Campania

Contents

The area covered in this page is the southern half of the I Regio Augustea, Latium et Campania. The northern half is in the page Latium. The region Campania begins south of the river Liri with the land formerly inhabited by the Aurunci, then the Campania proprie dicta from the river Volturno to the river Sarno, and the country of the Alfaterni later inhabited by the Piceni, up to the river Sele. In the inner part, it includes the land of the Samnites Pentri and of the Sidicini. Also included are the islands of the Tyrrhenian sea. For the rest of the Samnites, see under Samnium and Hirpinia.

Common remarks: the place-names have been put in the nominative case, an asterisk * means not attested, reconstructed form. The late place-names of probable Latin origin have not been included. The IE roots are in the form given by Pokorny's Indogermanische Wörterbuch. The links will be active when the single pages will be published, see the main page. For any comment, suggestion, email me.

Cales

• Place: Calvi Risorta, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Cales (Ptol., Strab., Liv., Peut.) Calenum (Plin., Sil. It.)
• Etymology: A toponymic serie *kal- has been recognized by Villar and others and attributed to a variant *kal- of the unclear IE root *kel- 'spotted' (but maybe the root is *kwal-). The main toponymycal meaning is 'mud, clay'. See also Calatia.

*Falernum

• Place: northern part of province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: *Falernum from Falernus ager (Plin., Liv., Sil. It.)
• Etymology: The name has a counterpart in Falerio (Picenum) and Falerii (Etruria). While the second may be related to the Etruscans, an Etruscan influence is not proved for the Picenum. Thus the name may be explained as Italic, for the presence of the initial f. Tentatively, these names of the series *fal- can be explained as from an appellative meaning 'clearance', from the IE root *bhel- 'shining, white'.

Massicus m.

• Place: mount Mássico, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Massicus m. (Plin., Verg., Flor.)
• Etymology: It seems a late name, related to Latin massa 'mass', like the Romance appellative massa, widely used in toponymy in the meaning of 'farm'.

Savo fl.

• Place: river Savone, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Savo fl. (Plin.) Safo fl. (Peut.)
• Etymology: The name is included by Villar in the series *sav-, together with Savus fl. (Noricum) and explained, like Pokorny does, from the IE root *seu- 'juice, liquid'. The A-grade can be explained from a zero-grade of the root, or from an A-language stratum, possibly the "Liguro-Sicanian" one.

Sinuessa

• Place: Torre San Limato di Cellole, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Sinuessa (Ptol., Strab., Plin., Liv., Tac., Peut.) Sonuessa (Bord.) Sinoessa (Mel.)
• Etymology: The name can be separated in two parts. The first part could be related to IE *sein-, one of the various extensions of the root *sei- 'to be damp, drip'. The second part can be reconstructed as *wed-sa, from some appellative meaning 'water' related to the IE root *(a)ued- 'water', which exact form is very disputed. Summarizing, the Roman colony took its name from some local place name meaning 'dripping water' or similar.

Suessa Aurunca

• Place: Sessa Aurunca, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Suessa (Ptol., Plin., Liv.)
• Etymology: The same appellative is found also in Suessula and in Suessa Pometia (Latium). The name can be explained, through a form *sued-sa, from an extension *suedh- of the IE reflexive pronoun *se-, s(e)ue-. The root has given various ethnical names, so the process is very likely also for place names. Then, Suessa could have meant 'our (tribe's place)' in a Western Italic language (the one of the mysterious Auruncans ?) or even in Oscan, if the shift *dh>f did not take place in the consonant cluster.

Trifanum

• Place: not identified, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Trifanum (Liv.)
• Etymology: Possibly the name is a compound with Oscan tris 'three'. The name should be Oscan for the intervocalic f.

Vescia

• Place: not identified, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Vescia (Liv., Cic.)
• Etymology: The name seems to recall a Vescellium (Hirpinia), in the same Italic domain, and also Vescis (Baetica). Possibly, the name is from an earlier *ueds-ski-, and then is related to the IE root *(a)ued- 'water'. In this case, the name would show a similar origin as Sinuessa.

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Campani

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Acerrae

• Place: Acerra, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Acerrae (Plin., Liv., Dio. Cass.) Acherrae (Strab.)
• Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Acerrae (Umbria). Both may be derived from the IE root *akwa- 'water, river' (UTET). In the Greek spelling of Strabo, we have an aspirated stop ch (not marked in the Latin spelling) which could reflect a shift *k(w)>kh that fits what postulated for the "Liguro-Sicanian" stratum that occupied the Western part of Italy before the Western Italic. Compare also with Acherusia pal. Then the name is pre-Oscan and pre-Etruscan. Another, more traditional interpretation of the name Acerrae is from Latin (but possibly an Etruscan appellative) acerra 'casket for incense' (UTET).

Acherusia pal.

• Place: lake Fusaro, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Acherusia pal. (Plin., Liv.) Acerusius lac. (Peut.)
• Etymology: The name derives from the Greek mythology, where Acherusia is the gate for the infernal regions. Then, the name has been attributed to the swamp by the Greek colonists of Cumae.

Atella

• Place: Castellone di Sant'Arpino, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Atella (Plin., Strab., Liv., Cic., Svet., Peut.)
• Etymology: The Oscan name was spelled Aderl(a) on coins. According to Pokorny, the name is of probable Etruscan origin, while he recalls a different explaination, with *Atrola from the oscan counterpart of Latin ater, Umbrian atru, adro 'black'.

Avernus lac.

• Place: lake Averno, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Avernus lac. (Plin., Strab., Mel., Verg., Peut.)
• Etymology: A popular Greek etymology is from *aornos 'without birds'. More likely, the name derives from the IE root *(a)uer- 'water, rain, flow', and has no negative connotation in origin.

Baiae

• Place: Baia di Bacoli, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Baiae (Plin., Strab., Mel., Cic., Hor., Flor.)
• Etymology: Unknown.

Bauli

• Place: close to Bacoli, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Bauli (Plin.)
• Etymology: The traditional etymology is from a Greek boaulia 'ox stall'. The name may be derived from the IE root *beu- 'to swell, puff' and explained as referred to the dune or the promontory on which the town was. The form Bauli is a plural diminutive.

Calatia

• Place: Gallazze di Maddaloni, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Calatia (Strab., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: Likely, the name is related with Cales and may be derived from an appellative meaning 'mud, earth', from the IE root *k(w)al- 'spotted'.

Capua

• Place: Santa Maria Capua Vetere, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Capua (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Burd., Peut., etc.)
• Etymology: Four different etymologies of Capua are found in Latin sources: (i) ab campo dicta (Plin.), from campus 'field', (ii) a capite dicta (?), from Latin caput 'head' because it was the main city of the Etruscans in Campania, (iii) ab Capye appellata (Liv.), from the name of the Samnite leader who conquered the city in 423 b.C., (iv) from Capys, a Trojan (Verg.). This latter is considered from Etruscan capu 'hawk', and the most probable (UTET). The very name of Campania derives from Capua, through the forms kap-uano- > kappano- (found in Oscan coins), then kampano- for a spontaneous development -pp- > -mp-.

Casilinum

• Place: Capua, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Casilinum (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Liv., Cic., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name can be compared with Casinum (Latium), in the same Italic domain, for which Villar proposed a stem *kas- 'high, elevated' (that I have not found in Pokorny). The ending -ino- is supposed to have been used to derive place-names from personal names (UTET), and in this case can be derived from a name *Kasi-lo-, from the IE root *k'as- 'gray'.

Clanius fl.

• Place: basin Regi Lagni, provinces Caserta-Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Clanius fl. (Verg.)
• Etymology: The name has exact counterparts in Clanis fl. (Etruria) and Clanis fl. (Latium). It has also been compared with various place-names of the type glan-, all in the Celtic domain. For the sostratists, a stem clan-/glan- has to be invoked, meaning 'mud, slime' (UTET). But, on the contrary, the Celtic appellatives mean 'clean, shine' and are usually derived from the form *g'hl_e- of the IE root *g'hel- 'to shine green, gold, blue'. This etymology may fit the phonetics of a language of the Liguro-Sicanian stock, characterized by a particular stop shift for which *gh>k. In Campania, this stratum has to be attributed to the Aurunci/Ausones. The low basin of Clanius fl. was later called Liternus fl.

Cumae

• Place: Cuma di Pozzuoli, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Cumae (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Mel., Verg., Peut., etc.)
• Etymology: The name is Greek and repeats that of Kyme, in the Asian Aeolis. The colonists of Cumae came probably from Pithecussae.

Gaurus m.

• Place: Mount Barbaro, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Gaurus m. (Plin., Liv., Cic.)
• Etymology: The name should be of Greek origin, from gaurus 'high, superb, proud', which is from the IE root *gau- 'to rejoice, swagger'.

Herculaneum

• Place: Ercolano, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Herculaneum (Plin., Mel.)
• Etymology: The Latin name reproduces the Greek Herakleia, named after Hercules.

Leboriae

• Place: an area in the province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Leboriae (Plin.)
• Etymology: Unknown. The name could belong to a series *leib-, given the well-known Oscan development *ei>e. Mentioned by Udolph as related to the river name Leba in Poland, this stem is likely one of the extensions of a widely diffused IE root *(s)lei- 'to pour, slimy'. The very root *(s)leib- 'slippery' is treated in Pokorny as a separate one. Thus, the name can have referred to a wet, humid area, and can be attributed to the Oscan stratum.

Liternum, Literna palus, Liternus fl.

• Place: Arenaria di Giugliano in Campania (Liternum), Lake of Patria (Literna palus), low basin Regi Lagni (Liternus fl.), province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Liternum (Ptol., Plin., Mel., Liv., Peut.) Literna palus (Sil. It.)
• Etymology: The name has been explained by Devoto (see also Palmer) from the IE root *leudh- 'people', but since this root would have given *Louferno- in Oscan and *Liderno- in Latin, then a third stratum was postulated, in which *dh>t. This was called "Opican", from the name of the Opici, which is preserved in the name of the Oscan language (Osci < *Op-sci). Here, it will be referred to as belonging to the wider "Liguro-Sicanian" stratum, which left traces in the toponymy of Liguria, Sicily, but also Etruria, Latium, etc. An alternative explaination (more likely for the meaning) of the name Liternum is from an extension *(s)leit- of the IE root *(s)lei- 'to pour, slimy'. Then, the name would be indirectly related to Latin litus 'seaside' and would compare with Litessa fl. (Sicilia). Historically, Clanius fl. could be the original, "Opican" name of the river, while Liternus fl. a later, Oscan substitution.

Lucrinus lac.

• Place: lake Lucrino, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Lucrinus lac. (Plin., Mel., Tac., Svet., Flor.)
• Etymology: The name can be compared with Luceria (Lucania), for which an Etruscan or a "Mediterranean" origin was thought (UTET). Tentatively, the name can be instead related to Luca (Etruria), from the IE root *leuk- 'bright, to shine, to see'. The semantic change from 'bright' to 'swamp' is attested for other IE roots, and is explained with the fact that a swamp, a pool, can be regarded as a 'clearance' in a wood.

Misenum pr., Misenum

• Place: Capo Miseno (Misenum pr.), Miseno di Bacoli (Misenum), province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Misenum (Ptol., Plin., Mel., Verg.)
• Etymology: Traditionally, the name is explained from the Greek mythology, from a Misenus, a Trojan trumpeter (Verg.)

Neapolis, Parthenope

• Place: Napoli, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Neapolis (Ptol., Plin., Mel., Liv., Peut.) Parthenope (Ptol., Plin.)
• Etymology: The name Neapolis is Greek and means 'the new city'. It was given by the colonists of Cumae who founded it by the site of Palaepolis, the 'old city', i.e., a previous settlement of the Rhodians (or the Cumans themselves). Parthenope, from the name of a Siren is also the name of a small island.

Nola

• Place: Nola, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Nola (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name is in Oscan núvla- < *Nuvela and is usually derived (UTET) from a *nouo-la- 'the new (city)'. This is also the etymology reported by Pokorny, where the IE root *neuos 'new' can be found.

Oplontis

• Place: Torre Annunziata, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Oplontis (Peut.)
• Etymology: Unknown.

Phlegraei campi

• Place: Campi Flegrei, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Phlegraei campi (Plin., Ovid.)
• Etymology: The name is Greek and means 'the flashing fields', from the verb phlego 'to burn, flash, shine'. Compare with the name of Phlegra (Macedonia).

Pompeii

• Place: Pompei, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Pompei (Plin., Mel., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name is usually explained (UTET) from the Oscan *pompe 'five', derived from the IE root *penkwe 'id.' Probably, the name refers to five original villages.

Puteoli

• Place: Pozzuoli, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Puteoli (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Cic., Tacit., Peut.)
• Etymology: The city was founded by the Samians with the name Dicearchia '(city) were the justice rules'. The Latin name Puteoli is probably related to puteo, -ere 'to smell', for the sulphur exhalations or, less probably, to puteus 'well' (UTET).

Sarnus fl.

• Place: river Sarno, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Sarnus fl. (Ptol., Plin., Verg.)
• Etymology: The river name is usually ascribed to the IE root *ser- 'to flow', with an adjectival suffix (UTET, Pokorny). The a vocalism is explained in Pokorny as "Illyrian". Actually, it could be an evidence of the fact that the pre-Italic, "Liguro-Sicanian" languages of the Tyrrhenian coast were A-languages. But maybe the vocalism can be explained from a zero-grade root. Compare with the variant Sarus fl. (Samnium), with the same A-grade.

Stabiae

• Place: close to Castellammare di Stabia, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Stabiae (Plin., Sil. It.) Stabii (Peut.)
• Etymology: The name can be tentatively related to the IE root *steb(h)- 'post, pillar, to support', which has been recalled by Georgiev to explain the place name Thebae (Boeotia). The root is probably linked with *sta- 'to stand'. An original form with -b- is compatible with the phonetics of the Oscan language, otherwise, if it was -bh-, a Western Italic language must be invoked. This is the conclusion of Palmer also, who attributes the placename, together with Allibae, to the Opici.

Suessula

• Place: Calabricito di Acerra, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Suessula (Plin., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: It is a diminutive of an Italic Oscan appellative *suessa, for which see under Suessa Aurunca.

Tifata m.

• Place: mount Tifata, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Tifata m. (Plin., Liv., Sil. It., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name could have a counterpart in a Tifata mentioned by Pliny as a ruined town of the Latini. Moreover, some Osco-Umbrian names like Tifernus fl. (Samnium) and Tifernum (Umbria) may be recalled as well. Also an appellative *tifa 'hills' is usually mentioned (UTET) as the Oscan counterpart of a Latin (but of Sabine origin) teba, for which see Tibur (Latium).

Veseris

• Place: not identified, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Veseris (Liv., Cic.)
• Etymology: The name is maybe related to Vesuvius m., because tha place was at the roots of the mountain. But according to somebody (Salmon), this is the same as Vescia. Possibly, the town Veseris was the same as Fenseris of some coins.

Vesuvius m.

• Place: mount Vesuvio, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Vesuvius m. (Plin., Mel., Liv., Tacit.)
• Etymology: It has been related (UTET, Pokorny) to the IE roots *aues- 'to shine' or, alternatively, *eus- 'to burn' that possibly is related to the former. Then, the name means 'the shining' or 'the burning'.

Volturnus fl., Volturnum

• Place: river Volturno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Volturnus fl. (Ptol., Plin.) Olotronus fl. (Plut.)
• Etymology: The name is strongly linked with that of the city Capua, which was called also Volturnum (Liv.) Since Capua has been thought to derive from an appellative or a personal name meaning 'hawk', also Volturnus has been related to Latin voltur 'vulture', which has been reconstructed from IE *gwl_etur-. But this word has been explained as Etruscan by many scholars, and the same name of the river has been explained as Etruscan velthur 'hawk' (Facchetti). An alternative explaination, that fits better the form Olotronus, could be from 'the curved river', with the first part from the IE root *uel(e)- 'to turn, wind', and the second part that is maybe the IE agent suffix *-ter-, like in Cluturnum.

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Alfaterni, Picentini

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*Alfateria

• Place: not identified, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: *Alfateria from Alfaterni (Plin.)
• Etymology: The first part of the name is likely the Oscan alfu 'white', from the IE root *albho- 'white'. The second part, -teria, is found also in Fabrateria (Latium) and in Cubulteria, in the same Italic domain. It is likely an Eastern Italic word for 'piece of land', derived from the IE root *(s)ter- 'stiff, solid' or, less likely for phonetic reasons, from *ters- 'dry, thirst' like the Latin terra 'earth, land'. A form *ster-ia postulated by Duridanov and meaning 'country, environs' is not phonetically possible for the initial s. Summarizing, the name would mean 'white land'. Later, it was attributed as a specification, to Nuceria Alfaterna.

Nuceria Alfaterna

• Place: Nocera Superiore, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Nuceria (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: According to UTET, the name is explained, together with Nuceria (Umbria), as an Osco-Umbrian *noukria 'the new (town)', derived from an extension (or a variant) *nouk- of the IE root *neu- 'new' (UTET). In Pokorny there is no trace of such an extension, but still the name can be explained as a compound *nou-okr-, with the first part which is the Oscan adjective 'new' that can be traced in the name of Nola, and the second part is the Oscan appellative related to Umbrian ocar 'stony mount', Latin ocris 'mount'. With this, I renounce to the explaination from a root *neuk- 'dark, indistinct', with the root at zero-grade, presented for Nuceria (Umbria). Other explainations were given by the substratists, who recalled a kinship with Luceria.

Picentia

• Place: Picenza di Pontecagnano-Faiano, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Picentia (Plin., Sil. It., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name is related to that of the Piceni, because the place was assigned by the Romans to rebels deported from Picenum in 268 b.C. These were called Picentini.

Salernum

• Place: Salerno, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Salernum (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Peut.)
• Etymology: Since this Roman colony lays on the sea coast, the name can be derived from some Italic appellative related to the IE root *sal- 'salt, salty water'. The substratists' interpretation is from a "Mediterranean" *sala 'channel', with a suffix -ern- that would be typical of the substratum words (UTET).

Silarus fl.

• Place: river Sele, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Silarus fl. (Ptol., Peut.) Silerus fl. (Plin., Mel.)
• Etymology: The name is explained by Pokorny from the extension *seil- of the IE root *sei- 'to be damp, drip', and explained as Illyrian. But nothing can be really said about the origin of the name, which has an almost exact counterpart in Silis fl. (Venetia).

Surrentum

• Place: Sorrento, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Surrentum (Ptol., Plin., Peut.) Syrrentum (Mel.)
• Etymology: There is a Greek etymology of the name (UTET), from the verb surreo 'I flow with'. This would explain the cluster -rr-.

Taurania

• Place: close to Pagani, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Taurania (Plin.)
• Etymology: The name can be derived from an ethnical Taurani, which will be related to Latin taurus, Oscan tauro-, Umbrian turu- 'bull'. According to an old substratist theory, a "Mediterranean" *tauro- 'mountain' would have given many ethnical and place names, among which the Taurini of Turin.

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Samnites, Sidicini

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Allifae

• Place: Alife, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Allifae (Ptol., Plin., Liv., Strab.)
• Etymology: There is some trace (Palmer) of a previous name *Alliba(e) that shows the phonetic feature IE *bh>b, instead of the Oscan *bh>f. In this case the name belongs to some pre-Oscan stratum that could be Western Italic (Opici). But it is not sure that *Alliba and Allifae are the same, so the name ending can be compared with that of Fagifulae (Samnium) and explained from an IE *-dha- or *-bha-, having a collective meaning. The first part can be a phythonym, likely the Oscan counterpart of Latin alnus 'alder', which is from an IE root *el- 'red' according to Pokorny.

Austicula

• Place: not identified but maybe Castellone di Castel San Vincenzo, province Isernia, region Molise, Italy
• Name: Austicula (Liv.)
• Etymology: The name can be compared with Latin haurio, -ire 'to drain (water)', which has a secondary h- and is derived from the IE root *aus- 'to draw'. Then, the name could have been referred to a drain channel or similar.

Batulum

• Place: not identified
• Name: Batulum (Verg., Sil. It.)
• Etymology: Maybe related to Latin batum 'leek', through a collective formation.

Caiatia

• Place: Caiazzo, province Caserta, region Lazio, Italy
• Name: Caiatia (Plin., Liv.) Gahatia (Peut.)
• Etymology: The name is confused in UTET with Calatia, and therefore attributed to a "mediterranean" stem *kala- 'hill'. The etymology is unknown, and only a vague comparison with Caieta (Latium) can be recalled, if this is not from Greek.

Callifae

• Place: not identified, probably province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Callifae (Liv.)
• Etymology: This town is mentioned together with Allifae, maybe the name is just a reduplication.

Celemna

• Place: not identified, not proveably in Campania
• Name: Celemna (Verg.)
• Etymology: The stem *kel- seems to be related to the IE root *kel- 'to tower, be high, hill'. The cluster -mn- is almost exclusive of Italic and usually is the result of a *-b(h)n-, as in the name of Samnium. But in this case consider the Latin columna 'pillar', which is explained by Pokorny from an earlier *kelomna-, which differs from Celemna only for thedifferent grade of the suffix.

Cluturnum

• Place: not identified, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Cluturnum (Peut.)
• Etymology: Unknown. The ending -turnum recalls those of Volturnus fl. and Minturnae (Latium), in the same Italic domain. The stem may be related to the IE root *k'leu- 'to rinse, clean'. Then, the origin of the place name could have been a river name, meaning 'the one that cleans'. In this case it is possible to reconstruct the name as *k'leu-ter-no, with the IE agent suffix *-ter-.

Cubulteria

• Place: close to Alvignano, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Cubulteria (Plin.) Compulteria (Liv.)
• Etymology: The second part of the name, -teria, is found also in Fabrateria (Latium) and in *Alfateria, in the same Italic domain. It is likely an Eastern Italic word for 'piece of land', derived from the IE root *(s)ter- 'stiff, solid' or, less likely for phonetic reasons, from *ters- 'dry, thirst' like the Latin terra 'earth, land'. A form *ster-ia postulated by Duridanov and meaning 'country, environs' is not phonetically possible for the initial s. The first part my have meant 'cavity', and be derived from the IE root *keub-, an extension of *keu- 'to bend'. The variant Compulteria may be explained with an influence of Compsa (Hirpinia), whose name follows immediately in the Livy's passage.

Rufrae

• Place: Presenzano, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Rufrae (Sil. It., Verg.) Rufrium (Liv.)
• Etymology: The name is clearly related to the Oscan counterpart of Latin ruber, Umbrian rufr- 'red', which are from the IE root *reudh- 'red'.

Teanum Sidicinum

• Place: Teano, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Teanum (Ptol., Plin., Strab., Cic., Peut.)
• Etymology: The name has an exact counterpart in Teanum Apulum (Apulia) and is usually compared also with Teate (Samnium). Given the well-known Oscan feature *ei>e, the name can be explained from an earlier form *teia-no-, which may be derived from the IE root *(s)tei- 'sharp', with reference to a hill. The name is found also in Oscan inscriptions, as tianud sidikinud.

Trebula Balliensis

• Place: Treglia di Pontelatone, province Caserta, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Trebula (Ptol., Strab., Liv.,)
• Etymology: Clearly related to Oscan triibum (*treb-) 'house, building', Umbrian tremnu (*treb-no-) 'tabernaculo', Latin trabs, all from the IE root *treb- 'building, dwelling' (UTET). The name can be compared in the same Italic domain with Trebula (Samnium), Trebula Suffenas (Latium), Trebula Mutuesca (Samnium), and also with Trebiae (Umbria), Treba (Latium).

Venafrum

• Place: Venafro, province Isernia, region Molise, Italy
• Name: Venafrum (Ptol., Plin., Cat.)
• Etymology: It has been explained (UTET) as a compound Ven-afrum and related to latin velabrum 'an instrument to blow' and with Velabrum, a quarter of Rome, interpreted as 'where the wind blows'. The ending -abrum can be well reconducted to the IE suffix *-bhro, thus an Oscan origin of the name is ensured by the shift *bh>f. For the first part of Venafrum, the IE root *(a)ue- 'to blow', is reported to have an extension *uelo-, from which the Latin words, but the -n- is problematic, maybe dialectal. It also compares with Venusia (Apulia), in the same Italic domain.

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Campania's isles

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Capreae i.

• Place: island Capri, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Caprea i. (Ptol., Strab.) Capreae i. (Plin., Mel., Varr.) Capraria i. (It. Mar.)
• Etymology: The most diffused etymologies are summarized in UTET. One is from Greek kapros 'boar', the second from an Etruscan capra 'sepulture', the thirs from Latin capra 'goat'. This latter seems more probable when compared with Capraria i. (Etruria).

Pithecusa i., Inarime i., Aenaria i.

• Place: island Ischia, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Pithecusa i. (Ptol., Plin.) Pithecusae i. (Liv.) Inarime i. (Plin., Verg.) Aenaria i. (Plin., Mel., Liv.)
• Etymology: The traditional etymology is from the Greek pithekos 'monkey'. Already Pliny refused this derivation (no monkeys were at that time present on the island), and mentioned another etymology, from Greek pithos 'jar, jug'. But now the old explaination from 'monkey' is accepted by most scholars. This could be confirmed if Inarime i. (Plin.), a poetic name derived from a passage in Homer, derives from the Etruscan name of the island, and is related to *arim- 'monkey'. The Latin name, Aenaria i. is later and probably related to the legend of Aeneas. In sources like Livy and Mela there is a confusion and Aenaria is considered as a distinct island.

Prochyta i.

• Place: island Procida, province Napoli, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Prochyta i. (Ptol., Plin., Verg.)
• Etymology: The island was thought to have been created by the Vesuvius' eruptions. Then the name can be explained from the Greek prochytos 'sparse, poured' (UTET).

Sirenusae i.

• Place: islets Li Galli, province Salerno, region Campania, Italy
• Name: Sirenusae i. (Ptol.)
• Etymology: The name is Greek and related to the myth of the Sirens.

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Conclusions

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The toponymy of Campania is clearly subdivided in two main areas. The inner part belonged, prior of the Roman conquest, to the Samnites. And still we can trace many place names of clear Oscan origin, with presence of f, typical appellatives, dyphthongs development, etc.

Vice versa, the coastal area shows influences of harder interpretation. Likely, a Western Italic stratum and a Liguro-Sicanian stratum (maybe Opican the first, Auruncan or Ausonian the second) left some toponymy. But the majority of the place names is of dobious intepretation.

Of course, many are the names of Greek origin, since the area of Cumae, Neaples and the islands were inhabited by Greek settlers.

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Last modified: October 12, 2002
by Antonio Sciarretta
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