# Etymology of Oex



## killerbee256

I need to create a Latin form of the name Château-d'Œx a town in Switzerland I've tried to find etymological information in various sources, but can't find any information what _oex_ might be from.


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## Cenzontle

I realize this doesn't get you back to Latin, but...
Wikipedia says


> Château-d'Œx is first mentioned in 1115 as _Oit_, _Oyz_, _Oix_ and _Oyez_.


There is a source citation.


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## Ben Jamin

killerbee256 said:


> I need to create a Latin form of the name Château-d'Œx a town in Switzerland I've tried to find etymological information in various sources, but can't find any information what _oex_ might be from.


Why do you suppose that the name is of Latin origin?


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## berndf

Ben Jamin said:


> Why do you suppose that the name is of Latin origin?


Correct. The town didn't exist in Gallo-Roman times. The name is probably of German origin.


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## killerbee256

Ben Jamin said:


> Why do you suppose that the name is of Latin origin?


I had considered that it might be Germanic or possible Celtic. It's hard to know looking at the modern and 12 century forums. At least to someone like myself.


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## berndf

If you need a Latin form, you could use _Osgo _or _Castrum in Ogo_. This is the oldest form found in medieval documents (Namenpaare an der Sprachgrenze) of the 11th century.


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## Circunflejo

The town council says atCommune de Château-d'Oex: Un peu d'histoirethat Oex probably comes from Celtic Ogo meaning High Land/Country.


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## berndf

That is not very plausible. If _high country_ is the meaning, which is possible but not certain, then it is from German _Hochgau_, the German name of the Pays d'Enhaut district. Then _Castrum in Ogo_ would mean _castle in the high country_.


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## MiguelitOOO

The meaning seems to be as follows:

*OEschenbach → Château-d'Œx → Castle of the ash trees*

From Wikipedia:


> The tree's common English name, "ash", traces back to the Old English _æsc_, while the generic name originated in Latin.



► BOOK: _Handbuch für Reisende durch die Schweiz _(1791), by Hans H. Heidegger ↓*


 *

► BOOK: Dictionnaire géographique de la Suisse (1902), by Knapp; Attinger; Borel; Société neuchâteloise de géographie ↓
*

 
*
► BOOK: Dictionnaire de géographie ancienne et moderne a l'usage du libraire et de l'amateur de livres ... (1870), by Brunet; Brunet; Deschamps ↓
*

 

______________ ______________ ___________ __________ __*

***There existed another city, in Germany, wich its name was Asciburgium (_Ashburg_, in Old English) = Castle of the ash trees. Asciburgium – Wikipedia


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## berndf

_Ösch/Oesch_ is the old German name of the town. Most Swiss towns have more or less official names in the other national languages, like _Genf_ for _Genève_ or _Sitten_ for _Sion_ or, the other way round, _Soleur_ for _Solothurn_. These are usually renditions of the original names. I don't think there is much reason to assume that _Ösch_ could tell us anything about the etymology of the French name.


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## MiguelitOOO

berndf said:


> _Ösch/Oesch_ is the old German name of the town. Most Swiss towns have more or less official names in the other national languages, like _Genf_ for _Genève_ or _Sitten_ for _Sion_ or, the other way round, _Soleur_ for _Solothurn_. These are usually renditions of the original names. I don't think there is much reason to assume that _Ösch_ could tell us anything about the etymology of the French name.


The ending "X" could be the plural form, as travail (job) → travau*x* (job*s*).
Montreux, Lavaux, and many towns from the same region, ending with "x", could be plural forms ("Montreos" in Spanish).
*** The name "Montreos" does not exist. I added only to illustrate the idea.


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## berndf

In old Francoprovençal orthography, _-x_ indicates stress on the last syllable and -z on the second last, as in _Saconnex_ and _Vésenaz_ (both place names in the Canton of Geneva). In modern pronunciation (the area is today French speaking) this distinction doesn't matter any more as French doesn't have phonemic syllable stress.


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## MiguelitOOO

In my post # 8, I have cited a book wich says: "*Esche*bach, *Eschen*bach, *Œsch*bach, *Œsche*nbach, sont des noms de ruisseaux fréquents, sur les rives *desquels se trouvent des frênes*."

Well, there is more:






_Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch _(1901), by Gustav Körting.


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## berndf

Yes, that is precisely why I don't buy the ash tree explanation. The German name _Oesch/Ösch _is obviously a rendition of _Œx _that sounds familiar to a (Swiss) German speaker.


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## killerbee256

MiguelitOOO said:


> The meaning seems to be as follows:
> 
> *OEschenbach → Château-d'Œx → Castle of the ash trees*
> 
> From Wikipedia:
> 
> 
> ► BOOK: _Handbuch für Reisende durch die Schweiz _(1791), by Hans H. Heidegger ↓*View attachment 28438 *
> 
> ► BOOK: Dictionnaire géographique de la Suisse (1902), by Knapp; Attinger; Borel; Société neuchâteloise de géographie ↓
> *View attachment 28439
> *
> ► BOOK: Dictionnaire de géographie ancienne et moderne a l'usage du libraire et de l'amateur de livres ... (1870), by Brunet; Brunet; Deschamps ↓
> *View attachment 28440
> 
> ______________ ______________ ___________ __________ __*
> 
> ***There existed another city, in Germany, wich its name was Asciburgium (_Ashburg_, in Old English) = Castle of the ash trees. Asciburgium – Wikipedia


Thank you for these sources, I've hunted down the French books and now have pdfs.


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## berndf

killerbee256 said:


> Thank you for these sources, I've hunted down the French books and now have pdfs.


Interesting sources but they have nothing to do with the etymology of _Château d'Œx._


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## Circunflejo

berndf said:


> If _high country_ is the meaning, which is possible but not certain, then it is from German _Hochgau_,



That option is quoted on the French link of the source citation available on the link provided by @Cenzontle on post number 2. The same link also quotes ash as another possible meaning.


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## berndf

Circunflejo said:


> That option is quoted on the French link of the source citation available on the link provided by @Cenzontle on post number 2. The same link also quotes ash as another possible meaning.


That cannot be ruled out but the modern era German town name _Ösch_ proves nothing for the reasons I explained. And without the support of that argument there isn't too much of a case for the ash tree etymology theory.


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## killerbee256

berndf said:


> Interesting sources but they have nothing to do with the etymology of _Château d'Œx._


True, however I have some quite a few other Swiss cities I need information on, now I have some where to look before I ask here.


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## berndf

killerbee256 said:


> True, however I have some quite a few other Swiss cities I need information on, now I have some where to look before I ask here.


I understand.


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