THE ORIGIN OF ENGLISH NAMES.

PLAYING WITH ENGLISH.

When researching the Ogam script, I described how whole sentences were condensed into single words and names, by being encoded with the use of the vowel-interlocking formula. About half of the Basque language is made up of words starting with vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV or VCCV) and it is this half which is mostly used in the assembly of English vocabulary, the same as was done for Sanskrit and Latin. This formula used the first vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) of every Saharan/Basque word, which then were aligned as VCV1-V1CV2-V2CV3 and agglutinated into VCVCVCV. Many vowels and some "h's" of the resulting agglutination were then removed according to a pre-determined plan, to create English-looking or English-sounding words. The main assigned characteristic of the English language is that the traditional Latin pronounciation of the letters was abandoned and replaced by a different alphabet pronounciation. In the following examples the removed letters are shown as dots. Sometimes both vowels were eliminated from one VCV but the consonants (except some "h's") always remained. To read up on the decoding process and the vowel-interlocking feature, please see the Ogam page. The language used to translate the names and words, as before, is Basque.

THE WORDS WE SPEAK.

Most of the words in the English language were made up by the Benedictines and grammarians in their scriptoria, some later evolved from the words these linguists invented. The monks did the word construction mostly by writing a short sentence describing the subject in Basque. In some cases they used wisecracks or jokes, even crude remarks and personal feelings. They also borrowed and exchanged words made up by linguists in France, Holland, Germany and Italy, often altering the available words to give them an "English" touch, e.g. French 'famille' became 'family'. Latin was invented in exactly the same manner, using the same rules as for English, as the name "Latin" indicates: .la-ati-in or ela-ati-indar: ela (word) atxiki (to memorize) indaregin (make an effort): "make an effort to memorize the words". To introduce the new subject of English word translations, here follow a few which clearly demonstrate the care, creativity and often joy, which went into composing them.

doctor: .do-ok.-.to-or.
.do	odo	odoldun		bloody
ok.	oke	okerkeria	injury
.to	eto	etorri 		come!
or.	ora	orain		right now
A bloody injury, come right now!
Parliament: .pa-ar.-.li-i.a-ame-ent.
.pa	apa	aparteko	special 
ar.	-ari	-ari		cause
.li	ili	ilinti		fiery
i.a	iha	ihardukitze	arguing, oratory
ame	ame	ameslari	idealistic
ent.	ent	entzungarri	worthy of being heard
Fiery and idealistic oratory for a special cause is worthy of being heard.
Hansard: .ha-an.-.sa-ard.
.ha	aha	ahalegin	attempt
an.	ane	anega 		measure
.sa	esa	esan		to narrate
ard.	ardu	arduratu	to take responsibility for
An attempt to take a measure of responsibility for the narration.
library: .li-ib.-.ra-ari
.li	eli	elizdiru	religious duty
ib.	ibi	ibili		to acquire
.ra	ira	irakaskuntza	education
ari	ari	arrigarri	marvellous, admirable
It is your religious duty to acquire a marvelous education.
irrigate: ir.-.ri-iga-ate
ir.	ire	ireki		to open
.ri	eri	eriontegi	spillway
iga	iga	igartu		to wilt
ate	ate	atertu		to stop
Open the spillway to stop the wilting.
alcohol: al.-.ko-oho-ol.
al.	alu	alukeria 	repulsive behaviour
.ko	uko	ukoegin		to deny
oho	oho	ohoregabe	to dishonor
ol.	ol	olde		free will
Denying and repulsive behaviour dishonors the free will.
garlic: .ga-ar.-.li-ik.
.ga	ega	egakortasun	volatility, smell
ar.	ara	arranguratu	to complain
.li	ali	alienatu	destroys a person's composure
ik.	ika	ikaragarri	awful!
(People) complain that the smell destroys a person's composure. It's awful!
existence: (eksiztense) ek.-.si-izte-en.-.se
.ek	eka	ekarpen 	contribution
.si	asi	asierako	original
iste	izte	iztegi		vocabulary
ene	ene	ene		my
.se	ese	esentia		essence	
"The essence of my original vocabulary contributions".

SOME NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH ROYALTY.

I then decided to be adventurous and apply my newfound knowledge about the mysterious vowel-interlocking formula to some names associated with the British royal family. The choice of the name "Windsor" was straight luck; the result was startling. There appears to be no other reasonable interpretation.

Windsor: in.-.d.-.so-or.   (The W has no meaning)
in.	ino	inorenganatu		to bequeath
.d.	odo	odolgarbitasun		nobility
.so	oso	osoro			thorough
or.	oro	orotar			united
Bequeath a thoroughly united nobility.

The British royal family took on the name Windsor early in this century. It is fair to say that they must have known exactly what they were doing. The family has long been involved with the pre-history and Ogam script of Scotland. Queen Victoria herself financed the publishing of a voluminous book on very early Scottish inscriptions, entitled "The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland" (J.R. Allen ), many of which were not Christian at all but belonged to the previous (Asherah) religion of the Picts. I decided to probe a bit deeper by analyzing other names associated with British royalty: 

Buckingham: .bu-uki-ing.-.ha-am.
.bu	abu	aburukide		agreement
uki	uki	ukitu			to touch, to affect
ing.	ingi	ingira			disposition, formation
.ha	iha	ihardunak 		activities
am.	ami	aministratu		government
The agreement affects the formation and activities of the government.
This "agreement" probably refers to the signing of Magna Carta. 
Balmoral: .ba-al.-.mo-ora-al.
.ba	eba	ebanjelari		evangelist
al.	ala	alai			happiness
.mo	amo	amodiotsu		loving
ora	ora	oraingoan 		occasion
al.	ala	alaitsu			joyous
The evangelist's happiness made this a loving and joyous occasion.
Carnarvon: .ka-ar.-.na-ar.-.bo-on.
.ka	aka	akabu 			end
ar.	ara	aratustel		corruption
.na	ana	anaibateko		unanimous
ar.	ara	araberatasun		agreement
.bo	abo	abonau			to approve of
on.	one	onetsi			to bless
Corruption was ended when the unanimous approval of the agreement was blessed.
This is another sentence which refers to Magna Carta. 
Kensington: .ke-en.-.si-ing.-.to-on.
.ke	ike	ikertu			to investigate, to re-visit
en.	ene	-enetan 		each time
.si	esi	esiketa			siege
ing.	ingi	ingiratu		to be disgusted
.to	ito	itotasun		anguish
on.	ona	onargaitz		intolerable
Each time they re-visit that repugnant siege (it causes) intolerable anguish.

SOME COMMON ENGLISH NAMES

The above unexpected success in my search for the origin of English names was encouraging so I started to analyse other well known and true English names. Here are a few:

Osborne: os.-.bo-or.-.ne
os.	osa	osatasun		integrity
.bo	abo	abogado			lawyer
or.	oro	orokorki		universally
.ne	one	onetsi			esteemed
The integrity of a lawyer is universally esteemed.
Sebastian: .se-eba-asti-an.
.se	ase	aserre			dispute
eba	eba	ebazle			judge
asti	azti	aztiatu 		to anticipate
an.	ana	anaitze			reconciliation
Dispute judge who anticipates reconciliation.
Buchanan: .bu-uka-ana-an.
.bu	abu	aburu 			opinion
uka	uka	ukatu 			to refuse
ana	ana	anaikidetasun 		brotherhood
an	andi	andikeria		arrogance
He refused to give an opinion about the arrogance of the brotherhood.
Hamilton, .ha-ami-il.-.to-on.
.ha	aha	ahal			I hope
ami	ami	amildu			to oust, to overcome
il.	ilo	ilordu 			agony
.to	oto	otoitz 			prayer
on.	one	oneratsu		pious
I hope to overcome the agony through pious prayer.

One of the best known sea captains of the age of exploration was Henry Hudson. From the meaning of his name it appears that he acquired the name Hudson during or after one of his arctic voyages. Hudson Bay and the Hudson River were named after him.

Hudson, .hu-ud.-.so-on.
.hu	uhu	uhui			cry of happiness, joy
ud.	udi	udikan			to get out
.so	iso	isolamendu		isolation
on.	ona	onargaitz		intolerable, hostile
He cried for joy to get out of the hostile isolation.
Ogden, og.-.de-en.
og.	oga	ogaki			richly
.de	ade	adelatu			adorned
en.	ene	-enetan			always
Always richly adorned.
Purvis, .pu-ur.-.bi-is.
.pu	ipu	ipuin			gospel
ur.	uri	urrikaltasun 		mercy
.bi	ibi	ibili			to be
is.	isu	isurika			inspiration
Let the Gospel's mercy be an inspiration.
Molson, .mo-ol.-.so-on.
.mo	amo	amona			grandmother
ol.	ole	oles egin		to call upon
.so	eso	esonde			advice
on.	onu	onuts			very kind
Call upon grandmother for very kind advice.
Gibson, .gi-ib.-.so-on.
.gi	agi	agian			I wish
ib.	ibe	ibeni			to introduce, to give
.so	eso	esonde			advice
on.	one	oneratu			beneficial
I wish to give beneficial advice.
Compton, .ko-om.-.p.-.to-on.
.ko	ako	akorduan euki		to remember
om.	ome	omendatu		to honor
.p.	epe	epemuga			deadline
.to	eto	etorkizuneko		upcoming
on.	one	ondar			final
Remember to honor the upcoming final deadline.
Collier, .ko-ol.-.li-i.e-er.
.ko	ako	akorduan euki		to remember
oli	oli	olibolio		olive oil
i.e	ihe	ihesi			to prevent
er.	eri	eri			illness
Remember that olive oil prevents illness.

A geographical name which became a household name is Trafalgar, where Nelson fought the sea-battle of 1805 and defeated Napoleon's fleet. The name must have been made up specifically for this occasion:

Trafalgar: .t.-.ra-afa-alga-ar.
.t.	ate	atertu			to stop
.ra	era	erasan			attack
afa	afa	afa			happy
alga	alga	algara			loud laughter
ar.	ari	arinaldi		fast run
We stopped the attack (amid) happy and loud laughter when they ran away fast.

I can go on and on to show that most, if not all, British names are made up out of Basque, although not all were assembled with the Ogam formula, such as "Campbell," from kam-bel: kamaina (improvised bed) bela (sails): "They slept on sails"; or "Stewart," from stu-art.: asturu (fortune) arti (sheep): "A fortune in sheep." The linguists who created most of these names were dedicated professionals of the highest caliber and they did a marvellous job. Who they were and where they worked will be discussed in another web-page. For now it is more important to show how basic the Basque language is to all aspects of English; it may be said that the English language is close to 100% manipulated Basque. By now the reader will have understood that there is nothing "genetic" about the English language. It didn't evolve naturally from any other language; it was almost totally home-invented and had absolutely nothing to do with the Anglo-Saxons, Friesians, Celts, Vikings or whatever ruffians happened to drift in from the continent.

SHAKESPEARE KNEW THE VOWEL INTERLOCKING FORMULA.

In "Love's Labour's Lost" Shakespeare presents us with a Latin sounding riddle: honorificabilitudinitatibus (Act V, i, 39). Up to now it has frustrated all efforts to decode it. This is supposed to be the longest "Latin" word in the dictionary, but where did this "Latin" word come from? Probably not from Latin! The fact that he used this word tells me that he knew about the Benedictines' operational manual, the "Auraicept" in which it is mentioned at least twice. It is likely that the "word" was made up in Ireland by one of the Benedictine grammarians. In line 1438 the word starts with tinerifica while the version in line 1741 is tenerifica. Let us first apply the Ogam formula to Shakespeare's version and see what happens:

honorificabilitudinitatibus:
.ho	ahogoza			delicious
ono	onon 			exquisite
ori	orrits			banquet
ifi	ibili			to go
ika	ikaskai			lesson
abi	abiatu			to begin
ili	ilinti			fiery preacher
itu	itundu			to be advised
udi	udikan 			to get out, to go away
ini	initz,ainitz		many
ita	itaun			question
ati	atxiki			to retain
ibu	aburu?			opinion
us.	usutu			often expressed
Going to the delicious and exquisite banquet was the lesson the fiery preacher began with. I was 
advised to go away with my many questions and retained my often expressed opinion.

The 800 or 900 year older version in the Auraicept has two slightly different spellings and translations: (line 1741), starting with  .te-ene-eri-ifi-ika: ateots (knock on the door) ene (come to me) eritasun (heavily laden) which therefore reads: "Knock on the door, come to me those who are heavily laden; this was the lesson...etc.". Version line 1438 reads: .ti-ine-eri-ifi-ika: atikitzaile (faithful) inertzia (downtrodden) eritasun (heavily laden) and therefore reads: "faithful but downtrodden and heavily laden; this was the lesson....etc."

This made me wonder if there was anything special hidden in Shakespeare's name and there was: 

Shakespeare, she-ek.-.spi-ir. (pron: shay-ayk-spee-eer)
she	she	shedatu			to decide
ek.	eka	ekandu 			to get used to
.spi	azpi	azpiko			protective cover, pseudonym
ir.	ira	irakatsi		to teach
(ir.)	(ira)	(irauli?)		(to translate)?
I decided to get used to teaching (translating?) under a pseudonym.

The reason why none of the six known signatures of the great man were spelled the same must be because the basic sounds of "she-ek-spi-ir" were more important than the accurate spelling of his English "name."

BASQUE WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Many common English words can be recognized as belonging to the pre-Christian language. Most of them were maintained with only minor change in meaning:

English: 						Derived from:

acid			azido (acid)
ankle			anka (foot)
better			beterik (full)
boss			boz (voice)
bulk			bulka (to force, to push)
busy			bizi(to make a living)
camp			canpo (outdoors)
cane			ka'in (diviner's rod) 
celebrity		shelebre (funny)
chisel			zizel (chisel)
coy			-koi (tendency, trait of character) (suffix)
damn			damu (remorse)
fault			falta (error)
fleet			flota (flotilla)
gate			gate (chain)
goose			guztien (common) 
gory			gorri (terrible)
to guide		gidatu (to guide)
harpoon			arpo (harpoon)
honest			oneste (act of blessing)
hurry			hurre (come closer)
impression		inpresio (impression)
to inaugurate		inauguratu (to inaugurate)
innocent		inuzente (stupid)
kitsch			kitz (agitated)
to lag			laga (to leave behind)
licking			likin (sticky)
mad			madarikatu (to curse, to swear),
man			manatu (giving orders, to decide)
market			merkatu (market)
mask			maskara (mask)
moron			morroin (servant)
nigger			nigar (crying)	
ok			oka (plentiful, enough)
pan			panin (water, clean) 
pauze			pauza (pauze)
perch			pertxa (perch)
pirate			pairatu (to suffer)
posh			panposha (gracious, charming) 
purge			purga (to purge)
quay			kai (dock, pier)
race (people)		arraz (race)
raw			arau (discipline)	
to risk			arrisku (to risk)
to root			errotu (to take root)
sack, satchel		sakela (pocket)
sail			zail (difficult)
scratch			karrask (scrape)
sense			zentzu (common sense)
shallop			txalupa (launch, small boat)
sole			zola (sole of shoe)
soppy			sopi (soaking)
star			izar (star)
sudden			sudun (ardent, heated)
thorough		osoro (thorough)
usual			usu (usual)
to use			usatu (to use)
word			ord(ainbide) (promise)

ENGLISH IS AN INVENTED LANGUAGE.

It is clear that none of the English etymological dictionaries are doing justice to the tremendous language creation efforts of the Benedictine linguists, later continued by famous writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Tyndale. In fact, most of the modern word etymologies in our dictionaries appear to be guesswork or wishful thinking. The problem is that none of the languages which are presently assumed to be part of the Indo-European language "family" are genetically related i.e. not one of them evolved slowly over time from another. They were all invented by early linguists and forced onto a reluctant public by a determined and occasionally cruel church leadership.

A NEW ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY.

In my New English Etymological Dictionary I will show how a large number of English words were formulaically assembled by agglutinating the first syllables of Basque words, mostly with the vowel-interlocking formula.

In other articles, I point out that Dutch and German were also made up by the same group of monks who had earlier invented English and Gaelic. English words, originating at Benedictine scriptoria in Holland and Germany, will be discussed in the article on those languages.

To understand how the decoding and translating process works, the reader should familiarize him/herself with my Ogam discussion. There is little guesswork in these translations even though, to the uninitiated and casual observer, the process of building up a full word from one consonant appears impossible. The vowel-interlocking feature of the VCV vowel-interlocking formula is responsible for that but must be tried repeatedly to be understood. It does require common sense interpretation.

The missing vowels, represented by dots, will be revealed in the original Basque words which follow. Hyphens separate the hidden Basque words. I suppose this work could be called a contribution towards a Revised Etymological Dictionary for English.

Back to Edo Nyland's Homepage.