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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 concerning the place-name in question. A place-name (or toponym) is a word or words used to indicate, denote, or identify a geographic locality: town, city, river, mountain, etc. Toponymy divides toponyms, (placenames), into…
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Sources for toponyms
A common question about toponyms concerns their origin. We can identify at least five common sources for toponyms.
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Toponymic motivations
Toponyms as more than mere labels, they represent a narrative of survival and community formation in a landscape marked by socio-economic challenges.
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Noah’s Ark.. Piecing The Puzzle Together
According to the bible, Noah’s Ark is the boat through which God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world’s animals from a global deluge. The Biblical account shares many details with earlier Mesopotamian stories, which demonstrates the existence of shared culture traits that spanned the ancient Near East both geographically and temporally,…
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Ur of the Chaldees: Unlocking the mystery
“Ur of the Chaldees” or “Ur Kasdim” is a place-name mentioned in the Bible as the birthplace of biblical Abraham.The original Hebrew name of this place is: “אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים”, usually transliterated in English as: (ʾŪr Kaśdīm) or (‘uwr Kašdīm). Contrary to the popular belief, the real etymology and the exact location of “ʾŪr Kaśdīm” is still debated…
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Name typology
In toponymy, it is important to highlight, on the one hand, the individual that uses language, and on the other hand, the language community’s perspective.