The spellings seem to me compatible with *duro- + *arvern-, where the second element might be a place-name *Ar-werno- 'before/at the alder grove or swamp', or the very similar but obscure name of the Continental Celtic Arverni who give their name to the Auvergne. Whether either of these elements combined into the British Celtic structure *Duro-arwern- is grammatically plausible is a difficult matter. The grammar of Duro- is odd, especially by being placed first in compound structures where it appears to be a generic term and therefore expected to be second.
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: The English Place-Name List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Ikins
Sent: 02 February 2015 12:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [EPNL] The Roman name of Canterbury
It looks like a contraction of Au-uerno, like Latin 'ab'. DLG p60.
Perhaps Bede didn't want it associated with Avernus at the gates of Hell.
Krahe lists the lake on p 43.
---- Anthony Appleyard <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Tom Ikins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:-
> > Is there a reason that Canterbury's Roman name is considered to be Duroverno rather than DuroAverno?
> > All but Ptolemy's very corrupt form support DuroAverno.
>
> What does "averno-" mean in Common Celtic? (I know that "verno-" means "alder".)
Tom Ikins
The Roman Map of Britain
http://www.romanmap.com
|