LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI, XXXII (1993)

BALTŲ ONOMASTIKOS TYRINĖJIMAI

LAIMUTĖ BALUODĖ

HYDRONYMS WITH TASTE SEMANTICS IN LATVIA

Hydronyms with water-quality semantics (taste, color, temperature, etc.) are characteristic not only of the Baltic languages^*, but also of Indo-European nomenclature in general. Taste semantics is among the most hydronymic, since it indicates one of the most important properties of water (Vanagas 1981, 117). Approximately 55 hydronyms denoting the taste of water are known in Lithuania altogether. About 30 such hydronyms have been recorded in Latvia.

In Latvia, hydronyms with semantics of salty taste are the most widespread—16 such names have been recorded. These are potamonyms derived from adjectives Sāl-upe + river. Perk 1970, Sāl²-upte + river, stream. Kalu (according to the informant’s account—the sack of pickling salt split and spilled out) 1958: Latv. sāļš “salzig (salty)” ME III 803. This root is also found in river names Sālija² river, Kul E II 162, =? Maz-sālija² river, Spēn U IV 162 k (1963), and in the later formation Sāl²-sudmal²-dīķis pond, Snēp 1963, Sālē²-puōrs² pond, Aizp U IV 16: Latv. sālijs, dialectal form sāļejs “salzig; salzhaltig (salty; brackish)” ME III 802.

Closely related to the semantics of salty taste are Latvian hydronyms derived from nouns, such as Sāls-avots spring, J-laic 1963, and + spring, Viesn (formerly in a hollow near Mount Gaizins), p; Sāls²-ezers lake, L-str Konv. XII 24029 k (1972); Sāls²-likums river bend, Zebr 1958; Sāls²-valks creek, GrīķE II 93: Latv. sāls “das Salz (salt)” ME III 802–803. Perhaps also Sāls-ace // Salace river, Skaņk 1966, although in this case it is probably only a folk etymology connecting this potamonym with salt. J. Endzelin and K. Būga consider this hydronym a Finno-Ugricism—cf. Estonian Salatsi settlement <*Salatsa (Būga RR III 648, Endzelin’s manuscript Dictionary of Place Names).

Also worth mentioning here are Latvian hydronyms formed from Latvian nouns sāļijums “1. das einmalige Salzen; 2. die Salzlake” ME III 802, sālums, sālims “die Salzlake (brine, salty soak)” ME ibid.—Sāļijuma dīķis pond, Strut U V 509; = Sālima dīķis E II 142 k (1959); Sāļijuma dīķis pond, V-au U V 463; Sāļijuma upīte creek, Annen 1958; = Sālima upīte U V 455 k; Sāļijuma² upīte creek, Skrīy E I 115. See FBR XII 128.

This root is also fairly widespread in the formation of other Latvian toponyms, na—

^*For Latvian hydronyms of adjectival origin, see Endzelin 1934, 124–126; Balo-de 1983, 25–34; for hydronyms with color semantics in the Baltic languages, see Baluodė L. “From Latvian–Lithuanian–Prussian hydronymic parallels” // Colloquium Pruthenicum. Warszawa, 1992. P. 157–172.

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For example: Sālā² homestead, Dob (by the Berže River), 1959; Sālīj²-līls field, Sņep, 1963; Sālijas² farmstead, Dign, 1961; farmstead Sņep E II 104; Sālīj-kalns hill, same place, 1963; “Sālejas” farmstead, Dign U V 324; Sālej² house, Dund E II 146; Sāles² hill, Gav U IV 77; Sāls-akmeņus stone, Viesn p; 8 hill names Sāls-kalns; Sāls²-kāpa dune, Anc (it is said that a ship carrying a cargo of salt sank here), 1964; Sāls²-lama farmstead, Eng, 1959; Sāls²-puor² bog, Aizp, 1958; Sālījām-birzs + small birch grove, Adul, 1972; Sālījām-kalns hill, Graš, 1970; Sālījums² farmstead, Rop E I 56; Sāļumi house, Sark, 1973; Sālīmi² village, Krās E II 168. Perhaps Latvian farmstead names such as Sālavas, Gram, 1955; Sālavi, Durb, 1964; Priekl E II 42 should also be mentioned here.

Another adjective expressing the semantics of salty taste, sūrs¹ ‘salzig’ⁿ ME III 1134, is also quite widely known in Latvian dialects. However, this same adjective sūrs is also used in dialects in the sense “2. bitter, herbe; sauer (bitter, sour)” ME ibid.—Sūra River, Lubn p, and river Rug (pronounced syura², near the village of Nagļi), 1974; Sūrupīle River, Kurmā, 1963. This root also occurs in Latvian place names of other formations: Sūrais zars apple tree, Poc, 1958; Sūrcelė hill; Sūr-kallīns hill and Sūr-plava meadow, Kurmā, 1963; also a tavern Sūr-kruogs there, U IV 131, as well as a tavern in Kul, U IV 127; Sūras farmstead, Grik E II 93; farmstead, Plan E II 97; Sūra purvs bog, J-laic (“sūrs plaut, cieta zāle” [to mow sūrs, hard grass]), 1963; Sūr²-terce ravine, Priekl, 1979; Sūrāju birzs birch grove, Smil, 1961. However, in areas where Finno-Ugric influence is possible, this root should sometimes be connected with Livonian sūŗ “gross (large)” Kett. 388, Estonian sūŗ “the same” Wied. 1096—for example, Sūrkangar-kalns hill, Dund E II 147. Place names in the vicinity of Dundaga such as “Ƶuhrļuwannga” bog, U IV 255, “Ƶuhr-muzza” forest, U IV 258, and “Ƶuhr-muzza-tarra” meadow, U IV 259, should be regarded as directly Livonian. In the neighboring parish of Ance, the Finno-Ugric name of a former homestead, Sūrlag, was recorded in 1964, as was the field name Sūrlagda // Dīž-klajums, 1964, whose parallel name is a Finno-Ugric calque.

Approximately as many hydronyms with this semantic feature have been recorded in Lithuania as in Latvia. These are the names of 15 rivers and one lake, derived from the Lithuanian adjective sūrus ‘salty’: Sūrė River, Sūris River, Sūrusis River, Sūrava River, Sūrėlė River, Sūrūnis Lake, etc. EŽ 320. In addition, there are several settlement names: Lithuanian Sūriškiai village, Sūr-upis village, Ladms. 295. Hydronyms such as Drūskinīs, Drūskinė River, Drūskinė River, Druskōnis, Druskis Lake, Drūskupis River, etc., are also associated with the semantics of salty taste: Lithuanian druskà ‘salt’ (EŽ 92–93).

Old Prussian also has one potamonym, S u r e 1385, and several toponyms—S u r i k e n village, S u r i t i, S u r i k, S u r k e bog (Apr. 177)—which are likewise associated with the aforementioned Lithuanian and Latvian adjectives expressing the semantics of salty taste (Apr. 177; Daubaras 1990, 105), although the corresponding appellative has not survived in Old Prussian (but cf. the Old Prussian noun suris “cheese,” Mažiulis 1981, 314).

There are many hydronyms in Latvia derived from lexemes expressing the semantics of sweet taste—from the Latvian adjectives salds “süss” ME III 669, saldens “the same,” and the inflected forms saldans, saldins, saldains ME III 668: Sald-dzījums deep spot in Lake Engure, Mērs U IV 207; Sald-upe River, Zau, 1969; Saldanijs spring² (dialect form), Dag, 1962; Saldanais² bay in Akn (the inlet of the Radzupe), U V

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277 village. Soldenais pūranė (dialect form), pond, Dign U V 326. This root can apparently also be identified in Latvian hydronyms such as Saldus² lake, Broc E II 90; Saldus² River, Sald, 1953, which are associated with the name of the town Saldus²* ME III 670. In addition, there are further Latvian toponyms derived from this adjective: Saldais² farmstead, Ruc E II 45; Saldais purvs bog, Beļ, 1956; Saldā pļava meadow, Ezern, 1979; Saldže village, Dag, 1972; Saldacnie village, Kārsav E II 178, and others.

This root is also frequent in Lithuanian hydronyms—Saldus River, Saldeikis River, Saldi-upis River, Salduškis Lake (EŽ 288)—and in oikonyms and microtoponyms—Salda field, Sal-d-krūvė slope, Saldė farmstead, Saldenis bog, Saldynė lake, etc. (EŽ 288); Saldėnė village; Saldiūtiškis village (Ladms. 270).

It should be added that Lithuanian gėlas vanduo means = Latvian saldūdens² “süsses (nicht salziges) Wasser” ME III 670. Thus, semantically, Latvian hydronyms with sald- may also be compared with Lithuanian hydronyms Gėlys Lake, Gėlà River, Gėlainis Lake, Gėliškė River, Gėluotas Lake, Gėlūžis Lake, Gėl-upis River, Gel-upis River, and Lithuanian gėlas, gėlas “without salt, without acidity, fresh, sweet” LKŽ III 209 (EŽ III; differently, Savukynas 1966, 188). Thus, Latvian hydronyms with the root sald- could partly be regarded as antonyms of hydronyms with the roots sal- and sūr-.

No hydronyms with sald- or gėl- have survived in Old Prussian, and no appellatives with this semantic feature have been recorded either.

The relationship between adjectives expressing taste semantics in Latvian and Lithuanian is distinctive: Lithuanian rūgštùs means = Latvian skābs, while Lithuanian kartùs means = Latvian rūgts.

Only one Latvian hydronym is derived from the adjective skābs “sauer (sour)” ME III 878: Skābais dīķis pond, Sēļ, 1952. However, mention should also be made here of water names of nominal origin: Skāb²-upe River, Aizp E II 163: skābe “die Säure (acid)” ME III 878; Skābuma baļļa spring, M-sal, 1965, and = Veļa skābuma baļļiņa spring, M-sal, 1952: skābums “die Säure” ME III 878. This root is common in other Latvian place names as well, for example: Skābā² meadow, Cīr, 1958; Skābais kalns hill, Beļ, 1960; Skābā² bog, Nīzemju U IV 65; Skābie farmstead, Pals E I 81; Skābiņi² farmstead, Bēn E II 131, and others.

Only one lake name with this semantic feature has been recorded in Lithuania, Rūkštýs: Lithuanian rūgštùs (EŽ 284), and several microtoponyms—Rūkštýs meadow, Rūkšt-pjaunis meadow (EŽ 284)—and oikonyms—Rūgšteliškis village (Ladms. 267).

* E. Blese tends to associate Latvian place names with the root sald- with Norwegian dialectal sylt “low-lying seashore inundated at high tide, small salt marsh,” and proposes that Latvian saldus may once have meant “low, marshy place, bare gray area” (Blese 1933, 111—113). However, A. Vanagas correctly points out that such a reconstruction would fit the root sal-, but may have nothing to do with toponyms containing the root sald-. It is difficult to say which Lithuanian and Latvian place names with sald- may have preserved the older meaning of this root (more precisely, the root sal-), and which are somewhat later Baltic formations associated with Lithuanian saldùs and Latvian salds (EŽ 288—289). It seems that most Lithuanian and Latvian toponyms can be derived directly from Lithuanian saldùs and Latvian salds (Endzelīns 1933, 157—158; EŽ 289).

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Lithuanian hydronyms with this semantic value also include water names such as Spālēs Lake: Lithuanian spalhis “sour” (EŽ 310) and Škob-upis River.<(?) *Skob-upis: Latvian skābs “sour” (EŽ 333) (Vanagas 1981, 117).

The place names Ructiten and Roctiten are recorded in Prussian; they may preserve the root of the Prussian adjective rukthan “sauer” (Apr. 145–146). No Prussian hydronyms with this root have survived.

The root of the Latvian adjective rūgta “bitter, herb (bitter)” ME III 568 has been observed in the name of only one Latvian lake—Rūgtens Krās E II 168: Latvian rūgtens “etwas bitter, bitterlich (somewhat bitter, slightly sour)” ME III 568. This root is rare in Latvian toponymy; only a few place names are found, all recorded in Latgale: Rūgtais kalna hill Bel 1965, Rūgtens lake Krās 1957, etc. This semantic field in Latvia (more precisely, in Latvian hydronymy) is apparently represented by the second meaning of the previously mentioned adjective sūrs, “bitter” (see s. v. sūrs).

Lithuania has many potamonyms with this semantic value: Karč-upis, Karč-upys, Kārt-upis, Kart-upis, Kartenalė, etc.: Lithuanian kartùs LKŽ V 347 (EŽ 147, 148; Vanagas 1981, 117); there are also numerous oikonyms, most of which are of hydronymic origin: Karč-upis village, Karč-upys village, Karč-rūdė village (Ladms. 123), Kart-upėnai village, Kartena town, etc. (Ladms. 125).

Although the Prussian adjective for taste semantics pr. kārtai “bitter” is known (Mažiulis 1981, 278), no Prussian place names derived from this lexeme have survived.

Besides the taste adjectives sōls, sūrs, salds, saldēns, skābs, rūgts already analyzed, Latvian also uses ass “sharp, biting,” kuōdīgs “pungent,” plekans “insipid, fresh,” sājš “insipid, tasteless,” sal̄kans “slightly salty, somewhat sweet,” sīvs “sharp, acrid; bitter,” skāns “somewhat sour, slightly sour, tart,” šķebīgs “nauseating, sickening,” and šķēms “tart, acrid.” However, no roots of these adjectives have been recorded in Latvian hydronyms (perhaps the adjective sīvs is of uncertain formation in the potamonym Sīvēkste Lubn p; compare another Latvian river name—Aiviekste² E I 115).

In Lithuanian hydronymy, in addition to the Lithuanian adjectives mentioned above, derivatives of the taste adjectives aižus, aitrūs, gailūs, gaižūs, gorius, and laiskūs have also been recorded (Vanagas 1981, 117).

A quantitative comparison of hydronyms in the separate subgroups of quality semantics shows that in both Latvian and Lithuanian, hydronyms with color semantics are more numerous than those with taste semantics; there are even fewer water names with semantics relating to water clarity, cleanliness, temperature, and so on.

ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations of settlement names

Adul — Aduliena (Gulbenes raj.)

Aiv — Aiviekste (Jekabpilio raj.)

Aizp — Aizpute (Liepājas raj.)

Akn — Aknysta (Jekabpilio raj.)

Anc — Ance (Ventspilio raj.)

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Annen — Anenieki (Duobelēs raj.)

Bel — Beliava (Gulbenes raj.)

Bēn — Bēnē (Duobelēs raj.)

Broc — Bruocenai (Saldaus raj.)

Cīr — Cyrava (Liepōjos raj.)

Dag — Dagda (Kraslavas raj.)

Dign — Dignaja (Jekabpilio raj.)

Dob — Duobele (Duobelēs raj.)

Dund — Dundaga (Talsu raj.)

Durb — Durbē (Liepāja District)

Eng — Engurē (Tukums District)

Ezern — Ezernieki (Dagda District)

Gav — Gavieze (Liepāja District)

Gram — Gramzda (Liepāja District)

Graš — Grašiai (Madona District)

Griķ — Griķiai (Kuldīga District)

J-laic — Jaunlaicene (Alūksne District)

Kalu — Kalupe (Daugavpils District)

Kārs — Kārsava (Kārsava District)

Krās — Kraslava (Kraslava District)

Kul — Kuldīga (Kuldīga District)

Kurmā — Kurmale (Kuldīga District)

Lim — Limbaži (Limbaži District)

L-str — Lielstraupe (Cēsis District)

Lubn — Lubāna (Madona District)

Lubez — Lubezēre (Talsi District)

Mērs — Mersrags (Talsi District)

M-sal — Mazsalaca (Valmiera District)

Pals — Palsmane (Valka District)

Pērk — Perkuone (Liepāja District)

Plan — Planyca (Kuldīga District)

Poc — Puociemas (Limbaži District)

Priekļ — Priekule (Liepāja District)

Priekļ — Priekuliai (Cēsis District)

Rop — Ruopāži (Riga District)

Ruc — Rucava (Liepāja District)

Rug — Rugāji (Balvi District)

Sald — Saldus (Saldus District)

Sark — Sarkanmuiža (Ventspils District)

Sēl — Sēliai (Valmiera District)

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Skan — Skankalnė (Valmiera District) Skriv — Skryveriai (Ogre District) Smil — Smiltenė (Valka District) Snėp — Snėpelė (Kuldīga District) Str — Straupė (Cēsis District) Strut — Strutelė (Tukums District) V-au — Vecauce (Dobele District) Viesn — Viesiena (Madona District) Zau — Zaubė (Cēsis District) Zebr — Zebrenė (Dobele District) Ziemu — Ziemupė (Liepāja District)

Other Abbreviations

soil — soil; est. — Estonian; lake — lake; pasture — pasture; bay — bay; k — corrected, clarified; village — village; road — road; hill — hill; field — field; Latvian — Latvian; Livonian — Livonian; Lithuanian — Lithuanian; see — see

townlet — small town; p — supplementary material; surname — surname; cf. — compare; Prussian — Prussian; meadow — meadow; bog — bog; s. v. — under the word; source — source; dialect — dialect form; bridge — bridge; pond — pond; river — river; stream — stream

+ — before the name of an object type (+pond) indicates that the object no longer existed; 1956...1978 — years following a hydronym indicate the time of the expedition; ∧², \² — matching intonations

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS¹

Apr. — Gerullis G. Die altpreussischen Ortsnamen. Berlin—Leipzig, 1922.

Balode 1983 — Balode L. The adjective in the formation of names of lakes in the Latvian SSR. // LPSR ZA Vēstis, 1983. No. 1. pp. 25–34.

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Blese 1933 — Blese E. Some thoughts on the names Liepāja and Saldus. — Filologu biedrības raksti. Riga, 1933. Vol. 13. pp. 108–113.

Būga RR — Būga K. Selected Works. Vilnius, 1958–1961. Vols. 1–3.

Daubaras 1990 — Daubaras F. Prussian Hydronymy. Dissertation submitted for the degree of Candidate of Philological Sciences. Vilnius, 1990.

Endzelin 1934 — Endzelin J. The water names of Latvia. Zeitschrift für slavische Philologie. Wiesbaden, 1934. Vol. II. Issue 12. pp. 112–150.

E I—II — Endzelīns J. Place Names of Latvia. Part I: Names of Vidzeme. Riga, 1922; Part II: Names of Kurzeme and Latgale. Riga, 1925.

Endzelīns 1933 — Notes on the names Liepāja and Saldus // Filologu biedrības raksti. Riga, 1933. Vol. 13. pp. 157–158.

EŽ — Vanagas A. Lietuvių hidronimų etimologinis žodynas. V., 1981.

FBR XII — Hauzenberga E. What do place names contribute to Latvian phonetics? // Filologu biedrības raksti. Riga, 1932. Vol. 12. pp. 115–148.

Kett — Kettunen L. Livisches Wörterbuch mit grammatischer Einleitung. Helsinki, 1938.

Konv. I—XXII — Latvian Encyclopedic Dictionary. Riga, 1927–1940. Vols. 1–22.

Ladms. — Lietuvos TSR administracinio-teritorinio suskirstymo žinynas. V., 1976. T. 2.

LKŽ — Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language. Vilnius, 1968–1988. Vols. 1–14.

Mažulis 1981 — Mažiulis V. Prūsų kalbos paminklai. V., 1981. T. 2.

ME I—IV — Mühlenbach K. Latviešu valodas vārdnīca // Redigējis, papildinājis, turpinājis J. Endzelīns. Rīga, 1923—1932, S. 1.—4.

Savukynas 1966 — Savukynas B. Lake Names. // Issues in Lithuanian Linguistics, Vol. 8: The Development of Lithuanian Lexicon. V., 1966. P. 183—194.

Ū IV—V — Plāķis J. Latvian Place Names and Latvian Surnames. Part 1: Courland Names. // University of Latvia Papers. Philology and Philosophy Series. Riga, 1936. P. 4; Part 2: Semigallia Names. // University of Latvia Papers. Philology and Philosophy Series. Riga, 1937. P. 5. 213.—528.

Vanagas 1981 — Vanagas A. The Semantics of Lithuanian Hydronyms // Issues in Lithuanian Linguistics. Vol. 21: Studies in Lithuanian Onomastics. V., 1981. P. 4—154.

Wied. — Wiedemann F. J. Estnisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. St.Petersburg, 1869 (Tallinn, 1973).

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HYDRONYMS OF TASTE SEMANTICS IN LATVIA

Summary

Hydronyms denoting salty taste are the most widespread hydronyms of this type in Latvia: about 16 names derived from the Latvian adjective sāļš “salty” and the Latvian nouns sāls “salt”, sālījums, and sāļums “brine”. Approximately the same number of such hydronyms is also recorded in Lithuania.

Another Latv. adjective sūrs “1. salty” is wellknown in Latvian dialects (cf. potamonyms Sūra, Sāru pīte), but it also has a meaning “bitter; sour”. In the area of finno-ugric influence, such toponyms might be derived from Liv. sūr, Est. sär “big, large”. One hydronym with this root — Sure — has been registrated in Prussian, too.

There is a rather large number of hydronyms of sweet taste in Latvia. These hydronyms might be compared with hydronyms of the same Lith. root Sald- and another root Gėl: Lith. adj. gėlas [vanduō]=Lat. saldūdens “fresh water”.

Strange relations might be mentioned between Lith. rūgštìs = Latv. skābs “sour”, Lith. kartùs = Latv. rūgts “bitter”.

The Latvian adjective skābs is mentioned in only one hydronym—Skābais dīķis—but there are several more hydronyms of nominal origin—Skābji-upē, Skābuma baļļa, etc. There is also only one lake name, Rukštys, in Lithuania.

Latv. root rūgts “bitter” is mentioned only in one lake-name: Rūgtenis: adj. rūgtenš “rather bitter”. This semantic field in Latvian hydronymics evidently is taken up by the second meaning of Latv. adjective sūrs “2. bitter” — mentioned above.

Other Latvian taste adjectives (such as ass, kuodīgs, plekans, sājš, salkans, siuvs, skāņš, ėkebas, ījērns) are not mentioned as sources for Latvian hydronyms.

Maybe the hydronyms of taste semantics are very ancient, their semantics is one of the most hydronymical. But if we compare this group with another hydronyms of water quality semantics, one must note, that the group of taste semantics is more numerous than, for example, the group of colour semantics.

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