Ache

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Oberer Lech , a prototypical Ache in the Trogtal (Alps)
Kronach , Upper Franconia, low mountain range river

Ache ( listen ? / I ), Achen is a river name ( hydronym ) that occurs frequently in the Alpine region , but also in southwest Germany . The name ending -ach occurs mainly in the Alemannic and Bavarian-Austrian language areas. Together with variations such as -a, -aa, -ohe , the word is a general German-speaking name. An "Ache" is generally understood to mean a larger, non-navigable river. Audio file / audio sample

etymology

Ache is derived from Old High German  aha  ' flowing waters ', ancient Germanic * ahwō, as well as Dutch Aa, Sater Frisian äi, North Frisian ia and Swedish / Danish / Norwegian å . The word is originally related to the Latin aqua .

The root is related to the word Aue ahd.  Ouwa  ' island ', Middle High German  ouwe  for 'water-flooded land, river island, moist ground, wet meadow , floodplain , alluvial forest ', and. Â and an. ey, from * awjō, with a -j- suffix.

Dornbirn-Gütle on the Dornbirner Ach (around 1900), the weir of the textile factory in the middle

In its area of ​​distribution, the river, the Ache and the brook are quite clearly distinguished:

A typical example is the Salzach , which is now known as the “river”, but earlier as the “Ache” because it was not navigable and could only be navigated by rafts . Its tributaries are also strictly separated into the Ache and Bach. An Ache typically drives many water mills , which often follow one another within a few hundred meters or in the mountains at even shorter intervals.

Another specific characteristic of a low mountain range is shown by the Achensee and its outflow, the Achen Bach: The word here particularly refers to the clear and very clean water.

Overall, the Ache shows itself here as an “arable brook landscape”, which is accessible for settlement, cultivation and utilization.

Demarcation

While the names on -bach can be attributed to the high medieval conquest, the -ach names can be traced back to a significantly earlier language class (traffic routes during the migration period , Germanic settlement phases). In general, the demarcation between the -ach and the -bach names is around the end of the 12th century.

Not all -ach- names go back to Old High German aha 'flowing waters'.

  • Many place names in the south of the German-speaking area that end in -ach have the Gallo-Roman suffix -akos, -acum , which expresses an affiliation, a possession. Bülach means 'estate of Pullius', Erlach means 'estate of Cyrillius' or Zurzach 'estate of Orcius (or Turcius)'.
  • In the Bavarian and Alemannic areas, ach- names can also go back to the Old High German collective suffix -ahi, Middle High German -ach, which is primarily associated with plants in settlement and farm names (compare the Yiddish plural formation of the diminutive as in shtetl 'little town') , Pl. Schtetlech ). Such names probably date back to around the 13th century. As an example, Birkach (municipality of Höhnhart , Upper Austria) means 'birch forest'.
  • Other ach- names continue a Slavic locative : Zmöllach , Styria (a place in high altitude), in a document from 1300 Zmolowe, to Slavic * smolova, * smolnja 'juniper-rich area' (like Slovenian smola 'Harz, Pech'), too Sollingen (municipality of Aspach, Upper Austria), a false -ing name, mhd. As * salhach 'Salweidenwald' to salhe 'Salweide'.

Name variants

Ahr , Aar , Acher is of Celtic origin and at most Indo-European related to the Germanic word.

Place and field names: In addition, the syllable is also a frequent component of place names - for places that are located on aches or river or stream sections suitable for mills, but also in floodplains - and countless field names . As a result, the name is of course transferred to numerous family names . The word formation element should not be confused with Au , -au , Aue .

In other languages:

Examples

Rivers called Ache (n)

The Brandenberger Ache in Tyrol

To the Danube: Pielach (Biela Acha, white Ache), from the Slovenian settlement

Rivers with the suffix -ach

There are also a very large number of rivers and streams whose names end in -ach . Examples are the Salzach (to the Inn), the Wertach (to the Lech), the Loisach (to the Isar), the Saalach (to the Salzach), the Wutach (to the Rhine), the Kainach (to the Mur; however, other etymologies are also possible) and the Brigach (headwaters of the Danube). Schwarzach , Weißach and Aurach come from this type of name several times.

literature

  • Dieter Berger: Duden, Geographical Names in Germany. Origin and meaning of the names of countries, cities, mountains and waters, 2nd edition, Mannheim 1999, ISBN 3-411-06252-5
  • Werner König: dtv atlas on the German language. Boards and texts . 10th edition. dtv-Atlas No. 3025, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-423-03025-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ute Maurnböck-Mosser: The domestic and farm names in the jurisdiction wall churches . Thesis. April 2002, The formation of house and farm names and basic word index ( web document [accessed on May 19, 2010]).
  2. ↑ Lexicon of Swiss municipality names . Edited by the Center de Dialectologie at the University of Neuchâtel under the direction of Andres Kristol. Frauenfeld / Lausanne 2005, s. vv.
  3. ↑ Kazuo Ueda: Small Lexicon of Judaism . In: The Bulletin of Central Research Institute . Fukuoka University, February 2000.
  4. ^ Matthias Lexer: Middle High German Dictionary . tape I . Leipzig 1872, Sp. 281 (quoted from Maurnböck-Mosser 2002, list of house and farm names: Höhnhart 2.173. Pieringer ).
  5. ↑ Otto Schinko: Achner, Benker, Cidelarn . GRIN Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-656-07976-7 , pp. 159 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ^ Elisabeth Bertol-Raffin, Peter Wiesinger: The place names of the political district Braunau am Inn . tape 1 . Vienna 1989, p. 138 . Quoted from Maurnböck-Mosser 2002, list of house and farm names: Aspach 9.199. Solingerhaus
  7. ↑ limited preview in the Google book search