Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.47960/2712-1844.2026.12.251
An Overview of the Toponymy of Zupci in Eastern Herzegovina
Domagoj Vidović
; Institut za hrvatski jezik, Zagreb
Sažetak
This paper analyses 390 toponyms in Zupci, located in eastern Herzegovina. The study uses archival and field research to present a supplemented and, for the first time, comprehensively analysed body of toponymic material from this area. Until now, this material had mostly been compiled but only minimally analysed from a toponymic perspective. The toponyms are analysed with regard to their motivation and linguistic layers.
Zupci has been mentioned under the name Vrsinje since 1305, while the choronym Zupci has prevailed since the mid-15th century, motivated by the name of a Vlach tribe from that area. Only a few oikonyms were recorded in the Middle Ages: Turmenti (1412), Konjsko and Orašje (1420), and Rapti (1425). Along with stećak tombstones and material remains of defensive and religious structures (cf. the toponym Kaluđerske grede), life in the pre-Ottoman period is also indicated by certain toponyms revealing that the inhabitants of Zupci venerated Saints Elijah, Sergius, Thecla, and Basil.
The local toponymy has been analysed based on motivation and linguistic layers. In terms of motivation, reflections of geographical appellatives stand out, some of which (such as the appellative spilo "cave") are specific to Zupci, while body parts often serve as a source for toponymic metaphors (e.g., the appellative ždulo "throat"). As is common elsewhere in eastern Herzegovina, toponyms of anthroponymic origin are highly frequent in Zupci, preserving old Slavic secular names (e.g., Boljedrag). Additionally, the local toponymy reflects certain variants of Christian names (Ruvin < Rufin) and foreign names (Kurtaga, Leso < Aleksandar).
Reflections of various linguistic layers can be discerned from the local toponymy. Thus, traces of the Romance substratum layer are confirmed, as appellatives like čatrnja, klačina, and škrip have been preserved in the local toponymy. The oikonym Turmenti is also of Romance origin, derived from the Medieval Latin appellative tormentum (murale), which denotes a siege engine used for destroying walls. As expected, the Turkish adstratum layer is prominently represented (e.g., Bunar, Čairi, Ćumurna glavica, Kavura glavica, Pod avliju, Prasa).
Ključne riječi
toponymy; Zupci; Eastern Herzegovina; oikonyms; Slavic indigenous names; Romance substrate; Turkish adstrate.
Hrčak ID:
351188
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.10.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *