Interesting fact of the day, and a meditation on patronymics

[gwynhefar]

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?

Comments

[rustymarble.livejournal.com]

I don't know of any others, but thought you'd find my name a funny one. O'Vary is the name, it's not Irish, though with my red hair (henna) and freckles (thin Irish bloodline) everyone assumes it is. In fact, the name is derived from Owari, a Transylvanian/Romanian word meaning "old wall". As my husband tells it the W was changed to a V as the "ancestors" went through Germany and the apostrophe was added "at Ellis island" (i.e.: upon coming to the US).
It's a lovely name, everyone is embarrassed to try to pronounce it (Oh-Very, not ovary) and meeting Mrs. Seman at the Gynecologist was a riot!

[luis-mw.livejournal.com]

You sometimes see verch as ferch also.

-escu and -eanu in Romanian

Any number of formations in Greek

Bar in Aramaic, ben/bat in Hebrew

Speaking as a Brit, I've usually only come across "bint" as being used offensively in the sense of being dismissive, diminuitive - oh, she's just some bint I met. Used in the sense of unimportant, worthless, insignificant etc. Much in the same way that refering to a grown woman as a "girl" is offensive. I've not encountered it as having the same derogatory value as bitch, which usually implies some "defect" of attitude, character or manner. Perhaps, in the sense that I have heard bitch used in the dismissive sense, e.g. a rap singer refering to his "stable of bitches", where it is a disparaging term for the women, but not necessarily implying that they are "bitchy".

Just my opinion anyway.

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

I should have mentioned "ferch" as I believe that is the proper Welsh spelling, with "verch" as a common Anglicisation based on the pronunciation of the single 'f' in Welsh as a 'v'. Most of the Welsh names in my ancestry have it spelled as 'verch' which is why that came first to mind.

And it's a good point about "bitch". Over here, at least, it is common to use the term in just the manner you described -- dismissively, with the sense of objectifying a woman -- rather than as a pejorative noun indicating bitchiness. In context I have heard people say "they got some fine-lookin' bitches at this school" and other similar things. So that's what I was thinking of when I made my comparison, although you're right that 'bitch' is also used in a stronger sense that 'bint' doesn't really have.