Etymology
The Latin term for "swamp" was "Velia", corresponding to the Greek "ουελια" ( "Velia"). From this root came the place name Velestrom, the place next to a swamp or marsh, was probably used by Volsci to call old Velletri . The Romans named it after the same city Velitrae, hence the Greek Ουελιτραι (Ouelitrai "), Ουελιτρα (Ouelitra") or Βελιτρα (Belitra ") . In the Middle Ages, at least six variants, Velletrum, Veletrum, Veletra, Velitrum, Bellitro, Villitria are attested by various official acts until the 11th century. Until the 18th century, Velletri survived as parallel forms of Blitri and Belitri.
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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)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)