The Formation and Origin of the Drymonyms of Molėtai District (Utena County) during the Interwar Period

Abstract

The article analyses 177 drymonyms (149 lexical items) of Molėtai District, Utena County, in terms of their formation and origin. The data were collected from the interwar Lithuanian ‘Land Names’ Questionnaires of 1935–1937 (Lietuvos žemės vardyno anketos), one of the main and most comprehensive sources of toponyms existing in the living Lithuanian language. The analysis helped to identify the main features of the formation and origin of these drymonyms.
In terms of their origin, the predominate number of drymonyms are of appellative origin (85% of all the toponyms studied or ~82% of lexical items). The number of drymonyms of personal name origin and of toponymic origin was much lower (each accounting for ~6% of all the toponyms studied or ~7% of lexical items). Most of the drymonyms are related to the lexis of the Lithuanian language.
In terms of derivation, 109 cases of secondary drymonyms (~62% of all the toponyms studied or ~62% of lexical units) and 63 cases of primary drymonyms (~36% of all the drymonyms studied or ~35% of lexical items) were recorded. The largest number of the secondary drymonyms are derivatives.