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I recall seeing Arnold in a TV interview. He was asked if his name had any meaning and replied: 'black plowman.'
Somewhere along the way - whether from all those years of Old High German and Middle High German in college in England, or from personal experience in Austria, I no longer know - I thought I learned that "Egger" is a variation of "Acker" (acre, i.e. field) and thus Arnold's name means "Blackfield" or " Blackmeadow" - in either case, it would once have denoted a waterside field with lots of rich black riverbottom silt deposits. I would be glad to be corrected on this point by someone with more knowledge than I.
Kids these days don't know about the history of surnames. And in the US it is always hard to tell, because so many were changed or adopted. In Europe at least, there were only four kinds of surnames: patronymics, occupations, nicknames and locations. When everybody was named John , there had to be some way to distinguish all the Johns. But there was Joanna the Mad and Elinor the Fair and Margaret of the White Ship among royalty. Until the Middle Ages, ordinary people didn't need last names. But then there emerged a need to distinguish John- the- son- of- John from John-the- miller from John-the -redhead or John-who-lived-by-the- wood. I have a Penguin book of English surnames, and the kids always want to borrow it. Names are important.
In Iceland, which was for centuries unaffected socially or linguistically by immigration, boys are still named X-son and girls are Y-daughter. The phone book in Iceland is still listed by first names. Imagine that in the US! Or in any European country.
Egger in Eigennamen kommt sicher vom Verb 'eggen' wie Pflug/Pfueger von 'pfluegen'. Toms Gedaechtnis truegt nicht: 'Egge' hat auch die Bedeutung 'Bergruecken, Grat' (engl. ridge). Im Internet finden sich dafuer Belege im Deutschen, Schwedischen und Norwegischen.
"Egge" is a HARROW, a farm instrument that consists of a heavy frame with teeth (or disks) used to break up and even off (already) plowed ground; i.e., crumble the clods. The tooth version can still be seen today in Delaware's and Pennsylvania's Amish country (and probably elsewhere). Something like a rake squared:
/___/'
' ' ' ' ' Serendipity is fascinating. Saturday morning one of my adult students recalled that Arnold claimed on the Arsenio Hall show that his name means 'Black plow man.' That was greeted with laughter (then and in class). There may be a sexual innuendo (or two) here: I have heard people make fun of his name and connect the N with -egger, which, of course, results in the redundant, albeit wrong (~Schwartze ~) Negger.
Arnold may be wrong with his etymology, though. Along with previously mentioned contributions I doubt that anyone was named after this farm instrument, Egge; and I too prefer to connect "-egger" with a topographical "Acker" or "Ecke." Both words are said to come from the indo-european root *ak =sharp. An "Acker" is an agricultural ground with defined boundaries or corners ("Ecken," edges-- which may appear in the form of "Hecken" - hedges). It is worked on with sharp tools: first the "Axt," axe, then "hacken," -hoe, then "harken" -rake or more efficiently "eggen" -harrow) to receive seeds that may [allow me to speculate creatively] "hatch" there.
Any farmer living at a geologically black acre (dark soil), or at a black corner in the mountains (slate, coal?) or in a BLACK FOREST or any other dark woods or moors {!} or bogs (dark vegetation, dark shadows; peat) may be reasonably called the guy (-er-suffix) at the "schwarze Acker," or the guy at the "schwarze Ecke." It is easier to find and identify someone by location than by a farm instrument he may use.
I once had a good friend in Austria named "Kaltenegger". I have always wondered what that name meant. Yes, these Indo-Germanic roots are interesting. "Die Egge" is a harrow, "a farm tool with a set of spikes or teeth to pulverize and smooth the soil." Related to "Ecke" and "Axt."
Swedish "egg" is a "cutting edge." English "to egg on" has nothing to do with hen's eggs. All related to Latin "acer" (sharp) giving us "acrid" and "acute." Also Greek "acme" (point) etc. etc.
Schwarzenegger seems like a pretty typical type of name, describing a person by colour (his coloration, hair colour) and job. The name "Egger" would be pretty close to the English name "Tiller." "Egge" is a big metal square with "teeth" drawn by horses or a tractor. It rakes the field, breaking up the big lumps after the field has been plowed (by the tillerman= Ackermann). Another name of this type is Heidegger (the philospher Martin Heidegger), tiller of the heath.
I remember seeing a lot of place names in Austria that ended in "egg".
PS. It just occured to me that "Schwarzenegger" might be translated into Greek as Melanchthon {thon~soil, earth}....Arnold Melanchthon has a nice ring to it, does it not?
With all this talk about Schwarzenegger, Kaltenegger, usw, it comes to mind that there is a town in Germany called ROTTENEGG. Does anyone know how this might have originated? I don't want to be a stinker but it is a country town with good Landluft but I dont think that comes from spoiled eggs :)!
I'm pretty sure it means. Zum roten Eck - at the red corner
"Im Maerzen der Bauer die Rosse einspannt,
Er setzt seine Felder und Wiesen in Stand.
Er pflueget den Boden,
Er egget und saet,
Und ruehrt seine Haende fruehmorgens bis spaet. "
Das haben wir vor _zig Jahren in der Volksschule gesungen