this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
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For anyone wondering, Deutschland, Duitsland and Tyskland all have the same latin root "theodiscus" that became "deutsch". "Allemagne" derives from a germanic tribe, the "Alemanni" who lived in modern day Germany and bordered modern day france. Niemcy and Nemetorszag both stem from old slavic "nem" (or something similar) meaning "mute". They called the Germanic tribes they interacted with mute because they couldn't understand them. "Saksa" is derived from the German region "Saxony".
Please correct me in case i got something wrong.
The Latin root theodiscus is actually just the latinised form of the Old High German thiutisk from Indo-European teuta and means "people". Similarly, Alemanni means "all men". The Saxons were named after their typical sword or fighting knive, the Seax or Sax. It's still discussed where the term "German" originates from.
I thought German means spearman. Because some tribes fighted with the „Ger“, a spear or some special spear(?). Or is this only a theory?
Lots of things are possible, fewer are likely, even fewer attested, even fewer attested without doubt.
Though it'd have a special irony to it: Some Roman asking a bunch of probably Austro-Bavarian or Alemanic warriors "who are you" and getting the answer "Germannen" -- "spear men". Were Italy an Island they would've said "sailors".
Probably more likely than Romans observing those tribes, noting more or less bog-standard javelins, not exactly a rare or particularly notable technology, and saying "hey let's ask them what they call javelins and add a -man after that for no apparent reason". Even if they specialised their tactics etc. around those spears would you call Greeks "Phalanx people"?
According to German Wikipedia, this theory, Germans are men with a Ger, is longer up to date.
Hah, man lernt nie aus!