User:Burgundaz/Germanic tribes

For reconstructing the Proto-Germanic equivalents of ancient Germanic tribal names as preserved in classical sources. These reconstructions aren't intended to be authoritative, but an attempt to offer formally and semantically plausible etymologies.

Ethnonymic elements

*-aiwaniz

• Probably an extension of the word *aiwō, "law, religion, right", paralleling later Germanic/Scandinavian use of -law, Danelaw, Þrǿndalǫg. If so, Ingaevones > *Ing(w)a-aiwaniz, sg. *Ing(w)a-aiwô, "those of the Ing-law/Ing religion".

*-ingōz, "of or descended from ...".

• Patronymic. Usually applied to clans, that is, familial groupings smaller than a tribe but greater than a household/family.

*-warjōz, "defenders" or "holders (of an area)"

• Convincingly attributed to *warjaną, "to hinder, fend off; to hold; to defend, protect", especially in view of the fact that these names are attached to geographical features, "defenders of the Ems", "defenders of the Hase". Also in view of the distribution of tribal names with said ending at the edges of the Germanic-speaking area, it is very likely this ending came to specify groups who had recently taken control of the area, i.e. by invasion/conquest.

Classical Germanic tribes

Tribal names occuring in or around the time of classical/late classical sources.

*Amisi-warjōz/*Amsi-warjōz (Ampsivarii) - "defenders/inhabitants of the Ems".

• Straightforwardly from the early form of Ems, "name of a river" + Germanic *-warjaz ("inhabitant"; lit. "those defending an area").

*Anglijōz/*Angil(j)ōz (Anglii)

• Probably related to ON ǫngull (< *angulaz ("fishhook")), and probably part of a complex of words *angla-, *angul- and *angil-, where the latter two represent the strong and weak forms of an ablauting u/i-stem *angulaz, oblique *angila-.
• The actual form of the ethnonym is hard (almost dizzying) to reconstruct: either *Anglōz (LA Angli), *Anglīz (OE Engle), *Anglijōz (LA Anglii) or *Angilōz (OHG Angil-, AG Aggeíloi (although the stress is clearly un-Germanic)); in addition, there's the ON Englar, representing *Angilô or *Anglijô. The derived adjective *Angliskaz (> OE Englisċ, ON Enskr (but also OF Engelsk, MLG Engelsch as if *Angiliskaz)) itself implies a stem *Angl-. As for the region, there is OE Angel (< *Anglō) and German Angeln (earlier Angelen < OHG *Angala< *Anglǭ), which could theoretically represent an old Germanic - though not necessarily native High German - formation, as if it was borrowed from Latin we might expect *Anglien. Latin Anglia is of little help, as the suffix -ia is more or less the default suffix for countries/regions; it does offer that the form *Angl- is original, however.
  • Therefore, with the given information, and until further insights present themselves, one could assume that the original name of the region was *Anglō/*Anglǭ (OE Angel, MoG Angeln), someone from that region was called *Anglijaz, plural *Anglijōz (LA Anglii) and referring to someone or something from it was *Angliskaz. Even though the OE term was inflected as an i-stem, it is much more likely that it was secondarily transferred to that class from the ja-stems (cf. the Gallehus Horn's holtijaz ("of Holt/the wood(s)"). The Latin Angli might represent a more primary *Anglōz but it could just as likely be a slight simplification of Anglii. The other forms can probably be explained as secondary: borrowed or derived from contact with the later Angles/Anglo-Saxons themselves or indirectly through others. The stem *Angil- (as in OHG and AG) is probably a reshaping of a heavy consonant cluster *angl- to a lighter form with a perceived agentive/diminutive suffix *-ilaz, or simply by association with their own word for "fishhook; angle".

*Angri-warjōz/*Angrijaniz (Angrivarii) - "dwellers of the valley/lowlands".

• Probably derived from *angraz, "valley" (cf. Latin ancrae ("valley, gorge")) which developed into ON (-)angr "fjord, bay" and West Germanic "plain, meadow", ie. "that which is *in* a valley". Another name for the tribe was probably*Angrijaniz ("those of the valley/lowlands") as found in modern German Engern (pl.), although whether their own name for themselves, or just a later variation of the name is uncertain. It's also possible the name of their territory was *Angrijǭ as again found in modern German Engern (sg.), with the umlaut probably being proof that the word wasn't just a re-rendering of the Latin Angria, otherwise we might expect *Angern or *Ang(e)rien

*Awjaniz (Aviones) - probably "those of the island(s)" or "the islanders"

• Also attested in Widsith as Eowum, nominative *Eowan (or *Eowas).
• This tribe probably came from the Swedish island of Öland which still bears that name, literally *Awja-landą. Although it is possible that the name is secondary from a group or sub-group of *Awjaniz who settled the island. The islands of Bornolm and Gotland likewise probably gave rise the tribal names *Burgundijaniz and *Gutaniz, respectively, as settlers made their way from the island in search of new lands and opportunities. Of course, it is possible that the names of the islands come instead from the tribes that settled them. Also, cf. place and people names in (late) ON eyja-, eyin- (< *awin-).

*Bata-awjōz (Batāvi) - "those of the good island"

• The long -ā- seems to show that the thematic vowel wasn't lost before like vowels, at least in this stage of Germanic. The Latin form seems to attest *Bataawōz, but it's possible this was a back-formation from interpreting *Bataawjō as if Batāv-ia. Otherwise we could assume it represents a plural i-stem *Bataawīz.

*Burgundijaniz (Burgundiōnes) - "those of the high island" (?)

• *Burgund- presumably goes back to pre-Germanic *bʰr̥gʰn̥t-, related to the Celtic *Brigantes (> Latin Brigantes) and Sanskrit बृहत् ("great, big, tall"). Probably derived from the name of the island Bornholm < ON Borgundarholmr, and part of a group of names for islands ending in -and-, -und-, cf. ON Selund, with variants Sjal-/Sjǫl- and -and- (Danish Seeland, and Sólund (Norwegian Sula, Solund?).

*Burīz/*Burjōz/*Burōz (Burii/Buri/Bouroi) - either "the sons", "the elavated", or "the fortunate"?

• Could plausibly be the plural of *buriz ("son, child") or derived from *burjaną ("to raise; to come to pass").

*Dulgumnijōz/*Dulgub̨nijōz (Dulgubnii/Doulgoumnioi) very likely means either "those doing their duty" or "those obligated/indebted"

• Probably from a derivation of *dulgaz ("debt; injury"). The name implies a noun *dulgumniją or *dulgumnijō, meaning either "owing" or "obligation". Compare Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌿𐌱𐌽𐌹 and Old Saxon fastunnia, both from *fastumniją/-ō ("observance, fasting, lit. keeping firm"). Interestingly the Germanic vacillation of -mn-/-bn- is documented in the forms Dulgubnii and Δουλγούμνιοι(Doulgoumnioi) as found in Ptolemy's Geography, further proof that Germanic /m/ possessed an allophonic nazalized voiced bilabial fricative /β̃/ before /n/, cf. *ebnaz ("even"), from earlier *h₁ém-nos.

*Ermundurōz/*Ermunduzōz/*Ermundulōz (Hermunduri/Hermunuli)

• Another difficult word, although the first part is obviously *ermun-' (cf. ON jǫrmun-, also OS irmin-), from the same root as *Irminaniz, the original meaning being "great, immense, immeasurable". The latter part, either *-(d)urōz/*-(d)uzōz or *-(d)ulōz (if the -d- isn't an extension of the mn-stem, cf. *hleumundaz < *klew-mn̥to-), is harder to parse. Either a separate word in itself or a suffix, as *-ura-, *-uza- and *-ula- are all legitimate suffixes, eg. *anduraz ("snow-shoe; skid"), *aluzaz ("alder"), *mandulaz ("grinding-mill handle").

*Erulōz - Heruli

• Latin seems to have had a habit of inserting -h-'s before Germanic words beginning with a vowel, confer Irminones, but also Hermiones. In light of this, we can safely assume a reconstruction *Erulōz, oblique *Iril- (as seen in inscriptions), showing that the enigmatic u/i-stem declension is present. As these formations usually have collective force, it is reasonable to assume that the collective is based on the term/title *erlaz, a term referring to the "picked/proven men" in a leader's retinue. These men also saw the greatest rewards from the leader/king, and diachronically, through rewards of land, would become the earls of England and jarls of Scandinavia.

*Eutōz (Iutae/Iuti) - (ON Jót; OE Ēota) - Meaning uncertain

• Possibly related to *euþą/*eudą ("baby"), therefore "offspring"?

*Frīsijōz/*Frīsijaniz (Frīsii)

• Possibly derived from an extension to the root of *frijaz ("free"), representing *preyH-s-, either a thematicized s-stem or the remains of a sigmatic aorist formation. Old Norse and Latin agree on the vowel -ī-, but the West Germanic languages show variation between *Frīs- and *Frē₂s-. For the extension with -s-, compare PG *blēsaną < *blēaną; further one might posit their survival due to the verbal roots in question being hiatus roots.

*Gambrīwijōz (Gam(a)brivii)

• Rather conspicuously looks like a Germanicization of a Celtic *kom-brīw-yoi, "those of the bridge(s)". Otherwise, difficult to parse in Germanic.

*Habukōz (Chaū̆ci) - "the hawks"

• Lewis and Short mention the word is trisyllabic, as if pronounced /ˈxɑ.u.kɔːz/, which seems very un-Germanic. There is only one obvious explanation, the word must have been interpreted as *Hawuka-, which itself also doesn't seem like a normal Germanic formation; rather, the name only makes sense if it were pronounced /ˈxɑ.βu.kɔːz/, as like with Suēvi and Suēbi from *Swēbōz, Latin speakers seemed to have hard time distinguishing the intervocalic allophone of -b- (a voiced bilabial fricative /β/), from the voiced labial-velar approximant -w- (/w/). This leads us to accept the oft-repeated theory that the name should be interpreted as coming from *habukaz (oblique *haubika-) meaning "hawk".
• A less attractive theory, due to the above phonological problem, is connecting the name with Celtic *Kaukoi (LA Cauci) and a Greek (or rather Anatolian) Kaukônes.

*Hama-awjōz - (Chamāvi) - meaning uncertain

• A similar formation to Batāvi, showing long -ā-, and probably continuing a back-formation from (*)Chamāvia, though I'm not sure if that name is attested. The first part is obscure, but seems to be an adjective *hamaz. This *hamaz could be related to *hamô (“covering; form”), or *hamjaną (“to hinder”). It might also be possible to derive it from an otherwise unattested adjective *k(e/o)h₂mós (“desired, pleasing”), cf. the noun in Sanskrit काम (kāma, “wish, desire”), related to *hōraz (“adulterer”). The range of possible meanings could then be "those of the covered island", "those of the hindering island", or "those of the desired island".

*Harudiz/*Harudīz (Charudes/Harudes) - "the champions/heroes"

• Derived either from consonant stem *Harudz or thematicized i-stem *Harudiz. Also gave their name to ON Hǫrðaland ("land of the Haruds"). Either cognate with or borrowed from Celtic *karuts. Within Germanic, it's possible to derive it from *harjaz with the suffix *

*Hasu-warjōz/*Hasa-warjōz (Chasuarii) - "dwellers of the Hase"

• Likely derived from the name of the river, as *-warjaz tends to be added to names or terms of geographical features: *amisi-warjōz ("dwellers of the Ems"), *angrawarjōz ("dwellers of the plain"), *viduwarjōz ("dwellers of the wood").

*Hattōz (Chatti)

• Within Germanic, it could represent a Kluge's variant *hatt- of a stem *haþ-, either:
  • *haþuz ("fight"), possibly found in the name of the Norwegian petty kingdom of Hadeland, as well as the name of the god Hǫðr.
  • *haþ- ("to cover, protect") from earlier *kHt-, which gave rise to a complex of words: *hadinaz ("jacket, robe, hood"), *haþrǭ ("rag"), *hattuz ("hat"), *hattijǭ ("cowl"), also *hōdaz ("hood"), and further an adjective **hadraz ("cautious, anxious") implied by OE hædre ("anxiously"). Perhaps all of these except the latter could be reconciled as split off from an original paradigm *haþr-, *hatt-, *hadin-, representing earlier heteroclitic *kóHt-r̥, *kHt-né-, *kHt-én-. It is also possible these words instead derive from *haþ- ("goat"), if made with goat-skin (as per Kroonen 2013, page 214). In any case the name could have meant anything from "the protectors" to "the hooded/covered ones".

*Heruskōz/*Hēruskōz (Chē̆rusci) - *Heruskōz or *Hēruskōz

• At least in Lewis and Short, the initial vowel is given as long, Chērusci, also seen in Greek Χηροῦσκοι, although followed by Greek Χερουσκοι, Χαιρουσκοί, indicating a shorter vowel. If the vowel is indeed short, then the name is understandable in Germanic as *Heruskaz, with the animal name *herutaz, "hart, deer", extended with an uncommon animal suffix *-skaz, seen also in *fruskaz, "frog", *þurskaz, "codfish", possibly also in *fiskaz, "fish", if from Western post-PIE *peyC-sk-.

*Himrōz/*Himbrōz (Cimbri)

• The Germanic reflex of the name is the probable source of the name for the medieval Danish syssel Himmersyssel, older spelling Himbersysæl. The Latin spelling with initial c- must then be assumed to be the Celtic rendering of Germanic /x/ or simply the early Latin way of doing so, before later using ch- as in Chatti, Chauci, Cherusci (the Cimbri and Teutons' were the earliest "Germanic" tribes the Romans came into contact with, at least historically).
• A zero-grade variant of the root could very well possibly be found in the name of the river Humber (OE Humbre < *humbrǭ) in northern England, as well as the derived Northumbria (OE Norþan-hymbra rīċe < *nurþanē + *humbrijōz + *rīkiją ("kingdom (of those) from north of the Humber").

*Ingwijaniz/*Ingwa-aiwaniz (Ingvaeōnes/Ingaevōnes) - "those of Inguz/Ingwaz or "those of (the) Ing-law/custom"

• The element *ing(w)i- is found in Beowulf (OE Inċge), in the phrase "Incge(s) lāfe" ("remnants/remains of Ing"), kenning for a sword, and a reference to the Danes (according to Bosworth-Toller), which isn't surprising as it was said the North Germanic-speakers favored Freyr-Yngvi. This leads one to think the tripartite distinction of the Germanic peoples as found in Tacitus weren't of the West Germanic peoples, but of the East, North, and West Germanic peoples. Again, this would make sense, as the - at least continental - West Germanic tribes favored *Irmin-, as found in the sacred "tree" Irminsul (< *Irmina-sūliz) of the Saxons.
• Mechanically the root requires *h₁enǵʰ/gʰ-u- or *h₁enḱ/k-ú-; the -u-/-w- is found in Yngvi (< *Ingwô/*Ingwijô). An extra-Germanic comparison can possibly be found in Ancient Greek énkhos, which Derksen links to Slavic *nožь ("knife"). If the two are related, Greek must continue *h̥́₁nǵʰ-os (with retracted stress on the laryngeal, which is unlikely) or *h₁é-h₁nǵʰ-os (with reduplication), which must then have seen shortening of the resulting long vowel *ḗnkʰos to > énkhos due to being a super-heavy syllable. If the Germanic word is related, it would have to follow the exact same scenario (albeit as a u-stem), coming from *h₁e-h₁nǵʰ-us to *ḗngʰus to *engʰus, thereby Germanic proper *Inguz (OE Ing, name of rune). For a similar shortening of a super-heavy syllable in Germanic, see *windaz from earlier * from PIE *h₂weh₁-nt-os (cf. LA ventus, PC *wentos against SA vā́ta: where SA must have resolved the super-heavy syllable structure a different way). Whether Ancient Greek resolved such super-heavy syllables is uncertain to one at the moment, but this would be the only way to explain all three, or even just the Slavic and Germanic forms, if the Ancient Greek word is borrowed as Beekes suggests.

*Irminaniz (Irminōnes) - Could mean "the whole/entire ones", "the great, immense ones" or perhaps "the pure/genuine ones"

• Tacitus relates that the Germanic peoples claimed that the three divisions of their people were named after their supposed respective ancestors, but as is normally the case, it would seem that the ancestors were instead named after the already existing divisions.
• *Irminaniz, sg. *Irminô, is extremely unlike to be a patronymic, considering it consists of the stem *irmin- plus associative/individualizing suffix *-ô; therefore it can only be understood to be a deadjectival nominalization from an adjective *irminaz, "whole, entire, great", itself derived from an ablauting noun *ermun(az) (ON jǫrmun-), oblique *irmina- (OS irmin-), from earlier *h₁ér-mn̥, oblique *h₁r̥-mén-, "measure, size, extent", directly cognate with Tocharian B yarm. Therefore the meaning of *Irminaniz would literally be "the whole/entire/great ones".
• This would instead lead us to assume a cultural basis for division, rather than strictly linguistic, although the latter is a natural consequence of the former. Tentatively, from a historical standpoint, this would seem to represent the Germanicized Celtic population resulting from Germanic expansion south into previously Celtic lands. The contrast then was with Ingaevones being "near the ocean", that is, the original Germanic homeland in Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia, as well as the Istvaeones living "near the banks of the Rhine", probably representing a more recent expansion among Celtic populations there, or a culturally Germanicized Belgic population, if they were indeed culturally distinct from neighboring Celts.
• This explanation would allow us to understand why later Germanic populations attest no forms of these names: they were basic intra-cultural distinctions, rather than actual ethnonyms.
• Interestingly if this were indeed the case of a cultural distinction, one could see how the older Romans would have heard *Erminaniz or even a regularized *Ermananiz, and with an explanation as to its meaning "the whole/entire ones", probably more specifically "the pure/genuine ones", would have naturally associated it with Latin germānus, "full, own; natural, authentic", thereby naming the whole population group Germānī.
• Compare also *erknaz, "genuine, pure, precious", from earlier *h₁ér-ǵnos (probably proof (along with *sweknaz) that not all forms of the suffix dissimilated to *-kla-, as in *newaklahaz, "new-born").

*Istwaianiz/*Ista-aiwaniz (Istvaeōnes/Istaevōnes) - Meaning uncertain

• Taken at face value, the suffix -aevōnes could be understood as *-aiwaniz (sg. *-aiwô); one could assume this to be an earlier form of the Scandinavian practice of naming territories -law (eg. "Danelaw", but also Robyggjalǫg, , as *aiw- was the original Germanic word for "law, custom"

*Markamannōz (Marcomanni) - "those on the frontier, frontiersmen" or "border-men"

• Compound of *markō ("border, frontier") + (West Germanic) *mann- ("man, human"). Likely a late confederation. The name could be understandable due to their location on the border of the Roman world/empire. It is also possible it's a Germanic translation of a Celtic name, consider the element *brig- (< *mr̥g-) or *brog- (< *morg-, reshaped after the zero-grade form, as if *mrog) that aren't uncommon among Celtic tribal names, eg. Gallic Nitiobriges, Welsh Cymri (< *Kom-brog-oi).

*Marzingōz/*Marsingōz (Marsigni) - "those descended of the Marsi" (?)

• Derived with the patronymic/relational suffix *-ingaz, probably from the tribe below. Perhaps a branch that split off?

*Marzōz/*Marsōz (Marsi)

• Likely a derivation from the root of *marzijaną ("to impede"), though probably not to this particular verb, as we would expect *Marzijōz. If -s- does not stand for -z-, then we may assume derivation from an unattested o-grade formation with root stress; possibly an adjective *marsaz or an o-grade verb *marsaną. Could also represent a derivation of either *mersō or *merusō (ON Mjǫrs) or an ablauting variant *mars-.

*Sahsaniz (Saxones) - "those of the knife/sax"

• Other interpretations are possible, but affiliation with weapons is not an uncommon naming practice among the Germanic peoples, eg. Franks < *frank- ("type of javelin/spear/lance").

*Samnaniz/*Sebnaniz/*Simnaniz (Semnones)

• A straightforward *Semnaniz in Proto-Germanic would give *Simnaniz by regular raising of -i- before a closed syllabic nasal. If this were the case, we would assume derivation from PIE *sem-, "one; together"; or we could assume a zero-grade mn-stem reflex of the extended root *seh₂i-, giving *sh₂i-mn-, however with such a formation we would expect the stress to shift, *sh₂i-mné-, which would only have given *simm-, which is altogether very unlikely.
• Assuming the Latin transcription is a rendering of *Sebnaniz however, would give us the option of either a derivation from the number "seven" (there were seven tribes listed in Tacitus), or more likely a derivation from the root *sebʰ- (compare the Italic Sabines and Samnium).
• But perhaps mostly likely is that it represents *Samnaniz or *Samananiz, "those together" or "the collected ones", if only for the fact that it is probably indirectly attested in the Old Norwegian toponym Samnangr, "Samna-bay".

*Swēbōz (Suēvi/Suēbi)

• Within Germanic, derivable from *swē, "as; like; similar to; so" + the particle/clitic *ba/*bai/*bō ("like, in such manner") therefore "like so" > "similar ones, those like (us)"; a fitting name for a confederation of tribes. Less attractively, derivable as a lengthened or secondary o-grade from the strong verb *sufaną, past *swaf, *swēbun, "to sleep": therefore "sleepers"/"dreamers" or maybe "dwellers", or perhaps even euphemistic "those who put to sleep, kill"; none of which seem well motivated.
• Outside of Germanic, it has been linked to Celtic *xswibīti, "to move, recede", which would require an original Celtic full grade *ksweybʰ- > *xswēb-, and would mean something like "those who move" or "those who stir, agitate". Compare the demonstrably native *Wandil(j)ōz with a similar meaning.

*Tirwingōz (T(h)ervingi) - probably "those of the spear" or "those of the pine(s)(?)"

• The Germanic word *terwaz ("wooden handle/shaft") secondarily came to mean "spear". Less likely is a derivation from *terwą ("tar; resin"), but possible if they were known for using those products. Another possibility are the secondary terms meaning "pine", "pinewood", *tirwiją, *tirwijô.

*Tungrōz/*Þungrōz (Tungri) - possibly "those who are overwhelming"

• Probably from an unattested adjective *tungraz, which is otherwise fully expected to be derived from the root of *tinhaną ("to press upon"). It is also possible the name could have been *Þungrōz, as Latin lacked the voiceless interdental fricative, and - as with /x/ - we can't expect them to have transcribed them perfectly as -th-/-ch- every time. If the latter, then it would have been derived from *þinhaną ("to thrive, prosper"). Lastly, it can't be ruled out they were Celtic, as the Germanicization of previously Celtic lands was still an ongoing process by the time of Caesar.

*Þeuþaniz (Teutones) - probably "the fortunate ones"

• Probably more likely than interpreting it as *Þeudaniz, which presumably would have been rendered **Teudones. A Germanic reflex of the name is the probably source of the name for the medieval Danish syssel Thysyssel, older spelling Thythæsysæl.

*Þuringōz/*Þiuringōz (Thuringii; possibly also Toringi and Teuriohaemae))

• Considering the patronymic suffix *-ingaz is usually used to denote clans, it is interesting to note that some clans are named after animals: *Hundingōz, *Wulfingōz; and in consideration of the spelling Teurio-, it is possible the patronymic was based off *þeuraz, "bull".

*Ubjōz (Ubii) - uncertain; possibly "those above/below", "those who overstep their boundaries", "the hurlers" or "the hostile ones"

• Possibly derived from the Germanic preposition. Kroonen seems to favor the derivation of *ubilaz ("evil"), from *ub ("under; above"), originally meaning "overstepping boundaries", which then developed into "bad; evil". In which case, the related *ubjaz ("vain, evil") might have served as the basis for the tribal name. It might also be possible to link the name with PIE *h₂weph₁- ("to throw, hurl"), as attested in Hittite 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒉺 (ḫu-wa-ap-pa, “to throw, hurl; to be hostile towards”).

*Wandil(j)ōz (Vandili(i)) - "those who wend, cause to move"

• Likely derived from *wandijaną ("to cause to turn, move"), with the agent suffix *-ilaz. A Germanic reflex of the name is the probably source of the name for the medieval Danish syssel Vendsyssel, older spelling Wændlesysæl.

*Wangijaniz (Vangiones) - "those of the meadow"

• Likely straightforwardly derived from *wangaz ("meadow, field").

*Warī̆nōz (Varīni) - possibly "those warding off, defending"

• Looks to be a derivation of *warīniz (“warding off, defending”) a noun derived from *warjaną (“to ward off, repel”).
• However, the name is attested in Widsith as Wern(as), which implies a reconstruction *Warinōz, as a form with long -ī- would be expected to appear as OE *Werenas.

Non-classical Germanic peoples

Egðir (ON) - *Agiþiwiz/*Agiþjōz

• Related to or derived from *agiþō, "harrow, rake". For similar doublets with related suffix, compare ON sigð (< *sigiþō) and sigðr (< *sigiþaz), both "sickle".

Geatas (OE) - *Gautōz

• The word is an o-grade derivation from the verb *geutaną, "to pour", with a derivational meaning of "pouring", or "that which is poured". The least problematic view is that the name of the people is connected to the now-Swedish Göta älv, albeit that the name of the people was taken from the river rather than the other way around: "the pouring river" is quite naturally descriptive of the fact that the river does indeed pour out of Lake Vänern into the Kattegat. Thus, this would count as another example of a demonym taken from a geographical feature or placename.

Þrowendum (OE) - *Þrōandōz or **Þrōāndōz

• Mentioned in Widsith. Very likely to be found also as the first element in Norwegian Trøndelag and Trondheim, the latter of which with the Sami forms of the name being Råante (Southern Sami) and Roanddin/Troanddin/Troandin (Northern Sami), show a preserved older form of the name.
• Derived from the weak class 3 verb *þrōāną ("to endure") or from an unattested strong class 7 verb *þrōaną as implied by the noun *þrōō (OHG druoa). Either way, the name probably meant something like enduring-ers or those who are enduring.