Toletum

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain; it was described by the Romans as a Celtic city,[1][2] but no corresponding tribe names are known. Possibly Proto-Celtic *tol- (“hill”),[3][4] which could be related to *tullom, *tullos (“hole”) << Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew- (“to push, hit”);[5][6] compare the French city Toulon and Welsh twll (“hole”), but widespread support for the evolution of "hole" to "hill" is lacking.

Some sources cite a Semitic origin (Hebrew טלטול (“wandering”), טילטל (“to wander”)),[7][8] but this has been dismissed as folk etymology as there is no evidence for a Semitic presence in the region.

Also compare Tolentinum, a town in Picenum.[9]

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Tolētum n sg (genitive Tolētī); second declension

  1. Toledo (a Hispanian town, now a city in modern Spain)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter), with locative, singular only.

Case Singular
Nominative Tolētum
Genitive Tolētī
Dative Tolētō
Accusative Tolētum
Ablative Tolētō
Vocative Tolētum
Locative Tolētī

Descendants
  • Navarro-Aragonese: Toledo
  • Old Catalan: Toledo
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: Toledo
  • Old Spanish: Toledo

References
  • “Toletum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Toletum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  1. María Cruz Fernández Castro (1995). La Prehistoria de la Península Ibérica. Crítica.
  2. John S. Richardson (1996). The Romans in Spain. Blackwell
  3. Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Toledo”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. Everett-Heath, J. (2000): Place Names of the World - Europe: Historical Context, Meanings and Changes, p. 311
  5. Spenser's Linguistics in "The Present State of Ireland", p. 482-483
  6. Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 393-394,
  7. Abrabanel's Commentary on the First Prophets (Pirush Al Nevi'im Rishonim), end of II Kings, p. 680, Jerusalem 1955 (Hebrew)
  8. The Volume Library: A Concise, Graded Repository of Practical and Cultural Knowledge Designed for Both Instruction and Reference: Toledo
  9. "Picenum," Antonio Sciarretta's Toponymy
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