Toponomastics

Toponomastics: the study of place names.

  • Toponymy Simplified

    Toponymy is the study of place-names, including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponymic research is based on etymological, historical, and geographical information. It investigates the origin, meaning, usage, and types of toponyms (place names). This research draws upon linguistic analysis, historical records, and geographical context to understand how and why places were named the…

  • Etymology of Kush and Cushite

    Biblical Kush/Cush (or Kushan/Cushan) is attested (in some ancient languages) as a name for a black nation in the land of (lower) Nubia, as well as a name for a black minority in the land of Midian. the latter is also referred to as (the land of) “Kushan” in the Hebrew bible. Kush, as word,…

  • Meru and Lemba Origins

    Meru and Ameru origins: The Meru or Ameru are a Bantu ethnic group that inhabit the Meru region of Kenya. The predominant oral tradition regarding the early history of the Meru is centered around a place called Mbwaa (Mbwa). This place is often described as an island or coastal settlement, (across the Red Sea), where the ancestors of…

  • Old South Arabian

    Old South Arabian (OSA) is a group of four closely related extinct Semitic languages: These languages were spoken in the southernmost part of the Arabian Peninsula. The earliest preserved records belonging to the group are dated to the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. OSA were written in the Ancient South Arabian script (also known…

  • Etymology of Hadhramaut

    Hadhramaut is derived from a Semitic root meaning “south,”, a direct cognate of Phoenician Hadrumetum and Hebrew הדרום (ha-darom, “the south”)

  • Cueva de Judas

    La “Cueva de Judas” es el nombre local de una cueva ubicada en la Montaña de Al Qarah, en Al-Hofuf, Arabia Saudita, que se nombra así por la tradición de que Judas Iscariote se refugió allí. La cueva se encuentra en la provincia oriental de Arabia Saudita y es una de las varias formaciones kársticas de la…