Etymology of Aberdeen

Etymology of Aberdeen

The Etymology of Aberdeen (which is the meaning / origin of the word) is that of the name first used for the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the original, which then gave its name to other Aberdeens around the world as Aberdonians left Scotland to settle in the New World and other colonies.

Aberdeen is Audio-IPA|AberdeencityRP.OGG|/abɚdin/, in Received Pronunciation, and Audio-IPA|Aberdeencity.OGG|/abɚrdin/ in Scottish Standard English. In Doric, which is the living vernacular of the region, Aberdeen, Audio-IPA|AberdeencityDoric.OGG|/ebɚrdin/ is frequently rendered "Aiberdein".

Aberdeen

The area we know as Old Aberdeen today is the approximate location of the first and original Scottish settlement of Aberdeen. Originally the name was "Aberdon" which literally means "at the mouth of the Don", as it is situated by the mouth of the river Don.

"Aber-" prefix

:"see also Aber and Inver as place-name elements"

In reference to Aberdeen, "Aber-" is pronounced locally as /Aiber/

Meaning

The prefix; "Aber-" means the "confluence of waters", "river mouth" or

"the "embouchure" of a river where it falls into a larger river or the sea. It can also be used as a metaphor for a harbour."citebook|author=Richard Stephen Charnock|title=Local Etymology: A Derivative Dictionary of Geographical Names|published= 1859|publisher=Houlston and Wright|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=r2YDAAAAQAAJ&dq=Richard+Stephen+Charnock.+Local+Etymology:+A+Derivative+Dictionary+of+Geographical+Names.+Houlston+and+Wright.]

"Aber-" is used as a prefix in many placenames in Scotland and more often Wales.

Origin

"Aber-" is a common Brythonic element, meaning a "confluence". It is presumably that the Pictish language was at least partly P-Celtic as evidenced by various names. Other examples of this prefix in Scotland are Aberfeldy, Aberdour, and "Aberbrothick" (an old form of "Arbroath"). In Wales, there are frequent examples such as Aberystwyth and Abertawe (the Welsh for "Swansea") are examples. Other Brythonic examples include Falmouth (which is known as "Aberfal" in Cornish), and Aber Wrac'h near Plouguerneau in Brittany

Locations

"Aber-" can be found all over Scotland, predominantly on the east-coast. The alternate spelling of "Abhir-" may also often used.

As well as the east-coast of Scotland, places with the prefix "Aber-" or a variant are found all over Wales and the west coast of England and other Breton areas. However they are not found on the east-coast of England or in Ireland.

"-deen" end element

The second element is more contentious. It probably refers to "Devona", which is a name of one or both of the Rivers Don, and Dee, which may also have Brythonic etymologies (Cf River Dee in Wales)

Scottish Gaelic

Although Scottish Gaelic has not recently been a primary language on the north east coast, it was spoken in the region (cf "Book of Deer") in centuries past, as is attested to by Goidelic placenames in the region such as Inverurie, Banchory, Kincorth and Balgownie.

The equivalent of "Aber-" in Goidelic is "Inbhir", which is usually anglicised as "Inver-". However, the name is rendered into Scottish Gaelic slightly differently.

Two variant spellings of Aberdeen are;
*Obaireadhain
*Obar Dheathain

These are pronounced /ɔbəren/ or /ɔbərjehɪn/.

Roman (Latin)

:see also List of Latin place names in North Atlantic islands

In Latin, the Romans referred to Aberdeen with various Canonical names;
*AberdoniaHofmann, Johann Jacob (1635-1706): "Lexicon Universale"]
*Aberdona
*Verniconam
*AberdonumDr. J. G. Th. Graesse: "Orbis Latinus : Lexikon lateinischer geographischer Namen des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit" (1909); a standard reference to Latin placenames, with their modern equivalents;(re-edited and expanded in 1972).]
*Aberdonium
*Abredonia
*Devanha (a name references in modern times by the street, Devanha Gardens, and the now closed Devanha Distillery and Devanha Brewery)

Celtic times

Ptolemy wrote in 146 AD that in Celtic times Devana (the Roman name at the time) was the capital of the ancient tribal area Taixali- however although Devana is attributed to Aberdeen there is a possibility the capital could have been Barmekyne Hill in Banffshire.

River names

They referred to the settlement in approximation to its location at the sea mouths of local burns and rivers, using the names;
*Devana - for the Denburn (a stream/burn running through the city) and which featured in Ptolemy's "System Of Geography" of 146 ADciteweb|url=http://beehive.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=2311&PageID=24001|title=Aberdeen Civic Society: Round and About 1|accessdate=2007-05-20]
*Deva - for the river Dee (and also the Roman name for other "river Dee"s in Scotland and Wales but also the name of the Deva River, Spain)
*Devona - for the river Don (and also the name for a Celtic river goddess)

Nicknames

Aberdeen also has a number of nicknames, and poetic names -

* "The Granite City" citeweb|url=http://www.agtb.org/aberdeen-scotland.htm|title=The Granite City|accessdate=2007-05-20] citeweb|url=http://www.granitecity.org.uk/about|title=Granite City Wanderers Hockey Club|accessdate=2007-05-20] - the most well-known, due to the copious use of local grey granite in the city's older buildings.
* "Furryboots City" citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/talking_point/4153102.stm|title=BBC Have Your Say: "Regional accents: Your experiences"|accessdate:2007-05-20] - This is a humorous rendering of the Doric, "far aboots?" ("Whereabouts?"), as in "Far aboots ye frae?" ("Whereabouts are you from?")
* "The Silver City by the Golden Sands" or often simply just the "Silver City". Less flatteringly, also "the Grey City". This again is partly due to the granite.
* "Oil Capital of Europe" citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3236703.stm|title=A burst of energy in Europe's oil capital|accessdate=2007-05-20] citeweb|url=http://www.oilandgas.co.uk/editorial.html|title=OIL & GAS SITUATION REPORT : UKCS and North East Scotland (Mid 1999)|accessdate=2007-05-20] - There are numerous variants on this, such as "Oil Capital of Scotland" etc.
*"Energy Capital of Europe" - the "politically correct" name now being used in the city as it tries to project a "greener" image, not based on oil.

Academic variations

Kennedy

William Kennedy proposes the spelling variations:citebook|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hx8vAAAAMAAJ&dq=William+Kennedy+(1818).+The+Annals+of+Aberdeen.|title=The Annals of Aberdeen|author=William Kennedy|year=1818]
*Aberdaen
*Aberdin
*Aberdene
*Abrydene

"Orkneyinga saga" & Old Norse

The "Orkneyinga saga" records an Old Norse variant of the name, "Apardion" [Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) "Orkneyinga Saga". Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9] , clearly cognate with the modern form.

Unlikely sources

There have been more eccentric etymologies, e.g."Boxhorn considered it Phoenician in origin."

This is unlikely, however, as no Phoenician sites have been found this far north.

Residents

Residents or natives of Aberdeen are known as "Aberdonians", whence Aberdeen F.C.'s nickname, "the Dons".

References


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