Bern

Bern · proper noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰerH-“to carve out, cut”
2. Proto-Celtic · derived from*berna“cleft”
3. Alemannic German · borrowed fromBärn
4. English todayBern

From Alemannic German Bärn, of uncertain further origin. A popular folk etymology says it was named by its founder, Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen, after the first animal he saw in the area, a Bär(in) (“bear”) (compare Berlin, subject to a similar folk etymology). The name is now thought to be connected to a Celtic word, Proto-Celtic *berna (“cleft”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“to carve out, cut”)) and *branos (“raven”) (compare the name ΒΡΕΝΟΔΩΡ (BRENODŌR), on the Bern zinc tablet, which has also been connected with the Gaulish name Brennus). More at Bern.

Bern · proper noun²

Abbreviations * Clipping of Bernard. * Clipping of Bernadette. * Clipping of Bernice.

Words from the same roots