|
(/e:rə/; ) is Irish for "Ireland", the name of an island and a sovereign state. == Etymology == The modern Irish ''Éire'' evolved from the Old Irish word ''Ériu'', which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. ''Ériu'' is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land. The origin of ''Ériu'' has been traced to the Proto-Celtic reconstruction *''Φīwerjon-'' (nominative singular ''Φīwerjū'' < Pre-Proto-Celtic ''-jō'').〔(Proto-Celtic—English lexicon )〕 This suggests a descent from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction *''piHwerjon-'', likely related to the adjectival stem *''piHwer-'' (cf. Sanskrit ''pīvan'', ''pīvarī'' and ''pīvara'' meaning "fat, full, abounding"). This would suggest a meaning of "abundant land". This Proto-Celtic form became ''Īweriū'' or ''Īveriū'' in Proto-Goidelic.〔Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture.'' London: Fitzroy Dearborn Pub., 1997, p. 194〕 It is highly likely that explorers borrowed and modified this term. During his exploration of northwest Europe (circa 320 BC), Pytheas of Massilia called the island ''Ierne'' (written ). In his book ''Geographia'' (circa 150 AD), Claudius Ptolemaeus called the island ''Iouernia'' (written ). Based on these historical accounts, the Roman Empire called the island ''Hibernia''. Thus, the evolution of the word would follow as such: *Proto-Celtic *''Φīwerjon-'' (nominative singular *''Φīwerjū'') * *Proto-Goidelic *''Īweriū'' or *''Īveriū'' * * *Old Irish ''Ériu'' * * * *Modern Irish ''Éire'' A 19th century proposal, which does not follow modern standards of etymology, derives the name from Scottish Gaelic: * ''ì'' (island) + ''thairr'' (west) + ''fónn'' (land), which together give ''ì-iar-fhónn'', or "westland isle" This is similar in meaning to the Norse name for Irish people, "west men", which subsequently gave its name to the Icelandic island of Vestmannaeyjar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Éire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|