English Explanatory Dictionary

Gascony

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A former duchy in the kingdom of France, covering southern Aquitaine.
  2. A former province of the kingdom of France.
  3. A region of France.
  4. Synonym of Aquitaine, particularly under English rule.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡæskəni/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Gascony.wav

Word forms

Gascony

Etymology

From Old French Gascoigne, from Medieval Latin Gasconia, from Vulgar Latin Wasconia, from Latin Vasconia, from Vascones + -ia, from Ancient Greek Οὐασκώνων (Ouaskṓnōn) attested in Strabo's 1st-century Geographica, Book III, variously derived from αἴξ (aíx, “goat”) (literally “he-goat people”) or a variant of Ausci (perhaps related to Euskara). Cognate with Basque, Gascon, and Vascon. Equivalent to Gascon + -y. For sound changes: /w/ → /v/ occurred in the change from Latin to Proto-Romance, while /w/ → /g/ (in loan words starting with /w/) common in (non-Iberian) Romance languages, notably French; compare warranty and guarantee, William and Guillaume. By contrast, /v/ developed into /b/ and /β̞/ in Spanish and Gascon (Spanish Vasco, /ˈbasko/), hence the divergence.

Synonyms

Aquitaine particularly under English rule
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