Londinium

English

Etymology

From Latin Londinium. Doublet of London.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /lʌnˈdɪn.ɪ.əm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /lʌnˈdɪn.i.əm/

Proper noun

Londinium

1. (historical) A city in Britannia, Roman Empire: An ancient settlement in the area of modern London.
2. (poetic) Synonym of modern London: A city in England, United Kingdom

Latin

Alternative forms

• Lundinium, Londonium, Lundonium, Londonum, Londinum (Late and Medieval Latin)
• Lundonia, Londonia, Lundoniae (Medieval Latin, as sg. or pl.)

Etymology

Uncertain, but likely from Proto-Celtic *Londinyom (“place that floods”), from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“heath; wild land”) + *-injo-, a suffix forming specific nouns and found in other Romano-Celtic placenames. Cognate to Proto-Celtic *landā (“low-lying land”), whence Old Irish land, Welsh llan, as well as *londos (“subduing > fierce”, adj.), whence Old Irish lond.

Details

An earlier, more difficult proposal derives it from *Φlowonidonyom, morphologically adapted from a pre-Celtic Indo-European substrate word meaning something like “Boat River, Unfordable River” or “Flooding-River” and made up of Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to flow”) and a disputed *neyd- (“to flow”).

Forms in -don- could be artificial Latinizations modelled after e.g. Old English Wreocen < Latin Viroconium (modern Wroxeter). Appears as Middle Welsh Llundein, Old English Lunden, which may not continue the Classical Latin form, but may continue Late British Latin *Lundeinju if the medial -i- of the original word was short. Cf. Etymology of London.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /lonˈdi.ni.um/, [ɫ̪ɔn̪ˈd̪ɪniʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /lonˈdi.ni.um/, [lon̪ˈd̪iːnium]
• Note: the length of the medial /i/ is unattested, but is likely to have been short.

Proper noun

Londinium n sg (genitive Londiniī or Londinī); second declension

1. Londinium.
   1. (New Latin) Modern London.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter), with locative, singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	Londinium
Genitive	Londiniī Londinī1
Dative	Londiniō
Accusative	Londinium
Ablative	Londiniō
Vocative	Londinium
Locative	Londiniī

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

• Londiniēnsis

Descendants

• → Ancient Greek: Λονδίνιον (Londínion)
• → Old English: Lunden
  • Middle English: Lunden, London
    • English: London
      • Norwegian Bokmål: London
  • → Latin: Lundonia
• → English: Londinium
• → German: London
• Sicilian: Lònnira

Further reading

• “Londinium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Londinium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.