[gothic-l] Re: Totila etymology

[edmundfairfax@yahoo.ca [gothic-l]]

'Totila' is generally considered to be a hypocorism, that is, a kind of nickname derived from a proper name.  Examples of hypocorisms in Modern English are 'Bob' derived from 'Robert,' or 'Bess' from 'Elizabeth,' and in Old Saxon 'Benno' from 'Bernhard,' and in Old High German 'Otto' from a compound name beginning with 'Aud-.' As these examples show, considerable distortion may take place in the formation of such nicknames, and many of the early Germanic hypocorisms remain obscure to the utmost. 

 In his >Woerterbuch der altgermanischen Personen- und Voelkernamen,' Schoenberg suggests the 'Tot-' is perhaps kin to the Old High German hypocorism 'Zuozo.' As the foregoing responder rightly indicated, the suffix -ila is a diminutive ending, cf. Wulfila = 'Wolfie', and the Modern German suffix '-el' in 'Haensel' = 'Johny.' 

 Given that Totila was also known as Baduila (= *Badwila), it would seem logical to conclude that Totila is simply a diminutivized hypocorism to the latter name. The first element in 'Badwila' is the root of a common Germanic noun *'badwo,' one of a number such nouns meaning 'battle, war, fight,' and one that figures often in early Germanic personal names, e.g. Old English 'Beadu-,' and OHG 'Badu-.'
 

 Edmund

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