Talk:Gau (territory)

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Gau could conceivably be cognate with Guma (cf. Brideg(r)oom) in German; and, hence, Homo (cf. Homo sapiens) in Latin; as well as Ge / Gaia in Greek; and Geb in Egyptian; and Ki in ancient Sumerian; all of which mean "Earth / Land". 66.235.26.150 (talk) 05:18, 1 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cleanup[edit]

Quoting what I wrote on the cleanup page: "The article Gau (German) was started in January to describe the historical term originating in the middle ages. In the meantime, a lot of information, including a duplicate set of lists, on the use of the term during the Third Reich, more properly belonging to Reichsgau, has been added." Martg76 07:38, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Place names including 'gau'[edit]

Should Oberammergau be on the list?

This is a list of regions. But I suppose there could be a list of towns and villages including -gau. Martg76 20:48, 30 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Größter Anzunehmender Unfall[edit]

GAU is even the word for the worst possible or foreseeable accident (e.g. Nuclear meltdown)

Etymology[edit]

The term 'Gau' long predates the Carolingians. The (4th century, Gothic) Gothic translation of the bible uses the term 'gawi,' coming from the same proto-Germanic root. The (5th century, Latin) Notitia Dignitatum refers to the Brisigaui or Brisigavi, whose name may be derived from an older form of Breisgau. Jacob Haller 02:44, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also I'm not sure how the Frankish form/usage can be the original one when the Gothic form/usage is older. I would suggest starting with (1) the wird as found in different Germanic languages (2) the Frankish use as a gloss of the Latin pagus (3) the Frankish use to describe an administrative district (4) various more modern uses of the term. But I'm not familiar with Frankish or German history and language so I'm not going to edit. Jacob Haller 19:12, 11 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know about Proto-Germanic, but the term clearly predates the Frankish Empire. 4th century sounds about right. --dab (𒁳) 14:33, 10 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nazi use vs. LotR translation[edit]

I once read somewhere that because of the revival of the neutral term Gau by the Nazis, Margaret Carroux, who first translated Lord of the Rings into German, chose not to use this cognate for The Shire, but instead chose Auenland (lit. “[water] meadow land”). I can’t find a source now, but if one was at hand, it would be an interesting addition to the history of this term. -- WA1TF0R^䷟ 19:35, 5 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]