What Place Names Tell us about our Ancestors’ Relations to Trees

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68378092%3A_____%2F25%3A00645842" target="_blank" >RIV/68378092:_____/25:00645842 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://mnytud.arts.unideb.hu/onomural/kotetek/ou19/11Zirhutova.pdf" target="_blank" >https://mnytud.arts.unideb.hu/onomural/kotetek/ou19/11Zirhutova.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

What Place Names Tell us about our Ancestors’ Relations to Trees

Original language description

The aim of this paper is to explore what information place names can give us about our ancestors’ relations to trees. The research is based on a corpus of more than 10,000 tree-motivated non-settlement names from Bohemia (the western half of the Czech Republic). Three categories have been established, covering the areas to which the names are most often related: (1) everyday life: the use of trees for orientation, identification of places and marking property boundaries, trees planted at crossroads and along roads (Za břízama ‘Behind the birch trees’), (2) spiritual life: trees planted near Christian wayside shrines, pictures of saints hanging on trees (U kříže pod kaštanem ‘By the cross under the horse chestnut tree’), (3) commemoration of events and anniversaries: tree-related tragic events and legends, planting of memorial trees (U Hamplova dubu ‘By Hampl’s oak’, a forest-name related to a person who died after falling from the oak). Finally, the issue of diminutives is discussed, suggesting that they have often been used in the names to express the name-giver’s positive emotions towards a particular tree. The research confirms that trees had great relevance for our ancestors since they were related to many aspects of their lives, ranging from everyday matters to events of historical significance.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_ost - Miscellaneous article in a specialist periodical

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60203 - Linguistics

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Onomastica Uralica

ISSN

1586-3719

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

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Issue of the periodical within the volume

19

Country of publishing house

HU - HUNGARY

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

147-158

UT code for WoS article

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EID of the result in the Scopus database

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