Toletum
Latin
Etymology
Uncertain; it was described by the Romans as a Celtic city,[1][2] but no corresponding tribe names are known. Possibly Proto-Celtic *tol- (“hill”),[3][4] which could be related to *tullom, *tullos (“hole”) << Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew- (“to push, hit”);[5][6] compare the French city Toulon and Welsh twll (“hole”), but widespread support for the evolution of "hole" to "hill" is lacking.
Some sources cite a Semitic origin (Hebrew טלטול (“wandering”), טילטל (“to wander”)),[7][8] but this has been dismissed as folk etymology as there is no evidence for a Semitic presence in the region.
Also compare Tolentinum, a town in Picenum.[9]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [tɔˈɫeː.tũː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [t̪oˈlɛː.t̪um]
Proper noun
Tolētum n sg (genitive Tolētī); second declension
- Toledo (a Hispanian town, now a city in modern Spain)
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter), with locative, singular only.
| singular | |
|---|---|
| nominative | Tolētum |
| genitive | Tolētī |
| dative | Tolētō |
| accusative | Tolētum |
| ablative | Tolētō |
| vocative | Tolētum |
| locative | Tolētī |
Descendants
- Old Navarro-Aragonese: Toledo
- Aragonese: Toledo
- Old Catalan: Toledo
- Catalan: Toledo
- Old Galician-Portuguese: Toledo
- Old Spanish: Toledo
References
- “Toletum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Toletum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- ^ María Cruz Fernández Castro (1995). La Prehistoria de la Península Ibérica. Crítica.
- ^ John S. Richardson (1996). The Romans in Spain. Blackwell
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “Toledo”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Everett-Heath, J. (2000): Place Names of the World - Europe: Historical Context, Meanings and Changes, p. 311
- ^ Spenser's Linguistics in "The Present State of Ireland", p. 482-483
- ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 393-394,
- ^ Abrabanel's Commentary on the First Prophets (Pirush Al Nevi'im Rishonim), end of II Kings, p. 680, Jerusalem 1955 (Hebrew)
- ^ The Volume Library: A Concise, Graded Repository of Practical and Cultural Knowledge Designed for Both Instruction and Reference: Toledo
- ^ "Picenum," Antonio Sciarretta's Toponymy