Etymology
The word "Brittany", and its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents "Bretagne", "Breizh" and "Bertaèyn" derives from the Latin Brittania, sometimes written Britannia, which means "Britons' land". This word has been used by the Romans since the 1st century to name Great Britain, and more specifically the Roman province of Britain. This word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη (Prettanike) or Βρεττανίαι (Brettaniai), used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Islands around 320 BC.
The Romans called Brittany Armorica. This term probably came from a Gallic word, aremorica, which means "close to the sea". Another name, Letauia (in English "Litavis"), was used until the 12th century. It possibly means "wide and flat" or "to expand" and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany: Llydaw.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, many Britons settled in Armorica, and the region started to be called Brittania. However, the name Armorica persisted for some centuries, and it had not fully disappeared until the 5th century. Later, authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth used the terms Britannia minor and Britannia major to distinguish Brittany from Britain.
Read more about this topic: Breton Cuisine
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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