LL-L 'Names' 2006.08.01 (01) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01 August 2006 * Volume 01
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From: 'Hugo Zweep' <Zweep at bigpond.com>
Subject: LL-L 'Names' 2006.07.31 (10) [E]

Luc
Could it be associated with the river IJssel?

Hugo Zweep

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Names

Hi, Luc!

You wrote:

> I just found out that the Welsh word for "Dutch" is "Iseldireg". Puzzles
> me, I can't find any etymological information for this word. Could
> "Iseldireg" be connected in Celtic with "low + land", with "of the
> people" or even with "wood + land"? 

I restrained myself last night, wanted to give someone else a go.

You were right with "low + land".

In Welsh, _isel_ means 'low', 'low-lying', 'base', etc.  _Tir_ (probably related
to Romance /terr-/ as in _terra_) means '(arable) land', 'region', etc.; in
compounds it's _-dir_.  So _Iseldir_ means "Lowland" or "Netherland," the plural
being _Iseldiroedd_ (_dd_ being pronounced like "th" in "bathe" and "the"), all
together _yr Iseldiroedd_ 'the Netherlands'.  _Iseldireg_ is adjectival (_-eg_
probably being related to Romance /-ik-/ _-ic-_) as are _Iseldiraidd_ and
_Holandaidd_.

In Irish it's similar: _an Ísiltír_ 'the Netherlands' (_íseal_, _ísle_ 'low',
_tír_ 'land'), adjectival _Ísiltíreach_.  "Dutch (language)" tends to be
_Ollainnis_ (["OLan'IS]).

In Scottish Gaelic _An Talamh ÃŒseal_ stands for "the Netherlands," _talamh_
meaning 'land' (_mh_ [v]).  "Dutch (language)" tends to be _Duitsis_ (["dUtSIS]).

In Manx, traditionally, _Yn Ollynn_ or _Yn Ollan_ are the words for "the
Netherlands" and _Ollanish_ the name for the language.  However, more recently
the name _Çheer y Vagheragh_ has been used.  _Çheer_ (being related to _tir_ and
_tír_) means 'land', 'region'. Adjectival-nominal _magheragh_ (which mutates to
_vagheragh_) means 'agrarian', 'pertaining to fields', 'lowlander'.  Thus, _Çheer
y Vagheragh_ literally means something like "land of agrarian lowlanders."

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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