Trebopala is a Lusitanian name usually interpreted as a

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...

, appearing on the Cabeço das Fraguas inscription from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Trebopala is probably a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Meaning of the name

Although the name ''Trebopala'' appears in only a single inscription, it is of interest because this inscription is in the

Lusitanian language Lusitanian (so named after the Lusitani or Lusitanians) was an Indo-European Paleohispanic language. There has been support for either a connection with the ancient Italic languages or Celtic languages. It is known from only six sizeable inscri ...

rather than in a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

dedication. It is generally thought the first element is a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

one, ''*trebo-'' (or a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

with it) meaning a house or dwelling place. The second element is interpreted either as "protector", or as the attested

Lepontic Lepontic is an ancient Alps, Alpine Celtic languageJohn T. Koch (ed.) ''Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia'' ABC-CLIO (2005) that was spoken in parts of Rhaetia and Cisalpine Gaul (now Northern Italy) between 550 and 100 BC. Lepontic i ...

/ Ligurian word ''pala'', probably meaning a sacred stone, or as "flat land."E-Keltoi Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies Vol. 6
/ref> ''Trebopala'' is therefore said to mean either ''Protector of the Home'', ''Plain of the Home'' or ''Altar of the Home''. In the inscription, Trebopala is recorded as receiving a single sheep (''oilam'').

Footnotes

References

{{reflist Lusitanian goddesses

Meaning of the name

See also

Footnotes

References