Language Focus. Roman Names in English

Though the relics of Roman occupation in Britain were completely destroyed, today we can see them in some names, which were preserved in the English language. These names can be divided into two distinct groups – historical and poetic names and names of places.

The names of the first group were used by the Romans in everyday speech, with the course of time they lost their importance and got new shadows of meaning. Let`s give some examples of such words.

The word “ Albion ” was taken by the Romans from the Greek languageand meant “ white ”. The meaning of this word could be explained by the view of white cliffs near Dover that many visitors saw crossing the Channel.

The word “ Britannia ” was used by the Romans to refer to occupied territory. Later this name was given to the female embodiment of Britain.

The word “ Briton ” was used by the Romans to refer to the Celtic tribe, who lived in England before and after the Roman occupation. Today this word is used in official contexts to describe a citizen of Great Britain.

The word “ Caledonia ” was used to name Scotland. The word “ Cambria ” was the Roman name for Wales. The word “ Hibernia ” was used to name Ireland.

Today these names are often used in scholarly classifications and for the names of various organizations. We may often come across such names of the airline a “British Caledonia”. The citizens of Scotland are often called Caledonians. Caledonian Channel and Cambrian Mountains also remind us about the Roman Conquest.

The second group of words of Roman origin includes the names of towns and roads. The towns built by the Romans were fortified and served like military camps as a result they contained the component “ caster” or “ chester”. Those components are of Roman origin. They were derived from the Roman word “castra”, that meant camp. Today we can find these components in the names like Winchester, Doncaster, Leicester and others.

I. Answer the questions:

1. Who was the first to carry the Roman banner to the British Isles?

2. Who conquered Britain for the second time?

3. What did the Romans build throughout the occupied region?

4. What was the destruction of the Roman Empire due to?