Toletum

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain; it was described by the Romans as a Celtic city, but no corresponding tribe names are known. Possibly Proto-Celtic *tol- (“hill”), which could be related to *tullom, *tullos (“hole”) << Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew- (“to push, hit”); compare the French city Toulon and Welsh twll (“hole”), but widespread support for the evolution of "hole" to "hill" is lacking.

Some sources cite a Semitic origin (Hebrew טלטול (“wandering”), טילטל (“to wander”)), but this has been dismissed as folk etymology as there is no evidence for a Semitic presence in the region.

Also compare Tolentinum, a town in Picenum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /toˈleː.tum/, [t̪ɔˈɫ̪eːt̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /toˈle.tum/, [t̪oˈlɛːt̪um]

Proper noun

Tolētum n sg (genitive Tolētī); second declension

1. Toledo (a Hispanian town, now a city in modern Spain)

Declension

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

	singular
nominative	Tolētum
genitive	Tolētī
dative	Tolētō
accusative	Tolētum
ablative	Tolētō
vocative	Tolētum
locative	Tolētī

Descendants

• Navarro-Aragonese: Toledo
  • Aragonese: Toledo
• Old Catalan: Toledo
  • Catalan: Toledo
• Old Galician-Portuguese: Toledo
  • Fala: Toledu
  • Galician: Toledo
  • Portuguese: Toledo
• Old Spanish: Toledo
  • Ladino: Toledo
  • Spanish: Toledo
    • → English: Toledo
    • → Italian: Toledo

References

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