SBORNK PRAC FILOZOFICK FAKULTY BRNNSK UNIVERZITY

STUDIA MINORA FACULTATIS PHILOSOPHICAE UNIVERSITATIS BRUNENSIS

N 11, 2006

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LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

1. Witness of the antique authors about location of Lusitanians.

2. Ethnonym.
3. Inscriptions.
4. Historical phonetics.
5. Nominal declension.
6. Conclusion.

1.1. The first descriptions of Lusitania were written in Greek by Polybius (2nd
cent. BC) and Poseidonius (2nd-1st cent. BC). Polybius was quoted at least fragmentarily by Appian (2nd AD) in his Iberica, the witness of Poseidonius was preserved by Diodorus Siculus (1st cent. BC). Further references occur in the description of so called Sertorian war in the biography Sertorius by Plutarch (1st-2nd
cent. AD).
1.1.1. From the antique authors, it was Strabo, who left us the most detailed
information about Lusitania and its people [translated by H.J. Jones]:
[III 3]: (1) The Tagus abounds in fish, and is full of oysters. It rises in Celtiberia, and flows through Vettonia, Carpetania, and Lusitania, towards the equinoctial west, up to a certain point being parallel to both the Anas [= Guadiana today]
and the Baetis [= Guadalquivir today], but after that diverging from those rivers,
since they bend off towards the southern seaboard. (2) Now the peoples situated
beyond the mountains mentioned above, the Oretanians are most southerly, and
their territory reaches as far as the seacoast in part of the country this side of the
Pillars; the Carpetanians are next after these on the north; then the Vettonians and
the Vaccaeans, through whose territory the Durius River flows, which affords a
crossing at Acutia, a city of the Vaccaeans; and last, the Callaicans, who occupy
a very considerable part of the mountainous country. For this reason, since they
were very hard to fight with, the Callaicans themselves have not only furnished
the surname for the man who defeated the Lusitanians but they have also brought
it about that now, already, the most of the Lusitanians are called Callaicans. Now
as for Oretania, its city of Castello is very powerful, and so is Oria. (3) And yet
the country north of Tagus, Lusitania, is the greatest of the Iberian nations, and

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is the nation against which the Romans waged war for the longest times. The
boundaries of this country are: on the southern side, the Tagus; on the western and
northern, the ocean; and on the eastern, the countries of the Carpetanians, Vettonians, Vaccaeans, and Callaicans, the well-known tribes; it is not worth while to
name the rest, because of their smallness and lack of repute. Contrary to the men
of to-day, however, some call also these people Lusitanians. These four peoples,
in the eastern part of their countries, have common boundaries, thus: the Callaicans, with the tribe of the Asturians and with the Celtiberians, but the others
with only the Celtiberians. Now the length of Lusitania to cape Nerium is three
thousand stadia, but its breadth, which is formed between its eastern side and the
coast-line that lies opposite thereto, is much less. The eastern side is high and
rough, but the country that lies below is all plain even to the sea, except a few
mountains of no great magnitude. And this, of course, is why Poseidonius says
that Aristotle is incorrect in making the coast-line and Maurusia the cause of the
flood-tides and the ebb-tides.
[III 4] (20) But all the rest of Iberia is Caesars; and he sends thither two legati, praetorian and consular respectively; the praetorian legatus, who has with him
a legatus of his own, being sent to administer justice to those Lusitanians whose
country is situated alongside Baetica and extends as far as the Durius River and
its outlets (indeed, at the present time they apply the name Lusitania specifically
to this country); and here, too, is there of Augusta Emerita. The remainder of
Caesars territory (and this is most of Iberia) is under the consular governor, who
has under him, not only a noteworthy army of, I should say, three legions, but also
three legati. One of the three, with two legions, guards the frontier of the whole
country beyond the Durius to the north: the inhabitants of this country were spoken of by the people of former times as Lusitanians, but by the people of to-day
they are called Cantabrians. The River Melsus flows through Asturia; a little farther on is the city of Noega; and near Noega there is an estuary from the ocean,
which estuary is a boundary between the Asturians and the Cantabrians. ...
1.2. From the authors written in Latin, Lusitania and its people is first mentioned by Caesar in his Civil war (I, 38.2; 40.7), further Cornelius Nepos (Cato,
III, 4), Titus Livius (XXI, 43.8), Suetonius (Otho, III, 2). Let us quote the witness
of Pomponius Mela (II, 87) and Plinius in his History of nature (IV, 116; XV,
103).
1.2.1. Pomponius Mela was more brief in his book De Chorographia written in AD 4344 [II, 8788]: tribus autem est distincta nominibus, parsque eius
Tarraconensis altero capite Gallias altero Baeticam Lusitaniamque contingens
mari latera obicit Nostro quo meridiem, qua septentrionem spectat oceano. illas
fluvius Anas separat, et ideo Baetica maria utraque prospicit, ad occidentem Atlanticum, ad meridiem Nostrum. Lusitania oceano tantummodo obiecta est, sed
latere ad septentriones, fronte ad occasum.
1.2.2. Pliny (AD 23/2479) in his Naturalis Historiae was quite well informed
about the Lusitanian geography [IV, 11213]: flumen Limia, Durius amnis ex
maximis Hispaniae, ortus in Pelendonibus et iuxta Numantiam lapsus, dein per

LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

Arevacos Vaccaeosque, disterminatis ab Asturia Vettonibus, a Lusitania Gallaecis; ibi quoque Turdulo a Bracaris arcens. omnis, quae dicta regio a Pyrenaeo,
metallis referta auri, argenti, ferri, plumbi nigri albique. A Durio Lusitania incipit: Turduli veteres, Paesuri, flumen Vagia, oppidum Talabriga, oppidum et
flumen Aeminium, oppida Coniumbriga, Colippo, Eburobrittium. ... [116] Tagus
auriferis harenis celebratur. ab eo CLX promunturium Sacrum e media prope
Hispaniae fronte prosilit. inde ad Pyrenaeum medium collogi Varro tradit, ad
Anam vero, quo Lusitaniam a Baetica discrevimus, CXXVI, a Gadibus CII additis. gentes Celtici, Turduli et circa Tagum Vettones, ab Ana ad Sacrum Lusitani.
1.3. It is possible to conclude the ancient Lusitanians lived between the rivers
Tejo/Tajo [Tagus] and Douro/Duero [Durius] at the territory of modern Portugal
and the Spanish province Extremadura. Regarding their neighbours, their inland
border could be determined by the cities Caurium (today Coria), Norba Caesara
(Cceres) a Caecilia Metellina (Medelln). But in a deeper past, the Lusitanians
had also to inhabit the area to the north from the River Durius, where Cantabrians
were known in the time of Strabo. This author also mentioned that the Carpetanians, Vettonians, Vaccaeans, and Callaicans were by some called Lusitanians too.
2. It was Antonio Tovar (196667) who first identified the ancient Lusitanians with the authors of the inscriptions discovered at the territory of Lusitania.
The etymology of the ethnonym or place name is not known, although it was
already Pliny who first tried to etymologize the ethnonym Lstn [III, 8]: lusum
enim Liberi patris aut lyssam cum eo bacchantium nomen dedisse Lusitaniae et
Pana praefectum eius universae. Let us mention that the meaning of Latin lsus
is play, playing, game, sport, while Greek lssa means rage, fury; raging,
madness, raving, frenzy. Plinys attempt is naturally untenable, but the modern
comparative-historical linguistics cannot offer anything better. It is only accepted
that the ethnonym is related with another tribal name Lusones [Losonej] quoted
e.g. by Strabo: The Lusonians, likewise, live in the east, and their territory, too,
joins the sources of the Tagus [III 4, 13], cf. Schulten, Paulys Realencyklopdie
der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, 26. Halbband, Stuttgart: Druckenmller
1927, c.1867. It is necessary to stress that -s- in Lusitanian orthography reflects
probably the geminate -ss-, derivable from various clusters as *-ns-, *-ts-, *-st-,
*-TT-, *-ky-, while a regular continuant of IE *-s- has to develop in Lusitanian -according to Witczak (2005, 26167). Taking in account these phonetic rules and
separating the suffix *-(e)t-n forming numerous ethnonyms in ancient Hispania
(Bastetani, Carpetani, Oretani, Turdetani), it is possible to relate the root *lus(i)o
with the root *(H1)ledh- to grow, perhaps from *ludh-(s)ti- with a hypothetical
meaning sprout, cf. Old Irish luss m. plant, Welsh llysiau, Breton louzou,
Old Cornish les id. < *ludh-stu- (Pokorny 1959, 68485).
3. The number of the Lusitanian epigraphic monuments is very limited. The
following short survey is based on the analysis published by Witczak (2005; further W):

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3.1. The oldest known inscription was found in Arroyo de la Luz, earlier Arroyo del Puerco, ca. 20 km from Cceres, where the border between Lusitanians
and Vettonians was situated. It also formed the western border of occurrence of
the Celtiberian toponyms. The creation of the inscription is dated immediately
after the Roman conquest of Hispania in 119 BC. It was discovered already in the
18th cent. and so the circumstances of this find are not unknown. The text is written in the contemporary Latin alphabet. In the following transcription the points
follow the copy from 1793, the brackets [] indicate the reconstructed letters (after
Witczak 2005, 171), the symbols | and / separate lines and the alternative readings
respectively:
AMBATVS | SCRIPSI | CARLAE PRAISOM | SECIAS . ERBA . MVITIE|AS
. ARIMO . PRAESO|NDO . SINGEIE[T]O | INI . AVA[M] . INDI . VEA|VN/
M . INDI . [V]EDAGA|ROM . TEVCAECOM | INDI . NVRIM . I[NDI] |
VDE[N]EC . RVRSE[N]CO | AMPILVA | INDI .. | G/LOEMINA . INDI .
ENV | PETANIM . INDI . AR|IMOM . SINTAMO|M . INDI . TEVCOM |
SINTAMO[M]
Witczak (2005, 171) offered the following translation:
(I) Ambatus have written: in Carla the treaty of friendship or reciprocity
through the dignitary delegated [there], let be vowed without a participation of
grandmother and brothers women and sons fiances and house-lady and without
RURSENO AMPILUA and family and without PETANIM and oldest dignitary
and oldest descendant.
Comments:

AMBATVS SCRIPSI means in Latin Ambatus has written. The name AMBATVS probably represents the Latin word ambactus servant, originally borrowed from Gaulish.
CARLAE loc. sg. of the type of Latin Romae from the place name *Carla, known in the Latinized
form Carula in south from the river Baetis (W 153).
PRAISOM nom. sg. ntr. treaty < *pro-aso-, cf. Old Indic prai[- sending, direction, invitation, summons, order, call < pra- before, in front & e[- gliding, running, hastening,
Lithuanian presakas precept, mandate (W 15356).
SECIAS gen. sg. f. from *sek(H) friendship, cf. Old Indic sakhy- friendship : skh
(nom.) & sakhi- friend, companion, Latin societas society : socius friend; concerning the
case ending, cf. Old Latin moltas multae, in Classical Latin e.g. pater familias, Greek Attic
fil, gen. sg. filj, etc. (W 156, 278).
ERBA or, cf. Lithuanian arb or : a9 whether, if; the primary vocalisation in *e- is preserved in Old Lithuanian er id., Prussian er prei bis an, er en bin (W 157).
MVITIEAS gen. sg. f. from *motei reciprocity, cf. Siculian moton reciprocity, Latin
mtuum id., mtuus mutual < *moteo- (W 156).
ARIMO instr. sg. m. from *arimos dignitary or aristocrat, cf. Old Indic riya- man of the
upper caste, Greek ristoj best in birth and rank, noblest, ristej chief, prince, lord,
Old Irish aire, gen. airech aristocrat. The instrumental case in -o < *-oH1 corresponds with
Lithuanian vilk < *CkoH1 (W 157).
PRAESONDO gerundivum (= participium futuri passivi) from the same base as PRAISOM (W 158).
SINGEIETO < *sgeetd 3sg. imper. II let vow, cf. Old Indic sajati, caus. sajati attaches, fixes,
fastens on, Slavic *sgati to reach, stretch out, grasp : *pri-sgati to swear (W 14850).
INI without < *in, cf. Old Indic vn without, Khotanese vina without, Prussian winna
heraus, Slavic *vn outside. The loss of * before *i has analogy in OILAM < *oilm (W
159).

LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

AVA[M] acc. sg. f. from *a grandmother, cf. Latin arch. ava id., Gothic awo id., Slavic *ova id.
> Low Lusatian wowa, Upper Lusatian wowka id., Lithuanian av aunt, wife of uncle (W 160).
INDI and the most frequent word in the Lusitanian corpus, cf. Old High German unti, enti,
anti, Old Saxon endi, Old English and and, Old Nordic en(n) et, etiam, Oscan ant usque
ad, Lithuanian it nach, Vedic th, later tha then, moreover, rather, but, else, Avestan aa
ebenso etc., reflecting *tH1e or *entH1e (W 16061). There are suggestive parallels in Portuguese ainda still, yet, again, besides, at least, some day, notwithstanding, also and Gallego
ainda aun, todavia, explainable only as the substratum loans (so Corominas; see W 383).
VEAVN acc. pl. f. *sns from *s- girl, cf. Old Indic acc. pl. f. vsn : vs- young girl,
maiden (W 16163). The digraph AE could reflect the vowel *.
VEDAGAROM a derivative of the root *edh- to lead, frequently used about the marriage:
Lithuanian vedinti to marry, vedimas & vedybos pl. marriage, Old Indic vadh- bride, newlymarried woman, young wife, spouse, Avestan va- Weib, Frau, Persian bayg bride <
*vadvak, etc. (W 163).
TEVCAECOM acc. sg. of the compound consisting of *teucom (~ Old Indic tokm ntr. boy;
descendants) and *aecos ( ~ Old Indic - ruler, master, lord, cf. paramea- supreme lord,
supreme being, corresponding to Lusitanian dat. sg. PARAMAECO) (W 164).
NVRIM acc. sg. f. *(H2)nrim, cf. Old Indic acc. sg. nZrm from nZr- woman, wife, Avestan
niri- (verheiratete) Frau, Ehefrau, all from the masculine correspondent *(H2)nr man,
known from Old Indic nr- man, male, person, Armenian ayr, Greek nr, in compounded
proper names e.g. Arist-nwr, lit. best man, Oscan niir etc., also from the Lusitanian mans
anthroponyms: Vonconer, Onconer (W 16465).
UDE[N]EC without, cf. Old English tan(e) from outside, Middle High German en prep. &
adv. outside, Old Nordic tan adv. from outside, away (W 165).
RURSENCO without any convincing explanation.
AMPILVA nom. sg. f. *ambhi-kel-, cf. Latin m. anculus man-servant, f. dim. ancilla maidservant, handmaid, Greek mfpoloj m. attendant, follower; priest, f. handmaid, waitingwoman < *ambhi-kolos (W 165 after B.M. Prsper).
COEMINA or LOEMINA the initial C- implies the comparison with Lithuanian arch. iemna
family, Prussian seimns Gesinde, Old Church Slavonic smin belonging to the family; servant, further Gothic haims village, Old High German heim homeward, etc. In the
case of the initial L- the word LOEMINA corresponds with the second component of ICCONA
LOIMINNA, known from the inscription from Cabeo das Frguas. If ICCONA was the Lusitanian horse-goddess, the idiom ICCONA LOIMINNA could correspond to the dedication Eponae
Virgini (W 16567). This identification opens an attractive comparison with the (East) Baltic
female deity *Laim ~ *Laimij, usually glossed as Fortuna, but according to M. Praetorius
(Deliciae Prussicae oder Preusische Schaubhne, written from 1684 to 1703) also as the Virgin
Mary by ...Nadrauen, Sudauen, Zalavonen... from the borderland of Lituania and Prussia: .. und
die Panna Maria (oder die Laime) um Hilfe anruft ... und betet nun ebenfalls zu Gott und Panna
Maria (Laime); ... Darauf dankt die Pribuweje Gott und der Jungfrau Maria (Laime).. (Mannhardt 1936, 60001; Toporov 1990, 2728).
ENU without, cf. Gothic inu, Ossetic n id. (W 167).
PETANIM acc. sg. f. of the female noun in *-H2niH2 > Old Indic -in, Greek *-ana > -aina. The
word proper has to be comparable with Old Indic ptn lady, Avestan ha-pan- wife, Greek
mistress, lady, Old Lithuanian vie-patni majestic, etc. (W 167). Let us mention that
the e-vocalism is not typical for the nominal derivatives of this root.
ARIMOM acc. sg. m. from the nom. *arimos (see above).
SINTAMOM acc. sg. m. from the superlative *sen-tiHos oldest, cf. Galatian mans name,
besides Old Irish sinem, Old Welsh hinham the oldest one < Celtic *senisamos (W 16768).
TEVCOM following K.H. Schmidt, Witczak prefers the translation descendant based on the
comparison with Old Indic tokm ntr. progeny, offspring, race; child, Avestan taoxman- ntr.
Same, Keim, pl. Verwandtschaft, Middle High German diehter grandson, rather than the

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shortening from *teuticom, proposed on the basis of Oscan tvtks publicus by Schmoll (W
16970).
ARIMO[M] see above.

3.2. The inscription from Arroyo de la Luz III (Cceres) was published only in
1999. The text is brief and incompletely preserved. That is why it is difficult to
translate it: ISAICCID . RUETI . [ | PUPPID . CARLAE . EN | ETOM . INDI .
NA.[ | ...CE . IOM . | M
Comments:

ISAICCID perhaps the ablative of the mans name by *Isaiccis (W 18081).

RUETI 3sg. It can be connected with the root *reH- aufreissen (LIV 510), attested e.g. in Latin
ru I fall down, go to ruin; hasten, hurry, rush whlen, scharren; bury, fall to ruin, Old Church
Slavonic ryti to engrave, etc. In this case the semantic shift to dig, engrave to write
could be proposed. Witczak derives the verbal form from *ruH1eto (*-o > Lusitanian *-, i.e. -i,
is illustrated by the ethnonym VEAM(I)NI-CORI, reflecting the plural in *-o).
PUPPID perhaps the indefinite pronoun in nom.-acc. ntr. *kod-kid, cf. Old Indic kaccit sometimes, now and then. This identification implies the change *k > Lusitanian p (W 179).
CARLAE EN loc. sg. in Carla, cf. Celtiberian ToKoitei eni in Togoitis, Oscan hrtn in
the garden < *ghorte en, although it is not excluded that EN forms one word with ETOM, i.e.
ENETOM; in this case Latin intum going into; beginning (*en-etom) could be compared (W
17678).
ETOM if EN really belongs to the preceding word, ETOM was a pronoun originated from the
combination of two demonstrative stems *e- & *to- (W 183).
IOM acc. sg. m. from the relative pronoun *os : * : *od, cf. Old Indic acc. sg. m. ym (W
183).

3.3. The inscription from Lamas de Moledo, about 40 km in north from Viseau.
The text on the granite rock by the small river Coura was first described already
in 1630, available is till the present time. The words stand either individually
or are separated by points, if there are more words in the one line. The symbol |
separates the lines. The alternative reading is expressed by the symbol /.
RVFINVS . ET | TIRO SCRIP|SERVNT | VEAM(I)NICORI | DOENTI ANGOM | LAM(M)ATICOM | CROVGEAI MACA|REAICOI . PETRAN/VIOI .
T/R|ADOM . PORCOM IOVEA(I/.) | CAELOBRIGOI
After discussion of the preceding interpretations, Witczak (2005, 143) proposed his own translation:
Rufinus and Tiro have written: People from Veamini offer a lamb from Lamas to [the god] *Crougias Macareaicos Petravios, and also the pig to [the god]
Ioveas Caeilobrigos.
Comments:

RVFINVS ET TIRO SCRIPSERVNT means in Latin: Rufinus and Tiro have written.
VEAMNINICORI (or VEAMINI CORI) etnonym, consisting from nom. pl. *koro, corresponding to the second component in the Gaulish tribal names Tri-corii, Petru-corii, further to Old
Irish cuire band, troop, Lithuanian dial. kras war, Old Persian kra- army, etc. (W 123
25). The closest parallel to the first component occurs in the proper name Veamini (the latinized
nom. pl.), known from the region of the Alps (Plinius, NH III, 20, 136; he quotes this ethnonym

LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

11

among 85 names of tribes from the Alps, subjugated by Romans), similarly Veaminiorum in CIL,
T. 5, n. 7231 (the latinized gen. pl.).
DOENTI 3pl. pres. some scholars see here the root *deH3- to give, others including Witczak
prefer *dheH1- to put. His main argument against *deH3- is based on his assumption of the
regular change *d > Lusitanian r (W 12529, esp. 126 about the rhotacism).
ANGOM, corr. *agnom acc. sg. m. from the nom. *agnos lamb, cf. Latin agnus, Greek mnj
lamb. This solution is supported by presence of the word PORCOM (acc. sg. m.), designating
other sacrificial animal, if its meaning was pig (W 130). On the other hand, this etymology,
although quite plausible, does not imply the regular reflex of IE *g as Lusitanian g, similarly as
g is not a regular reflex of IE *g in Latin (it is v), but only in specific clusters: *gn > *gn, *gr
> gr, etc.
LAMATICOM probably an adjective formed from a toponym, derived from the hypothetical appelative *lm lowland, which is reconstructed on the basis of numerous toponyms of the type
Lamas de Moledo etc. The extension in -at- occurs e.g. in Latin lamatus marshy (W 131).
CROVGEAI dat. sg. m. of the theonym *Crougias (W 132).
MACAREAICOI dat. sg. m. of the adj. formed from a proper name *Macarios? (Blzquez Martnez), cf. MACARI in the votive inscription from Lisouros, today Paredes de Coura (W 133
34).
PETRAN/VIOI dat. sg. m. of the adj. formed from a proper name, which could designate some
place or person or divinity (W 13435).
T/RADOM perhaps a particle, consisting of two components, first comparable with Greek r(a),
encl. a then, straightway, at once, suddenly, Lithuanian i9, Latvian r and, and than, and
so; both .. and; also, as well < *H13H2; second with *-dom attested in Latin etiamdum hitherto, even till now, still, yet, interdum sometimes, occasionally, now and then; for some time;
meanwhile, nondum not yet, primumdum in the first place, Oscan iusdum idem, Greek
mfadn openly, publicly, monadn only, solitary-wise, scedn near, close, hard-by; nearly, almost, just (W 13537).
PORCOM acc. sg. m. from *por$os pig(let) (W 13738).
IOVEA(I/.) perhaps dat. sg. m. from the nom. *Iovias, which has to be a theonym. Witczak rejects
the attempts to derive this theonym from *dei proposed by B.M. Prsper, explaining that
the typical Italic change *d- > *- cannot be automatically proposed for Lusitanian without any
parallel examples (but the same can be said about the change *d- > r- assumed by him in the
initial position in Lusitanian it is supported only by one example, namely REVE). He offers his
own solution, reconstructing the hydronym *Iovea and corresponding theonym *Iovias. For the
hydronym he has collected the following comparanda: Old Indic yavyZ river, stream, channel,
Old Persian yauviy- canal, channel, Attic Za one of three harbours in Piraeus < *e (W
13839).
CAE(I)LOBRIGOI adj. formed from the place name *Cae(i)lobriga, attested e.g. by Ptolemy
(II, 6.4142) as Koilibriga. The final -OI probably reflects the dat. sg. m. of the o-stem *-i
< *-o-e; alternatively it could be the loc. pl. m., corresponding to the Italo-Celtic ending *-ks,
derivable from IE *-o-su/-si (W 14042; 282, 284).

3.4. The inscription from the mountain Cabeo das Frgoas (1015m.) occurs
on the low rock near the top, where are the traces of the ancient fortification. The
mountain is well-known by its mines for silver, zinc and iron, how it is indicated by
the name of the mountain itself, cf. Portuguese frgoa forge). The points between
words correspond with the original. The symbol | separates the original lines.
OILAM . TREBOPALA . | INDI . PORCOM . LAEBO . | COMAIAM . ICCONA . LOIM|INNA . OILAM . VSSEAM . | TREBARVNE . INDI . TAVROM |
IFADEM ... | REVE . [T]RE ...

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Comments:

VCLAV BLAEK

OILAM acc. sg. f. from *oil sheep or lamb, regarding the probable diminutive function of
the l-suffix, cf. Old Indic (lex.) avil ewe : vi- sheep, further Latin ovis id., adj. ovlis, Old
Irish i sheep, etc. The same suffix formed Slavic *kozl goat-buck from *koza goat. The
loss of expected V before I is not exceptional, cf. the vacillation in the proper names: Doviterus
& Dobiterus : Doiterus & Doiderus; Dovitena & Dovidena : Doitena & Doidena, etc. (W 7980,
328).
TREBOPALA the name of a goddess, consisting of two components. The first one corresponds
with Old Irish treb habitation, family, tribe, Welsh tref village, Oscan trbu- house; the
second one has cognates in various theonyms as Latin Pals, Old Indic -pl in the name of
the goddess or heroine Vipl, where the member vi- designates house, homested, dwelling,
settlement and so functionally corresponds with Lusitanian trebo-. Functionally corresponding
components occur in the epithet TOUDO-PALANDAIGE (*touto-palanto ) of the goddess Munida (W 8083). In the final -A Witczak sees the dat. sg. f. in *-i < *-eH2e (W 278).
INDI conjunction and (also) see 3.1.
PORCOM acc. sg. m. from *por$os pig(let) see 3.3.
LAEBO (the alternative reading LABBO is probably excluded by the theonym LAEPO, attested
4x in two inscriptions from Pousafoles, from Benespora and Ty) dat. pl. *Lsbho[s], corresponding to Old Latin dat. pl. Lsibus (Carmen Arvale), Latin Lribus, from the nom. sg. in
Classical Latin Lr.
COMAIAM acc. sg. f.; there are at least two possible interpretations, compatible with the following word ICCONA, if it designated a horse-goddess: (i) cf. Old Umbrian kumia- in TIg Ia 78: sif
kumiaf ~ Late Umbrian gomia- in TIg VIa 58: si gomiaf sues gravidas; (ii) *comaia- = mare,
cf. Lithuanian kuml mare, Prussian camnet horse, Slavic *komon horse (W 8792).
ICCONA usually derived from *e$on and interpreted as a horse-goddess corresponding to
Gaulish Epona. According to Witczak (W 94, 27475), the velar reflex of IE *$ differentiates
from the reflexes of the IE labiovelar *k, attested e.g. in PUPPID (3.2.) or AMPILVA (3.1.).
In Latin transcriptions of the Lusitanian proper names there are more examples containing qu:
EQUEUNUBO < dat. pl. *e$e-sunubho(s), EQUOTULLAICENSI (Guarda), ARQUIAECUS,
ARQUIS (Len, Zamora, Cceres), LUGUBO ARQUIENOBO & LUGUBUS ARQUIENIS
(Lugo), LAQUINE(n)SI (Braga), AQUIAE, AQUITIBUS, AQUILIANCO, etc. (W 27475). In
the final -A of both ICCONA and LOIMINNA Witczak sees the ending of the dat. sg. f. *-i <
*-eH2e (W 278).
LOIMINNA epithet of ICCONA. The solution of Untermann (1987), who speculated about the
relation with Old Irish loimm Schluck, Tropfen, Milch (W9597), is compatible with characterization of East Baltic goddess *Laim(ij), compared by Praetorius (end of the 17th. cent.) with
the Virgin Mary. The other relations see LOEMINA discussed in 3.1.
OILAM . VSSEAM acc. sg. f. The second word is an epithet determining the first word, interpreted as sheep or lamb (see above). Regarding such comparanda as Luwian ussa- year <
*utso-, Old Indic par-t last year etc., the translation of OILAM VSSEAM as one-year-old
lamb seems quite natural (W 9798).
TREBARVNE probably the name of a goddess, which is also attested in 7 other inscriptions
(T[R]/EBARON[E], TREBARVNE, TREBARON/NE, TREBARO/NI, TRIBORVNNI,
TREBA[rune]). The first component *treb- was discussed above (3.4.), the interpretation of the
second component remains without any convincing interpretation (W 99100).
TAVROM acc. sg. m. from *taros bull; cf. Oscan acc. sg. taurom, Latin taurus, Gaulish
taruos id., etc. (W 10001).
IFADEM Tovar (1985) speculated about a derivative of the root *ebh- futuere, extended by the
dental suffix which has a correspondence in Old Irish diade divine, etc. Although this solution
is not too convincing, none better was formulated. Witczak supposes that -f- is a lenited variant
of expected -b- (W 101).

LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

13

REVE dat. sg. of a theonym. Its masculine gender is apparent thanks to its epithets in other
inscriptions as ANABARAECO, LANGANIDAEGUI, LANGANITAECO, VEISUTO etc. Several etymological starting points were proposed:
(i) Dat. sg. *re-e from the nom. sg. *rus or *res, attested in the hydronyms Rus & Ros, all from
the root *reH- to be open, wide (Tovar 196667, 25859; Villar 1996, 16061, 19596; rejected by W 102).
(ii) Dat. sg. m. *re from the nom. sg. *reos river (first Fita 1911) > Latin rvus river >
*re, continuing in Lithuanian riev hill; ford, shallow; bank, sandbar, Old Indic hydronym
and theonym Rev (Villar 1996, 163, 192; rejected by W 103, 211).
(iii) Dat. sg. m. *de-e from the nom. sg. *ds upper sky-god (W 103, 212). This etymology
is based on the rule *d > Lusitanian r, proposed by Witczak (W 26774). The rule is probably
correct in the medial position (similarly in Umbrian), judging upon the correspondences of the
type Lusitanian REVE LARAVCO ~ Latin Iovi ladico; further the tribal name Coelerni (Pliny,
HN III, 28) ~ Queledini (Lon), or the theonyms BORO (Monsanto, Idanha-a-Nova) ~ BODO
(Lon) or VER(R)ORE dat. sg. deity of water, derivable from *edr. But the main objection,
the absence of the parallel development in the initial position, remains.
[T]RE. remains uncertain.

Note:
The parallels from other Indo-European traditions support that the animals
lamb/sheep, pig and bull represent the stable triad, used as the ritual sacrifice. The most suggestive parallel occurs in the Roman tradition, where the
purgative sacrifice was designated Suouitaurlia (ss pig, ovis sheep, taurus
bull), cf. the witness of Varro in his Res rusticae II, 1.10: populus Romanus
cum lustratur suouetarilibus, circumaguntur uerres (boar), aries (ram), taurus (bull).

4. The appellatives and proper names etymologized above, plus other etymological material summarized by Witczak and his predecessors, allow us to formulate the elementary phonetic rules:
*p > p: PARAMAECO, PORCOM, PRAISOM, TREBOPALA
*b > b: TREBOPALA & TREBARVNE, ABNE
*bh > b: ERBA, LAEBO, (EQVE-)VNVBO; ?f: IFADEM
*t > t: TAVROM, TEVCOM, TOVDADIGO, TREBOPALA, RVETI, DOENTI;
d: TOVDADIGO
*d > r: ??REVE; VER(R)ORE
*dh > d: ?DOENTI < *dhenti; ROUDAE(C)O < *(H1)rodh-, FIDVENEARVM
< *idhu*k > c: TEVCOM, VEAMINICORI
*g > g: SINGEIETO
*gh > ?
*k > p: PUPPID, AMPILVA
*k/*$ > cc/qu: ICCONA & EQUEUNUBO, AQUIAE
*g > g?: ANGOM (g represents a specific reflex in the cluster)
*gh > b: BORMANICO < *ghormo
*$ > c/g: PORCOM/PORGOM, PARAMAECO
* > g: REGONI < *H2rn

14

VCLAV BLAEK

*h > ?
*s > s-/--: SECIAS, SINGEIETO, SINTAMOM; LAEBO, (EQVE-)VNVBO
*m > m: MVITIEAS; ARIMOM
*n > n: NVRIM; ANGOM, ICCONA, REGONI
*l > l: LAEBO, LOIMINNA & LOEMINA; OILAM, TREBOPALA
*r > r: ?RVETI; NVRIM, PORCOM, TAVROM
*i > em: ?IFADEM; am: SINTAMOM < *sen-tiHo-, BLETISAMA < *pletis-siHo* > ?
*C > ?
*3 > ?
* > i: IOM; SINGEIETO
* > v/f: VEAVN, VER(R)ORE, FIDUENEARVM; AVA; i: OILAM, INI
*a > a: ANGOM, AVA; LAEBO
*e > e: EN(-)ETOM, ERBA, TREBOPALA; i: ICCONA, SINTAMOM
*o > o: OILAM; ICCONA, PORCOM
*i > i: ARIMOM, DOENTI
*u > u: VSSEAM; RVETI
* > a: LAMATICOM
* > e: REGONI; ea: VEAVN
* > o: REGONI, TRIBARONNI; u: TREBARVNE, ?NVRIM
* > i: NVRIM
* > u: (EQVE-)VNVBO
*a > ai/ae: PRAISOM, PRAESONDO
*e > e: EQVE-(VNVBO)
*o > oe: goddess POEMANE ~ Greek poimn herdsman, Lithuanian piemo
m., piemn f. id. (W 241)
*a > au: TAVROM
*e > ou: TOVDO-PALANDAIGAI < *teto*o > ou: ROVDAECO < *(H1)rodho-.
5. Although the analyzed corpus is very limited and frequently represented
by the proper names, it is possible to determine the main features of the nominal
paradigm (W 27788):
case / stem
nom. sg.
gen.

dat.

--

consonant
-o-i-/--u-/-ntr. -OM
PRAISOM
-IS?
-AS < *-s
SECIAS
MODESTIS
MVITIEAS
f. -A / m. -AI < *-i -O(I), -V(I) < *-i -E? < *-e-ei -UE < *-u-ei -E < *-ei

LUSITANIAN LANGUAGE

15

f. ICCONA
m. CROVGEAI

acc.
loc.
abl.
nom. pl.
dat.

acc.

loc.

PETRANIOI
ABNE
BANDVE
REVE
QVANGEIO
NILAGVI
LARAVCV
-AM < *-m
-OM < *-om
-IM < *-m
-EM < -i
OILAM
TAVROM
NVRIM
IFADEM
-AE < *-ai
-E < *-ei
CARLAE EQUE-(UNUBO)
-O < *-(d)
ARIMO
-I < *-oi
VEAMINICORI
-ABO <
-OBO <
-VBO <
-EBO <
*--bho(s)
*-o-bho(s)
*-u-bho(s)
*-e-bho(s)
ARABO ARQUIENOBO
LVCVBO
LAEBO
-VN? <
*-u-ns
VEAVN
-OI? < *-oi-s(u/i)
CAEILOBRIGOI

6. Conclusion
The etymological and grammatical analysis of the lexical and onomastic corpus of Lusitanian, which is at our disposal, indicates that this language belongs
into the circle of the Western Indo-European languages, with closest cognates
with the Italic and Celtic languages, but undoubtedly different from them, representing its own group comparable with the statute of Italic, Celtic, Germanic,
etc. On the other hand, the specific isoglosses connecting Lusitanian with IndoAryan/Iranian apparently reflect the peripheral archaisms, which are also typical
for Italic and Celtic.
Post Scriptum:
The present contribution can also serve as the review article of the book Jzyk
i religia Luzytanw (d: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu dkiego 2005; pp. 472
ISBN 8371718373) of Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak, where the author summarizes all available information about the language (and mythology) of Lusitanians and develops his own interpretations and solutions. The space does not
allow to discuss all ideas presented by Witczak (e.g. interpretations of the substratal words in modern Ibero-Romance languages), but even from these partial
comments should be evident that the author achieves maximum of possible. Let
us quote some misprints which cannot influence the high value of the book:
P. 85 stprus., instead of strus.
P. 90 Blanca M. Prsper, instead of Babara M. Prsper.
P. 90 Lithuanian kuml mare, instead of kuml.
P. 280 Lusitanian LAEBO has to be interpreted as the dat. pl. (so p. 288), not
dat sg.

16

VCLAV BLAEK

P. 449 Annali del Dipartimento di Studi del Mondo Classico e del Mediterraneo Antico (= AIN), instead of Annali del Istituto Orientale di Napoli (= AION).
P. 454 Vennemann instead of Venneman.
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RESUM
lnek shrnuje zkladn informaci o jazyce epigrafickch pamtek antick Lusitanie. Analyzovan materil vymezuje pozici lusitanskho jazyka na zpadn perifrii indoevropskho dialektovho kontinua, s nejblimi pbuznmi v jazycch keltskch a italickch. Pozoruhodn jsou
specifick izoglosy mezi jazyky lusitanskm a indornskmi, kter jsou pokldny za archaismy
konzervovan na vchodn i zpadn perifrii. Obdobn izoglosy spojuj i jazyky italick a keltsk
na zpad a indornsk na vchod.

Vclav Blaek
stav jazykovdy a baltistiky FF MU
([email protected])