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ArchivesRe: What's the etymology of Salutius and Salutia?
in reply to a message by (Is-rah-el) Israelle
My Latin is rusty; I hope this helps!
I haven't found a Latin name like Salutius; Salutia of course is just the female form. But the origin would be the word 'salus' = 'health'; Latin being an inflected language, the word endings of a noun change according to where it is in the sentence, and the genitive case of salus is salutis, not saultis! All the other cases contain salut- and then their own ending.
There was a goddess called Salus who was worshipped in Rome.
The verb 'salutare' means to greet someone; our word 'salute' comes from it. And the verb 'salvere' means 'to be well'.
Salve! is a greeting for one friend; Salvete! for more than one. (Ave! is a respectful greeting; think Ave Maria.)
Salutus could I suppose have been used as a given name. And putting the -i- in there could indicate a younger relative of Salutus: father Salutus and son Salutius, perhaps. Along the lines of Iulus (original) and Iulius (his descendents).
So the meanings could range from 'Be well!', a greeting used by my Jewish friends, to 'healthgiving', like medicines, to 'pay respects to' someone, which means that just about all the meanings you've listed would be appropriate, according to context of course. And, the original meaning would have been a physical condition: bodily health. Salvation, the health of the soul I suppose, and a figurative meaning, came later.
I haven't found a Latin name like Salutius; Salutia of course is just the female form. But the origin would be the word 'salus' = 'health'; Latin being an inflected language, the word endings of a noun change according to where it is in the sentence, and the genitive case of salus is salutis, not saultis! All the other cases contain salut- and then their own ending.
There was a goddess called Salus who was worshipped in Rome.
The verb 'salutare' means to greet someone; our word 'salute' comes from it. And the verb 'salvere' means 'to be well'.
Salve! is a greeting for one friend; Salvete! for more than one. (Ave! is a respectful greeting; think Ave Maria.)
Salutus could I suppose have been used as a given name. And putting the -i- in there could indicate a younger relative of Salutus: father Salutus and son Salutius, perhaps. Along the lines of Iulus (original) and Iulius (his descendents).
So the meanings could range from 'Be well!', a greeting used by my Jewish friends, to 'healthgiving', like medicines, to 'pay respects to' someone, which means that just about all the meanings you've listed would be appropriate, according to context of course. And, the original meaning would have been a physical condition: bodily health. Salvation, the health of the soul I suppose, and a figurative meaning, came later.
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Replies
thank you!
Salutius and Salutia are Latin names from the 1st century that were exclusively used by Jews, probably as translations of Chayim and Chaya (there is a less big possibility that Salutia was used as a translation of Chaya because Jewish women were never obligated to have Hebrew names).
Salutius was also used once outside the Jewish community but overall there is no information about these names online because of how rare they were.
Salutius and Salutia are Latin names from the 1st century that were exclusively used by Jews, probably as translations of Chayim and Chaya (there is a less big possibility that Salutia was used as a translation of Chaya because Jewish women were never obligated to have Hebrew names).
Salutius was also used once outside the Jewish community but overall there is no information about these names online because of how rare they were.
This message was edited 11/16/2024, 12:36 AM
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That actually explains a lot. When people who speak Language A need to use names from Language B (usually the language of their coloniser), they often get close but not necessarily correct, and that doesn't matter to them: their attempts have served their purpose.
I imagine the Jewish ladies who needed non-Jewish names would have selected a name that would work both ways: they didn't have to be named Chaya to use a name that was close to it but still acceptable to the Roman authorities.
May I ask why they didn't need Hebrew names? My understanding is that to be a Jew, you need a Jewish mother, and surely she would have a Jewish name, even if she didn't use it all the time?
I imagine the Jewish ladies who needed non-Jewish names would have selected a name that would work both ways: they didn't have to be named Chaya to use a name that was close to it but still acceptable to the Roman authorities.
May I ask why they didn't need Hebrew names? My understanding is that to be a Jew, you need a Jewish mother, and surely she would have a Jewish name, even if she didn't use it all the time?
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of course! I love talking!
Jewish women historically were not obliged to have Hebrew names because they were never called up to read the Torah, only men participated in major Jewish rituals. In order to participate in Jewish rituals you need to have a Jewish name.
BTW a religious name consists of a Hebrew Patronymic surname meaning Son or daughter and a religious first name (typically of Hebrew origin or sometimes of another origin but it is very rare the only example I can think of is Aramaic or the name Alexander)
Jewish women do have Hebrew names nowdays
Jewish women historically were not obliged to have Hebrew names because they were never called up to read the Torah, only men participated in major Jewish rituals. In order to participate in Jewish rituals you need to have a Jewish name.
BTW a religious name consists of a Hebrew Patronymic surname meaning Son or daughter and a religious first name (typically of Hebrew origin or sometimes of another origin but it is very rare the only example I can think of is Aramaic or the name Alexander)
Jewish women do have Hebrew names nowdays
This message was edited 11/16/2024, 7:48 AM
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That makes sense - thank you!
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