Etymology of Scotland

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The mythology of Scota in late medieval legend, Scota with Goídel Glas, voyaging from Egypt, as depicted in a 15th-century manuscript of the Scotichronicon of Walter Bower.

Scottish Gaelic: Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə]) is a country[1][2] that occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and forms part of the United Kingdom.[1] The name of Scotland is derived from the Latin Scoti, the term applied to Gaels. The origin of the word Scotia dates back to the 4th century and was first used by Roman writers to describe the northern Gaelic group of raiders that left present-day Ireland and landed in west coast Scotland.[3]

Overview

The word "Scot" is found in

derivational suffix -ach (plural -aich)[6]
However, this proposal to date has not appeared in mainstream place-name studies.

Battle of Stamford Bridge, by Peter Nicolai Arbo

The

Late Middle Ages.[10]

In a modern political context, the word Scot is applied equally to all inhabitants of Scotland, regardless of their ancestral ethnicity. However, a 2006 study published by the University of Edinburgh suggest that segments of Scottish society continue to distinguish between those who claim to be Scots on ethnic grounds and those who claim to be Scots on the grounds of civic commitment.[11] "Scots" is also used to refer to the Scots language, which a large proportion of the Scottish population speak to a greater or lesser degree.[12]

The Scots Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba, derives from the same Celtic root as the name Albion, which properly designates the entire island of Great Britain but, by implication as used by foreigners, sometimes the country of England, Scotland's southern neighbour which covers the largest portion of the island of Britain. The term arguably derives from an early Indo-European word meaning 'white', generally held to refer to the cliffs of white chalk around the English town of Dover, ironically located at the furthest end of Great Britain from Scotland itself. Others take it to come from the same root as "the Alps", possibly being an ancient word for mountain and therefore related to the north end of Britain.

Flag of Scotland, 1542 to Current

Brythonic word for "hard" or "tough" (represented by the modern Welsh
caled).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 2007-09-10. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
  2. ^ "ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Date: 2007-11-28 No I-9. "Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements" (Page 11)" (PDF). International Organization for Standardization codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions -- Part 2: Country subdivision codes. Retrieved 2008-05-31. SCT Scotland country
  3. ^ "Robert the Bruce and Ireland's last, Scottish high king". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  4. ^ a b Online Etymology Dictionary: "Scot"
  5. ^ Sir Charles Oman: A History of England before the Norman Conquest
  6. ^ MacCoinnich, Aonghas, Eachdraidh na h-Alba (Glasgow 1867)
  7. ^ Swanton, M. (2000) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. London. Phoenix Press. Quoted by bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  8. ^ "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" Source: Garmonsway, G.N. (1994) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Everyman. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  9. .
  10. ^ Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
  11. ^ Institute of Governance Identity Briefing "Who is Scottish? Political arguments, popular understandings and the implications for social inclusion. Briefing No. 14. January 2006" Retrieved 14 Oct 2007
  12. ^ " Initial Periodical report presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Accordance with Article 15 of the Charter" Archived 2007-10-31 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. (01/07/2002). Part 1, Section 3 states "However, surveys have indicated that 30% of respondents said they could speak Scots; a large proportion of the Scottish population speak Scots to a greater or lesser degree. Scots is on a linguistic continuum with English. Many Scots literally switch between English and Scots in mid-sentence by using Scots words and Scottish grammar". Retrieved on 26 September 2007.