Clinton Township Newsletter

2 1 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 Fresh Seafood, Grilled Specialties, Italian Classics, Brick Oven Pizzas • Fireside and Patio/Courtyard Dining • Cigar Smoking on the Wrap-Around Porch Private Parties and Catering 1 F a i r m o u n t r o a d , L o n g V a L L e y www.RestaurantVillageAtLongValley.com 908.876.9307 Open for Dinner Tuesday – Saturday at 5:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm • Bar Open Late The Computer Guy A DIVISION OF BDB ENTERPRISES Is Your Computer Driving You Crazy? We'll fix your computer in your home and help you effectively use it! For HOME • Flexible hours • Computer repair • Internet connection, printer & file sharing • DSL/Cable setup • Virus/firewall help • MS Office training For BUSINESS • Web hosting • Computer purchasing • Web site design • E-commerce specialist • Search engine optimizing • Networking/Firewalls • Business solutions Bruce Bednar Office: 908-713-9843 Annandale, NJ Cell: 908-310-7988 LEBANON DOOR COMPANY • Overhead Doors • Electric Operators • Storm Doors 119 Main Street, Lebanon, NJ 08833 908-236-2620 Glenn Coats, Proprietor Established 1957 Fax: 908-236-2946 Home: 908-730-6536 T H E H u N T E R d o N C o u N T y C u l T u R A l A N d H E R i T A G E C o m m i S S i o N "Jersey, By Any Other Name..." Part 5 b y f R A N k C u R C i o The first real attempts to derive the origin of the "jersey" name focused on the cloth invented by the islanders, believing the island was named for the cloth. But that has turned out to be a dead end. So, if the word jersey did not come from the type of cloth the islanders wove, then the cloth name came from the name of the island. In this scenario, the island was named long before the cloth came about. This narrows the search for the origin of the name by eliminating English, French and Latin from the brew — the first two were just developing and the last was dying. That leaves the origin of jersey somewhere in the language of the Norse–men; those folks we call Vikings. In Jèrriais—the language of the Isle of Jersey—the name of the island is Jèrri, which is pronounced something like "zhar ree"—with the R kind of trilled. If the Old Norse language didn't do it, it appears that the emerging French language had an impact on the J/G pronunciation, giving both the "zuh" sound. [Geir] was a common Viking given name element, found in Old Norse, Icelandic, Swedish and Danish. The [Geir] element means "spear". When the [Geir] element is combined with a second element in a name, the meaning changes, controlled by the second element. For example, Geir- raðr means one who steers, advises, gives counsel, per- haps while carrying a spear; Geirbjǫrn means refers to a bear, perhaps one who hunts with a spear; and Geirhvatr refers to someone who acts manly, daring and brave, most likely with a spear. There are nearly 30 Old Viking male-given name formations that begin with the [Geir] element, and they all have one thing in common. The short form, that is the nickname, for each of them is Geiri—Jèrri. The [–ey] formation in jersey is easy. It's the Old Norse/Viking word for island. The other Channel Islands near Jersey are Guernsey, Alderney and the only French Channel Island, Chausey. There is also a group of islands north of Scotland originally called the Orcudes, which, after the Norse–men conquest, became Orkney. Along with the common [–ey] ending, the first element in each stems from a Viking given name. Even the Scottish islands were Vikingized to a close-sounding, given name. If the formation of jersey did result from [Geir] plus [–ey], then we can conclude that the Island and New Jersey were named after some Viking dude with a [Geir] given name and whose nickname was invariably Geiri. Thus we can conclude that Jersey means—The Viking Jerry's Island! This also means that every sports team in New Jersey nicknaming itself "The Vikings" got it right and deserves a great big "Way to Go!" Sorry North. It also means that Nova Cæsarea is wrong. Properly it should be Nouvieau Jèrri—which in Jèrriais is New Jersey. More History Next Time (April) f R A N k C u R C i o –Thanks Frank–your history column is fascinating, as always! And we at CTNL would add that, in our opinion, all men from Jersey (especially Clinton Township) are Geirhvatr! –Editor

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