Die altsorbischen Ortsnamen auf -ici und -ovici

Abstract

The Old Sorbian Place Names Ending in -ici and -ovici

The Old Sorbian place names ending in -ici and -ovici belong to the oldest strata of place names. They already existed at the time of the gentile society. Their formation is based on the Old Slavonic suffix *-iťь, which expresses close relationship. Old Sorbian *Radomirici meant ‘the people of Radomir’. Once the users of the name no longer relate it to the inhabitants but to the settlement, an inanimate object, the accusative form ending in -ě replaced the nominative form ending in -i. Old Sorbian *Radomiricě meant ‘the settlement of the people of Radomir’. This rule was not always applied in onomastics. It also applies to place names ending in -ěne/-jane, as well as to place names created from the plural forms of personal names, furthermore to the names of tribes.