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ArchivesRe: What do the names Felisberto and Felisberta mean?
in reply to a message by elbowin
Seems you're right, Felisberto and Felisberta, and probably Felixberto/Felixberta seem to be scribal variations of Filiberto/Filiberta, but these as well are 15 C. and the Fili- theme seems to be borrowed from Filippus, Greek Φίλιππος (in which case the theme is mis-analyzed, as the Greek theme is Φίλ-, not Φίλι-). The Germanic cognate is Bil-/Bel- "kind, good, merciful", rare enough in prosaic use the theme is usually interpreted as bil "machete, single-edged sword"
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The usual etymology for Filibert assumes a purely Germanic origin and identifies the prototheme Fili with Modern High German viel "much, many". But there is a connection between Filibert and Phillip, and Filibert is seen as a door-opener for the foreign name Phillip that was one of the first foreign names to be adopted by people in Germany. A similar relation is assumed for Sigmund and Simon.
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At some point in history (Ostrogothic Kingdom at Verona, Italy), East Germanic and Bavarian were geographically adjacent, and there are some Gothic loan words in German, and some Greek words transmitted via Gothic. So such kind of connection is not too far fetched.
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