Etymograph

English

Gallipoli

Gallipoli comes from Italian Gallipoli, from Byzantine Greek Καλλίπολῐς ‘Kallipolis, former name of Gelibolu’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- ‘city’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpelH-‘city’disputed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλιςpólis‘city’next step skipped: Ancient Greek κᾰλός
  3. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́λλοςkắllos‘beauty’
  4. Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453ΚαλλίπολῐςKallípolĭs‘Kallipolis, former name of Gelibolu’
  5. Turkish1928–presentGelibolu
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentGallipoli
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1977same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpelH-‘city’disputed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλιςpólis‘city’next step skipped: Ancient Greek κᾰλός
  3. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́λλοςkắllos‘beauty’
  4. Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453ΚαλλίπολῐςKallípolĭs‘Kallipolis, former name of Gelibolu’
  5. Turkish1928–presentGelibolu
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentGallipoli
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1977same form

Earliest quotation: 1977, Colleen McCullough, 1921–1928: “And anyway, it strikes me that the blasted English…”

The story

Sense 1 (‘peninsula in Turkey’) is borrowed from Italian Gallipoli, from Turkish Gelibolu, and from its etymon Byzantine Greek Καλλίπολῐς (Kallípolĭs, “Kallipolis, former name of Gelibolu”) and late variant forms, from Ancient Greek κᾰ́λλος (kắllos, “beauty; beautiful person or thing; nobility”) (of unknown origin, disputedly from Proto-Indo-European *kal- (‘beautiful’)) + πόλις (pólis, “city; city-state”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- (‘city; fortification’)).disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Sense 2 (‘town in Italy’) is borrowed from Italian Gallipoli, from Latin Callipolis, from Byzantine Greek Καλλίπολῐς (Kallípolĭs): see above.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- ‘city’

necropolis

through Ancient Greek πόλις ‘city’

police, policy, politico, polity, politic, polis, politique, 7 more

Today it means

name The Gallipoli Campaign (1915–1916) in World War I.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- / Gallipoli

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