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I've been having some trouble finding out exactly what it means. Can anyone help? I know that is of Greek origin, and have been told it is a flower or an ancient region of Greece.
Any further imput would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Arminthia
Any further imput would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Arminthia
1
Replies
I'm back from my brief vacation in Mt Pelion, where I engaged in the ancient Hellenic sport of Snowboarding.
Sorry to be anticlimactic, but I too am stumped: Arminthia does not appear to be a bona fide Greek name. One can therefore only speculate as to its etymology. Lets start off with by noting that the ending “-thia” in Greek is a feminine Genitive case (for example Cynthia –- a nickname of Artemis -- means “woman of Cynthos”, Kynthos being a mountain on the island of Delos). We are left with the question of who/where/what the blazes “Armin” is.
Concerning the Goddess Nanaea’s and Daivid’s conjectures:
1) Araminta may plausibly be related to Arminthia. I wasn’t able to draw a connection between Araminta and altar coinage. According to one source however, Araminta is related to the Greek word for mint (minthe), of the chewing gum (not the coinage) variety. According to another source, Araminta is a feminine Hebrew name meaning “lofty”.
2) I agree with Daividh’s suggestion that Arminthia may be a Hellenized-Feminized version of the Germanic Arminius (“strong”). May I also point out that Armina is a feminine latin name meaning “of a high degree”.
Some alternative etymologies:
1)There is an infinite choice of “Indo-European” (a people/language I doubt even existed) words related to “ar-” (eg arms, harmony, arithmetic, etc). Take your pick :p
2) There are scores of Armenian names related to "Armin", including the feminine Armine. There may be a connection.
3) And a long-shot: maybe Arminthia is a corrupt form of Erymanthia, a mountainous region of southern Greece. Che is known to hunt wild boar (yum-yum) in the region.
Conclusion: to misquote the lyrics Miss Little Bad-Ass’s favourite white rapper, may the real Arminthia please stand up.
Sorry to be anticlimactic, but I too am stumped: Arminthia does not appear to be a bona fide Greek name. One can therefore only speculate as to its etymology. Lets start off with by noting that the ending “-thia” in Greek is a feminine Genitive case (for example Cynthia –- a nickname of Artemis -- means “woman of Cynthos”, Kynthos being a mountain on the island of Delos). We are left with the question of who/where/what the blazes “Armin” is.
Concerning the Goddess Nanaea’s and Daivid’s conjectures:
1) Araminta may plausibly be related to Arminthia. I wasn’t able to draw a connection between Araminta and altar coinage. According to one source however, Araminta is related to the Greek word for mint (minthe), of the chewing gum (not the coinage) variety. According to another source, Araminta is a feminine Hebrew name meaning “lofty”.
2) I agree with Daividh’s suggestion that Arminthia may be a Hellenized-Feminized version of the Germanic Arminius (“strong”). May I also point out that Armina is a feminine latin name meaning “of a high degree”.
Some alternative etymologies:
1)There is an infinite choice of “Indo-European” (a people/language I doubt even existed) words related to “ar-” (eg arms, harmony, arithmetic, etc). Take your pick :p
2) There are scores of Armenian names related to "Armin", including the feminine Armine. There may be a connection.
3) And a long-shot: maybe Arminthia is a corrupt form of Erymanthia, a mountainous region of southern Greece. Che is known to hunt wild boar (yum-yum) in the region.
Conclusion: to misquote the lyrics Miss Little Bad-Ass’s favourite white rapper, may the real Arminthia please stand up.
1
Hey, Arminthia:
And Merry Christmas to ye! Nanaea, as usual, gives me too much credit, as I've scoured the Web and paper sources as well and also come up dry. I thought there might be a remote connection to the name of Arminius, the German tribal chief who kicked Roman butt in the Teutoburg Forest when Jesus was a pup (AD 9ish). But no luck.
We'll just have to wait for our resident Greek, Pavlos "Obi Wan" (you're my only hope!) Banana to return from the seaside or wherever he went this weekend. Mr. Banana has an infinite store of Greek name-origins that I'm sure he'll happily share with you.
Aside to Nan: You Nassau or Suffolk? We used to trek up that way often to see my wife's relatives in the Stony Brook-Port Jeff area, but I got tired of the tolls and having to carry a suicide kit in case my car broke down in Brooklyn.
And Merry Christmas to ye! Nanaea, as usual, gives me too much credit, as I've scoured the Web and paper sources as well and also come up dry. I thought there might be a remote connection to the name of Arminius, the German tribal chief who kicked Roman butt in the Teutoburg Forest when Jesus was a pup (AD 9ish). But no luck.
We'll just have to wait for our resident Greek, Pavlos "Obi Wan" (you're my only hope!) Banana to return from the seaside or wherever he went this weekend. Mr. Banana has an infinite store of Greek name-origins that I'm sure he'll happily share with you.
Aside to Nan: You Nassau or Suffolk? We used to trek up that way often to see my wife's relatives in the Stony Brook-Port Jeff area, but I got tired of the tolls and having to carry a suicide kit in case my car broke down in Brooklyn.
1
Name could have a "rich" meaning...
I was wondering whether "Arminthia" might be a corruption of "Araminta", which would explain the possible Greek origin our enquirer has mentioned. I've found one source which claims that "Araminta" is of Greek origin and is supposed to mean: "altar coinage."
I guess we'll have to wait til Che gets back to verify if this. I did, however, find a literary reference to the name of "Araminta" -- in an 18th century comedy titled "The Confederacy" written by Sir John Vanbrugh. Interestingly, the character of "Araminta" in this play is married to another character whose name is "Moneytrap" -- which supports the "altar coinage" meaning of "Araminta", in that this could have been a clever play on names by Sir John Vanbrugh. (Not unlike what Shakespeare was known to do in many of his own plays.)
Stony Brook/Port Jefferson is a lovely area. You (like Che) will have to ask me in e-mail if you want me to pinpoint exactly where I live, coz I won't post it here. Funny but, you know... There seem to be an awful lot of stalkers on this web... ;)
And you know where to find my e-mail addy. :)
-- Nanaea
I was wondering whether "Arminthia" might be a corruption of "Araminta", which would explain the possible Greek origin our enquirer has mentioned. I've found one source which claims that "Araminta" is of Greek origin and is supposed to mean: "altar coinage."
I guess we'll have to wait til Che gets back to verify if this. I did, however, find a literary reference to the name of "Araminta" -- in an 18th century comedy titled "The Confederacy" written by Sir John Vanbrugh. Interestingly, the character of "Araminta" in this play is married to another character whose name is "Moneytrap" -- which supports the "altar coinage" meaning of "Araminta", in that this could have been a clever play on names by Sir John Vanbrugh. (Not unlike what Shakespeare was known to do in many of his own plays.)
Stony Brook/Port Jefferson is a lovely area. You (like Che) will have to ask me in e-mail if you want me to pinpoint exactly where I live, coz I won't post it here. Funny but, you know... There seem to be an awful lot of stalkers on this web... ;)
And you know where to find my e-mail addy. :)
-- Nanaea
1
Recommendation for Mike C. included
Unfortunately, our resident Greek, who could probably best answer your question, is going to be off-line for the next couple of days. But I'm sure that when Che gets back from romping with the centaurs in Mt. Pelion, he'll tackle your request. :)
A quick 'net search revealed that your name was somewhat in vogue here in the U.S. around the latter half of the 19th century, from all the genealogy pages I saw bearing that name. But I suppose you probably already knew that. Sorry I can't be of much more help. Maybe Daividh or Mike C. might be familiar with your name.
I even checked my *Goddesses in World Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary* by Martha Ann & Dorothy Myers Imel (Oxford University Press, c1993), just in case Arminthia might have been a goddess I couldn't recall. But there was no Arminthia in their, either.
Mike C -- You might want to consider adding this book to your list of recommended name-source books. It's the most comprehensive dictionary of world goddesses I've ever seen compiled. It's even got Nanaea in there. :)
-- Nanaea
Unfortunately, our resident Greek, who could probably best answer your question, is going to be off-line for the next couple of days. But I'm sure that when Che gets back from romping with the centaurs in Mt. Pelion, he'll tackle your request. :)
A quick 'net search revealed that your name was somewhat in vogue here in the U.S. around the latter half of the 19th century, from all the genealogy pages I saw bearing that name. But I suppose you probably already knew that. Sorry I can't be of much more help. Maybe Daividh or Mike C. might be familiar with your name.
I even checked my *Goddesses in World Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary* by Martha Ann & Dorothy Myers Imel (Oxford University Press, c1993), just in case Arminthia might have been a goddess I couldn't recall. But there was no Arminthia in their, either.
Mike C -- You might want to consider adding this book to your list of recommended name-source books. It's the most comprehensive dictionary of world goddesses I've ever seen compiled. It's even got Nanaea in there. :)
-- Nanaea
1