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[Surname] greek last names
Could anyone tell me the meaning of the following greek surnames:GERMANOS
KROUPIS or KROUPISThanks for your help!
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germanus -a -um [having the same parents]; m. or f. as subst. [own brother , own sister]. Transf., [brotherly, sisterly; genuine, real, true]. Adv., germane, [faithfully, honestly].This is actually Latin in origin. Previous post incomplete.
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Guesses here ...Germanos seems obviously related to the word 'German' ...which could be translated to "spear - man" ...Kroupis, the closest thing I found was on a Russian site (Krupa (m) -- "groats.") which I doubt ... Anyone else?I'd really like to know a good Greek translation site ...thanks!
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It looks like nobody really knows, what "German" means. "Spear man" is not likely, because the older form of "ger" is "gaiza" (in those times, when the "Germans" were first called so (Tacitus?)).
The most probable translation is "neighbour". The Celts used this name for the Teutons as well as for a tribe in northern Spain.
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A good point ...I've also heard of the "neighbor" translation ...it just seems that so often the 'ger' in names like "Gerald" gets translated in most books as "spear" ...
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