-apa

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-apa is a western European river name type that comes from the Germanic language family . Derived forms are -epe , -ep , -p , -afa , -af , -ef and -f .

Derivation

A completely consistent philological derivation of the word has not yet taken place, since the -apa name group occurs grammatically both as a name suffix and as an independent appellative . As a pure suffix form, the origin of -apa, analogous to the -ara or -isa name suffixes, would most likely be pre-Germanic in origin. Heinrich Dittmaier showed in his studies that -apa names can also be identified as determiners and simplexes .

As with other types of river names, there is no evidence of prehistoric use as a toponym in Western Europe beyond the migration period , so that, according to Dittmaier, a pre-Germanic origin cannot be determined with any certainty. However, a common Indo-European root h x ap with the word Ap from Sanskrit is not unlikely. The onomastic Jürgen Udolph sees the names of the waters on -apa as a direct derivation from the Indo-European * ap- / ab- . A Celtic origin, which has also been discussed , is largely rejected by experts.

Probably a primitive Germanic word stem * apō as an appellative for river , stream or water is the origin of the toponym. The appellative meaning ceased to exist in the German-speaking area early on, presumably before Old High German and beset by synonymous, also old Germanic appellatives such as ahwa ( river , water, floodplain ) or baki ( brook ), from the active vocabulary and was only found as a name suffix in the medieval settlement period use.

Occurrence

Numerous Rhenish-Westphalian water names and place names derived from them can be traced back to the -apa group of names , for example Aap , Olpe , Dörpe , Drespe , Epe , Hennef , Honnef , Horpe , Ennepe , Milspe , Gelpe , Linnepe , Linnefe , Lennep , Linnep , Marpe , Morp , Fahrentrappe , Rospe or Puppy .

literature

  • Heinrich Dittmaier : The Apa problem. Investigation of a western European river name type. ; In: Biliothca Onomastica I .; Intern. Center of Onomastics [u. a.]; Leuven (Belgium); 1955