followed by Germanic bald, or bold.<ref>Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France, Librairie Guénégaud 1979. p. 20</ref> Ultimately, despite this plethora of suggestions, the origins of "Annebault" remain obscure.