[ANSTHRLD] masculine German by-name: from Eifel
Maridonna
maridonna at maridonna.com
Sun Jun 25 15:47:26 PDT 2006
Hello,
I need some help figuring out if <Eifel> needs <von> or <von dem>.
Bahlow's placename book says:
Eifel, die gewässerreiche Berg- und Waldlandschaft zwischen
Mittelrhein, Mosel und den Ardennen, führt wie ihre Flüsse und Bäche
einen Namen aus vorgerm. Zeit, um 800 in pago Aflense, E(i)flens.
Babelfish came back with:
The Eifel, which leads waters-rich mountain and forest landscape
between central Rhine, Mosel and the Ardennen, like its rivers and
brooks a name out vorgerm. Time, around 800 in pago Aflense, E(i)flense.
Part of Encyclopædia Britannica Article says this:
Eifel plateau region of western Germany, lying between the Rhine,
the Mosel (French: Moselle), and the Luxembourg and Belgian
frontiers. Continuous with the Ardennes and the Hohes Venn (French:
Haute Fagnes) of Belgium, the German plateau falls into three
sections: Schneifel or Schnee-Eifel, Hocheifel, and Voreifel. In the
Schneifel (German: “Snow Eifel”), near the Belgian frontier, scrub
and forest are common, with cultivation only on the richer soils.
The Hocheifel (“High Eifel”), which includes the highest point in
the plateau, Hohe Acht (2,451 feet [747 m]), is a dissected highland
drained to the east by the Ahr River, which flows through a
vine-growing region. The Voreifel (“Fore-Eifel”) slopes south to the
Mosel, the tributaries of which dissect its smooth surface. Evidence
of volcanic action can be seen in the explosion craters and small
cones. Igneous rocks such as basalt, tuffs, and pumice are quarried
in the area.
*But*
Brechenmacher has s.nn. <Eifelmann> (1135), <Eif(f)ler> (1456), both
page 389.
So my question is is Eifel a placename/proper noun or a toponymic
(plateau)? I'm leaning towards the proper noun with use of <von>.
Is my reasoning correct?
--
Andrea / Maridonna
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