-onna

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-onna is a presumed hydronymic suffix, perhaps pre-Indo-European. Observed in many river names^[1], it is generally analyzed as meaning 'source, spring' or 'river'.

A Gaulish word *onno was glosed as 'flumen' ('river') in the Vienne glossary. This doubtful word^[2] was probably due to a theorization of the suffix -onna.

This suffix is observed in river names as:

• Aisne < Axonna
• Aronde < Aronna,
• Chalonne,
• Dronne,
• Garonne < Garumna,
• Lizonne,
• Saône < Sauconna,
• Saudronne,
• Seine < *Sakw-onna,
• Yonne < *Inka-onna…

[edit] Source

1. ^ in particular in France
2. ^ following Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (2nd ed.). Paris: Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6