Editing List of English words of Etruscan origin

{{Short description|None}}
This is a list of [[English language|English]] words that may be of [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] origin, and were borrowed through [[Latin]], often via [[French language|French]]. The Etruscan origin of most of these words is disputed, and some may be of Indo-European or other origin. The question is made more complex by the fact that the Etruscans borrowed many Greek words in modified form. Typically if a Latin word has an unknown, uncertain or disputed origin, it is considered a possible candidate for deriving in whole or in part from an Etruscan word; however, native Etruscan must then be distinguished from Greek. If no Etruscan word is clearly identifiable sometimes an attempt is made to reconstruct one. Etruscan derivations therefore are highly variable in probability; that is, some are highly speculative and others more likely.

==List==
; [[ace]] : from Middle English ''aas'', from Old French ''as'', from Latin ''as'', "a whole, a unit, copper coin", possibly Etruscan. ''[[As (Roman coin)|As]]'' was a Roman coin and was also a unit of weight equal to about one [[Troy weight#Troy pound|troy pound]].<ref>American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition (1976), page 76</ref>
; [[Antenna (disambiguation)|antenna]] : from ''antenna'' < ''antemna'', "yard-arm, sail". Possibly Etruscan *antithemna > *ant(th)emna from Greek ἀνατιθέμενος anatithémenos, something set up.<ref>Breyer (1993) pp. 174–175.</ref>
; [[Anthony]] : from [[Latin]] '' Antōnius'', a Roman gens claimed by [[Marcus Antonius]] to descend from  Ἄντων (Ántōn), a son of Heracles, but the gens is probably Etruscan in origin, most likely derived from Ani, the Etruscan god of the sky. Previous claims asserted an Ancient Greek (compare ἄνθος ''ánthos'', “flower” or ''ἄνθρωπος'', "man, human") origin with an unetymological excrescent ''-h-'' but this remains dubious.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Anthony | title=Anthony | date=9 February 2024 }}</ref>
; [[April]] : Latin ''aprilis'' probably from Etruscan form ''apera-'' (found the [[Tabula Capuana]], a ritual calendar line 8--the next section mentions May ''anpile''), which form may come from Greek [[Aphrodite]].<ref>van der Meer, L. B. "Some comment on the Tabula Capuana," in: Studi Etruschi 77, 2014 [2015], 149-175. p.166</ref> There is also a gloss that equates Etruscan ''<c>Abreus'' with Latin ''Aprilis mensis''.<ref>Pallottino, M. (1968) ''Testimonia Linguae Etruscae''. Firenze. Gloss #818</ref>
; [[arena]] : from ''arēna'' "arena" < ''harēna'', "arena, sand" < archaic ''hasēna'' < Sabine ''fasēna'', unknown Etruscan word as the basis for ''fas-'' with Etruscan ending ''-ēna''.<ref>Breyer (1993) p. 259.</ref>
; [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]] : From Latin ''atrium'' which both Breyer and Bonfante consider to be a likely loan from Etruscan (along with other architectural terms such as ''fenestra'' "window" and ''cella'' "chamber").<ref>Bonfante, G. "Etruscan Word in Latin" Word 36.3. 1985. p. 207</ref><ref>Breyer, Gertraud (1993). Etruskisches Sprachgut im Lateinischen unter Ausschluss des spezifisch onomastischen Bereiches (in German). Peeters Publishers. p.1040</ref> But both Watkins and de Vaan trace it back to Proto-Indo-European (though they disagree on the exact root).<ref>de Vaan, M. ''Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages'' (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, Volume: 7), 2011.</ref>
; [[autumn]] : from ''autumnus'' "autumn". Just as Etruscan ''veltha'', an earth god, appears as Latin Vola or Olta and is in [[Voltumna]] and [[Vertumnus]], so the parallel construction autumnus ought to come from Etruscan autu-, related to avil, "year": *av(i)-to-m(e)nos, with loss of the l. There are some names with both l and t: avlethaium, authnal, avtle, and so on, which appear related to autu or auta in [[Venetic language|Venetic]], the idea being that autumn signifies the passing of the year.<ref>Breyer (1993) pp 412–413.</ref>
; [[belt (clothing)|belt]] : from ''balteus'', "sword belt." The sole connection between this word and Etruscan is a statement by [[Marcus Terentius Varro]] that it was of Etruscan origin. All else is speculation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Varronianus: A Critical and Historical Introduction to the Ethnography of Ancient Italy and to the Philological Study of the Latin Language|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924021611466|first=John William|last= Donaldson|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924021611466/page/n190 154]|edition=2|publisher=J. W. Parker & Son|year=1852|location=London, Cambridge}} Breyer (1993) pp 428–429 reports on an attempt to bring in Hittite and Gothic connecting it with a totally speculative root *-lst-.</ref>
; [[catamite]] : Latin, from Etruscan ''catmite'', from the Ancient Greek ''[[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]]'', cupbearer to [[Zeus]]. Bonfante and most others accept this etymology.<ref>Bonfante, G. "Etruscan Words in Latin" Word 36.3. 1985. pp. 204</ref>
; [[ceremony]] : possibly Etruscan or possibly referring to Etruscan rites performed at [[Caere]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ceremony {{!}} Origin and meaning of ceremony by Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/ceremony#etymonline_v_8369 |website=www.etymonline.com |access-date=26 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
; [[defenestration]], [[wikt:fenestra|fenestra]] : Both Bonfante and Whatmough accept the probability that Latin ''fenestra'' was a loan from a derivative of Etruscan ''fnes-''. Some of the other reasonably certain loans also deal with elements of architecture, for example ''atrium'' and ''cella.''<ref>Whatmough, M. ''Studies in Etruscan loanwords in Latin'' PhD thesis, University College London. 2017. p.282-214. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121058/1/Studies_in_the_Etruscan_loanwo.pdf</ref><ref>Bonfante, G. "Etruscan Word in Latin" Word 36.3. 1985. p. 207</ref>
; [[Letter (alphabet)|element]] : from ''elementum'', 'letter'.
; [[wikt:histrionic|histrionic]] : from ''histrionicus'', from ''histrio'', "actor".
; [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] : from Old French ''lettre'', from Latin ''littera'', which may have derived, via Etruscan, from the Greek "διφθέρα" (writing tablet).
; [[mantissa (disambiguation)|mantissa]] :
; [[Market (disambiguation)|market]] :
; [[military]] : Etruscan or perhaps related to Greek ''homilos'', "assembled crowd" (compare ''homily'').<ref>
{{Cite web |title=military {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of military by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/military |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en}}</ref>
; [[mundane]] : from ''mundus'', 'earth', from ''munth'', 'land'.
; [[mutule]] :
; [[palace]], [[palate]], [[Palatine Hill|palatine]] : One of the [[seven hills of Rome]].  Either from Latin ''palus'' "stake" or the Etruscan shepherd goddess ''[[Pales]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=palace {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=palace |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref>
; [[people]] :From Latin ''populus'' by way of Old French ''peuple'', possibly of Etruscan origin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=people {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=people |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref> After a lengthy discussion, Whatmough concludes that it is not completely certain that Latin ''populus'' is an Etruscan loanword, but that such an etymology is "satisfactory at the morphological and phonological levels."<ref>Whatmough, M. ''Studies in Etruscan loanwords in Latin'' PhD thesis, University College London. 2017. p.204. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121058/1/Studies_in_the_Etruscan_loanwo.pdf</ref>
; [[person]] : from Middle English ''persone'', from Old French ''persone'', from Latin ''persona'', "mask", probably from Etruscan ''phersu'', "mask".<ref>American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition, page 978</ref> Another sources, however, links the Etruscan word as a derivative of Greek πρὀσωπον ''prosōpon'', "mask".<ref>Berge, Lukas van der (2023). [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4525843 Phersu, Prosōpon, Persona: On Legal Personhood, Roman Sculpture and the Art of Law]. Utrecht University School of Law Research Paper.</ref>
; [[Rome]] : from 'Ruma', the name of one of the Etruscan tribes, or 'Rumon', which was what the Etruscans called the Tiber River, possibly of Etruscan origin as ''ruma'' was one of the Etruscan [[Gens|gentes]], from ''rum'', “teat”.
;[[satellite (disambiguation)|satellite]] : from Latin ''satelles'', meaning "bodyguard, attendant", perhaps from Etruscan ''satnal''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amelia Carolina|first1=Sparavigna|title=The Word Satellite, Its Origin From Etruscan And Its Translation Into Greek|url=http://philica.com/display_article.php?article_id=568|website=philica.com|access-date=3 January 2018|date=29 January 2016}}</ref> Bonfante, otherwise quite skeptical of many proposed loans, calls it "quite likely" that Latin ''satteles'' is from Etruscan.<ref>Bonfante, G. "Etruscan Word in Latin" Word 36.3. 1985. p. 207</ref> Whatmough considers Latin ''satteles'' "as one of our securest Etruscan loans in Latin."<ref>Whatmough, M. ''Studies in Etruscan loanwords in Latin'' PhD thesis, University College London. 2017. p.251. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121058/1/Studies_in_the_Etruscan_loanwo.pdf</ref>
;[[wiktionary:scurrilous|scurrilous]] :
; [[Serge (first name)]]
; [[wiktionary:serve|serve]] : the word ''serve'' derives from Latin ''servire'' ('to serve') and ''servus'' ('a slave'), which have sometimes been thought to derive from Etruscan.<ref>E.g. Anna Kłosowska, ''The Etymology of 'Slave{{'}}'', in ''Disturbing Times: Medieval Pasts, Reimagined Futures'', ed. by Catherine E. Karkov, Anna Kłosowska and Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei (Earth, Milky Way: punctum, 2020), pp. 151-214 (p. 161).</ref> However, a detailed analysis has preferred an Indo-European etymology for the Latin word.<ref>Thomas Wiedemann, review of H. Rix, ''Die Termini der Unfreiheit in den Sprachen Alt-Italiens'', Forschungen zur antiken Sklaverei, 25 (Stuttgart: Steiner, 1994) {{ISBN|3515066160}}, in ''The Classical Review'', 48.1 (April 1998), 227-28 (citing Rix pp. 86ff.).</ref>
; [[spurious (disambiguation)|spurious]] : From Latin ''spurius'' "born out of wedlock, illegitimate" from Etruscan ''spur-al'' "of the city" because, as Pisani proposed, children not claimed by their fathers were considered to belong to the city.<ref>Pisani, V. "Ancora spurius" ''Paideia'' 36.62 (1981).</ref> Whatmough, however, rejects Pisani's claim, both because of the late attestation of the Latin term, but also because the Etruscan root ''spur'' is now seen as meaning "community" not "city"; and furthermore, in any case, the form that would have to be the immediate predecessor of Latin ''spurius'' would have to be Etruscan ''spurie'' which may have a different meaning, and in one instance seems to be the name of a person with a named father.<ref>Whatmough, M. ''Studies in Etruscan loanwords in Latin'' PhD thesis, University College London. 2017. p.126. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121058/1/Studies_in_the_Etruscan_loanwo.pdf</ref>
; [[triumph (disambiguation)|triumph]] : From Old Latin ''triumpus,'' probably a loan word via Etruscan from Greek [[thriambos]], a hymn to [[Dionysus]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=triumph {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of triumph by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/triumph |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en}}</ref>
; [[vernacular]] : from ''vernaculus'', 'domestic', from ''verna'', 'a native slave'.
; [[viburnum]] : from [[Latin]] ''viburnum'', likely Etruscan in origin. Compare ''laburnum, alaternus, basterna, lacerna, santerna, pincerna, clarnus'', all strongly suspected to be derived from Etruscan or related languages.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/viburnum#Etymology | title=Viburnum | date=10 March 2024 }}</ref>
{{Cleanup list|date=March 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|title=Etruskisches Sprachgut im Lateinischen unter Ausschluss des spezifisch onomastischen Bereiches|language=de|first=Gertraud|last=Breyer|publisher= Peeters Publishers|year=1993|isbn=9068313355|id=9789068313352}}
* Whatmough, M. ''Studies of Etruscan Loanwords in Latin'' PhD dissertation. University College London. 2007. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10121058/1/Studies_in_the_Etruscan_loanwo.pdf
* Bonfante, G. "Etruscan Words in Latin" ''Word'' 36.3. 1985. pp.&nbsp;203–210 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00437956.1985.11435872?needAccess=true
* de Vaan, M. ''Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages'' (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, Volume: 7), 2011.

==See also==
*[[Lists of English words of international origin]]
<br>
{{Etruscans}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of English Words Of Etruscan Origin}}
[[Category:Etruscan language|English]]
[[Category:Lists of English words of foreign origin|Etruscan]]

[[da:Danske ords etymologi]]