Onomastic structures in the hydronymy of the 11th century
Abstract
This study presents the results of an onomastic structural analysis of 11th-century hydronyms. The research had two main objectives: first, to compile a dataset of hydronyms that, based on present scholarly knowledge, can plausibly be attributed to the 11th century: and second, to provide a comprehensive overview of the structural characteristics of the earliest stratum of hydronymy in the Carpathian Basin. The analysis draws extensively on the results of the past fifteen years of historical linguistic research, particularly on the re-evaluation of early written sources containing fragmentary name material. The dataset comprises approximately 140 hydronyms which have been examined according to referent type (major, medium and small rivers; wells; lakes; fishponds; marshes). This categorization reflects the fact that the structural (morphological) and functional (semantic) formation of name units differs according to the referent type, following naming patterns characteristic of each group. The interpretation of the earliest sporadic sources is fraught with uncertainty, making precise statistical analysis virtually impossible. Nonetheless, even approximate distributions may reveal relevant insights into the Carpathian Basin’s early hydronymic structure.
