I have found the inscription in X Delamarre, Nomina Celtica Antiqua (Noms de personnes celtique dans l'épigraphie classique): p.181 Thamesubugus. He agrees with me about the -sub-, but adds to the confusion by inserting an -h-, which definitely is not there. He gives the findspot as the Churchill Hospital, which is in Headington, about 5km from the Thames. Page 214 has the element bug(io)-, said to mean 'blue' (for more on this see his dictionary p.94). Page 233 has other names with similar first element: Tamisieta, Tamisia.
M Raybould & P Sims-Williams, The geography of Celtic personal names in the Latin inscriptions of the Roman empire has on page 85 numerous names in -bugus, -bogius, etc., including Adebugus and the Adbogius referred to by Richard. They give the element as -bogio, but do not suggest a meaning.
J Lacroix, Les noms d'origine gauloise: La Gaule des activités économiques discusses on p.43 the likely Celtic origin of French tamis 'sieve' (i.e. a pottery colander in Roman times). If -bugus really means 'breaker', could we have an etymology unrelated to the Thames - a nickname 'sieve-breaker' for an incompetent potter?
Keith
|