Interesting fact of the day, and a meditation on patronymics
So I just read that the term "bint", derogative British slang for a woman, similar in connotation to "bitch", is actually derived from an Arabic patronymic form. Just as "ibn" means "son of", so "bint" means "daughter of".
This got me thinking about patronymics in general, something I've had to deal with as I work with my genealogy. Below are the ones I'm familiar with, please add any you know:
Irish: Irish is particularly difficult because of the various contractions of patronymic phrases. At its most simple, you have "mac" as "son of", "nic" as "daughter of, "o'" as "grandson of" and "ni" as "granddaughter of".
Welsh: "Ap" for "son of" and "verch" for "daughter of"
Nordic: the Norse put their patronymics at the end of the name. "son" or "sen" means "son of" and "dóttir", "datter", "dotter" means "daughter of". There is also usually an extra 's' to form the possessive between the name and the patronymic, i.e. Olafsson ('son of Olaf') or Gunnarsdottir ('daughter of Gunnar').
Arabic: "ibn" for "son of" and "bint" for "daughter of". The Arabs also have a reverse patronymic, "abu" meaning "father of".
Norman: the Normans used "fitz", a version of the Latin "fils" to mean "son of". The patronymic still lives on particularly in Irish names, a carryover from the time that Ireland was dominated by the Normans. Among British nobility, however, the patronymic took on different connotation, in which "fitz" was used to indicate an illegitimate son who has been acknowledged by his father. This twisting of the patronymic convention led to the creation of the name "Fitzroy" which does not indicate the son of a man named Roy, but rather an (illegitimate) son of the King (roi in French).
Russian (and related Eastern European languages): various spellings of "-evich" for "son of" and "-ovna" for "daughter of" (like the Norse, these come at the end of the name).
Hebrew: "ben" for "son of" and "bat" for "daughter of"
So those are the ones I know. Any one know any others?
This got me thinking about patronymics in general, something I've had to deal with as I work with my genealogy. Below are the ones I'm familiar with, please add any you know:
Irish: Irish is particularly difficult because of the various contractions of patronymic phrases. At its most simple, you have "mac" as "son of", "nic" as "daughter of, "o'" as "grandson of" and "ni" as "granddaughter of".
Welsh: "Ap" for "son of" and "verch" for "daughter of"
Nordic: the Norse put their patronymics at the end of the name. "son" or "sen" means "son of" and "dóttir", "datter", "dotter" means "daughter of". There is also usually an extra 's' to form the possessive between the name and the patronymic, i.e. Olafsson ('son of Olaf') or Gunnarsdottir ('daughter of Gunnar').
Arabic: "ibn" for "son of" and "bint" for "daughter of". The Arabs also have a reverse patronymic, "abu" meaning "father of".
Norman: the Normans used "fitz", a version of the Latin "fils" to mean "son of". The patronymic still lives on particularly in Irish names, a carryover from the time that Ireland was dominated by the Normans. Among British nobility, however, the patronymic took on different connotation, in which "fitz" was used to indicate an illegitimate son who has been acknowledged by his father. This twisting of the patronymic convention led to the creation of the name "Fitzroy" which does not indicate the son of a man named Roy, but rather an (illegitimate) son of the King (roi in French).
Russian (and related Eastern European languages): various spellings of "-evich" for "son of" and "-ovna" for "daughter of" (like the Norse, these come at the end of the name).
Hebrew: "ben" for "son of" and "bat" for "daughter of"
So those are the ones I know. Any one know any others?