compounded with' A sta ; Iluria, Uria, Verurium; from ura|
and bi, two, Urbiaca, Urbina, II urbida, and many others»
4. From Iturria, fou n ta in , source,-we findIturissa, Turas,
Turiaso, Tunica, Turdetani, Turduli. Turiga, that is, destitute
o f springs, was a place, which according to Pliny^ had
another denomination, namely, Ucultuniacum. This town
was in the country occupied in part by1 Celtic tribes* of
Bseturia.
Ucultuniacum appears to be a Celtic name, and may be
rendered a lofty hill-town, which agrees well with the lberian
designation of Turiga.*
Other etymons existing in the Basque language may be
traced very extensively among the names of places in the
peninsula.. Terminations of local names, derived from the
old Iberian idiom, and frequent in various parts of Spain, are
those in “ uris, pa, tani, tania, gis, ula, ip p o /’f The? initial
syllables of similar names are very eómöfdnly “ al, ar, .as,
baë, bi, bar, bar, gal, ca.1, car, men, man*, ner, or, sal^zalf si^
tai, tu.” Some of these words are clearly significant in the present
Basque, and applicable as such to the,etymologytof^the
names of places to which they belongs the meaning of others
is lost, but they are known to be, of Iberian origin from their
frequent concurrence with the former, within the same .disci
tricts of Spain.- , Even the structiire of Euskarian names
bears with it a character which can be recognised Ü the^form
of syllables, and the orthography of these wófdgÉ is peculiar
and easy to be rècognised in the great aggregate o f original
Spanish names.
The prevalence of topographical names significant in the
Euskarian language, and evidently derived from it, being thus
clearly established through nearly the whole peninsula, it be-
* Pliny remarks on Ucultuniacum, “ quae et Turiga nunc est.” (Hist. Nat. i»
139. 17.) Uchel-dun, is Old Welsh*; a dialectic difference,'* of, a different pro-
nunciationimight produce Uxellodunum.
T This last termination isderived by Gesenius with, perhaps, greater pro0ft^.fiy^
from the Phoenician. Besippo he derives from Igj* DO, « It is the more likely
to be a Phoenician ending, since it occurs in Africa. A few other Spanish names
of places are also derived byGesenius from the Phoenician or Hebrew, as Hispalisj
Castalo, &c. See Gesenius, Scripture? Linguasque Phoenicese Monuments, i;
p. 340.
Comes a safe inference that this; language had formerly a similar
extension, and consequently that it can be no other than the
old Iberian speech, the idiom spoken by the native people of
Spaing tin times anterior .to f the Roman, and even to the
.Carthaginian t conquests' in that »country. A confirmation of
thisi opinion is obtained likewise.: the names of
plUjCOSAn Aquitaine, and on th%,.s,0Jathem,coasts ,pf France*
There, as we learn from many ancient writers, the people belonged
to the Iberian ^ac^iwbile ’ thp:. maritime tracts on thp
Medi>ter,rane,an,</we>refhe oourrtry^as jye.haye^seen,.first' termed
Iberia ; in the interior, towards the Pyrenees, Bayonne, and Stv
J#an de Luz„- the Basque- language still .exists. /If; has been
clearly proved,»-by M.. de^HumboIdf;, th a t th ^ o p a l , names
through a ll these .countries, .ar©i§imitor to. the. names of places
^euringtinif«theSpanish,ppniti^ula., .
-i .-Another s.qri’e^qil^pb^ryatipnsj-regard s , the^inte r m ixture
qf Euskarian ^names^pr their dispersion, r,through districts-
wheregof^gpiareial^q recpgni§§dt#fyU veryfdidereuit, class;,
I allude/to names, which have. been, proved' and acknowledged
to A^gin^ It is^$elL known^b^t ^several parts. of
Spain inhabited by Celtic, tribes, and that thr.©|ajgh^a
gfcat portion, of, the interior>};p ^ theq p ep in ^ u l'||^ d ti^ tp^p.p]^
had blended -with^bpr^s^fprmmg^ ^ ^ fie ltib e ria n
patjpns,syy|^were th© most, consider^-p and powerful clans
in i§Faj,n- .KqjYi the region;* of„_Spainf(through whirfljkCeltic
names ar,e»d o persed.ln conj unction witjte those^f-,Euskarian
origin, comprehend^raccprding to Humbpldt, all district^
where Celtic.tribes are placed by *,tkp ancient; historians. It
Ife likewise more .extgnsif^ and embragpsiKspme, n^gl^ojurlng
portions of thpipeninsula,. whence thpre^is.reason, f;p^cOnelude
that the,Celtic, influence had »prevailed , mgre^wideiysJ In earlier
tiroes than during those in whiqh Spain became known to the
Romans, or, at least, than the; R^ttt^. Writers .appear to have
been aware. These last' remariesrequirei somel ^theirjiilus-
trntiqn.,-,,
.Certain local names are known, to^belqng to the Celtic
parts of Gaul, and many of them also, to be traced
in ^ b e r. counfrie^jqhabited rape,‘ap in Britain,
and ..the- northern .parts -.pf^Italy.; these names