Re: YAEPT: uu/ii (< Quick Latin pronunciation question)

andrew wrote:
> quoting Michael Poxon:
>> Re Elvis. Both his names are Welsh! "Elfis" is a native Welsh first
>> name, and "Presley" is surely an English version of "Preseli" (now
>> spelt Prescelly) a small group of mountains in Pembrokeshire which
>> is, apparently, where the stones for Stonehenge came from. Okay - I
>> know there are probably other placenames that could produce the same
>> result "Priestley" for example, but its tempting to think of him
>> being called "Y brenin"!
>
> I thought it was Germanic: from All Wise;
Moyna Kitchin says so too, in her "Choosing a Name", 1979. Though she
claims it's Scandinavian. Elfis is not listed on http://
www.names2be.com/welshbabynames3.html. Is there anything elsewhere
more comprehensive?

> which suggests to me that a
> Latin version of the name should be something like *Allevisus, like
> the
> Allemanni  of Germany.
What do we need Latin for? All-wise can be readily translated into
Gaulish as Olloviððos. Romans go home!

'Elv-' is a Gaulish root, too, meaning 'many' (< PIE *pelu-). But the
only adjectival endings are -a, -os and -on. An i-stem Elvis probably
didn't exist.

LEF

Reply