I was inspired by coming across this map of the Roman Empire in 125CE and saw the names of all of the Germanic tribes. I know that the suffix "i" or "es" comes from Latin, and I was curious if these names would be any kind of similar to the names that the tribes would actually have used for themselves or one another, especially since "Germans/Germania" itself was a Roman term and not, as I understand it, one that actual Germans used.
I know the overall accuracy of Tacitus is very questionable and that he is probably closer with some tribes than with others... and that some tribes' only real historical record comes from his work. But if I am a well-traveled 2nd century native German literate in Latin and I read Tacitus, would I recognize most of the groups he was talking about based on the names he used?
The answer is yes: for the most part, the names preserved in Latin were derived from terms/names in the languages of the people themselves, or else intermediaries between Latin-speakers and those tribes. Some were of course garbled, or their locations were off. And all of them were "translated" into Latin, using standard Latin adjectival suffixes and plural inflections (for instance). Odd consonant clusters were smoothed, and vowels were wrangled into Latin syllables. Some tribe names have unknown etymological origins (see below). The Romans called the Celtic dwellers of northern Italia, the Alpine passes, and the Rhone valley "Gauls," but it is entirely unclear where this word came from. The word "Celt" is itself Greek. We have no idea what the Gauls/Celts called themselves broadly, if anything. The same is true for some of the Germanic names, though others have perfectly obvious etymologies.
Just for fun:
Frisiī = Germanic root frīsaz; Old Norse plural Frísir, Old English Frísan, Old Frisian pl. Frīsa, Old High German Freison; possibly related to the root frijaz, Gothic freis "free" (and a million other outcomes in such branches as Latin, Slavic, Sanskrit, etc).
Marcomannī (note the non-Latinate geminate -n-) = Germanic root markan "to mark, distinguish" + -mannz "man". Thus, "men of the borderland" or "men within the boundary". The markan root gives us fun things like Avestin marɘza "boundary", Latin margō, marginis fem. 3rd declension "boundary", Old Irish mruig "district"
Suēbī = Germanic root swēƀaz, Old English pl. Swǽfe, Old High German swāba
Quadi : it does not seem to be Germanic, in this case, or else I cannot find a suitable candidate. Strabo mentions (in Greek) a people called the Koldouoi, which was then Latinized to Coldui --> Coadui. The -oa- is strange in Latin, however.
Cherusci : a good example of a name that has no clear origin. Several theories have been put forward, but it remains pretty obscure. It might possibly be related to the Germanic root xerutuz/-taz "deer, hart".
edit: the rest of this was originally cut off when I posted, so I'm just recreating what I had from the scratch notes in a bit of a hurry, and omitting the least interesting of what was left.
Bastarnae : another interesting one without a definitive etymology. It could be related to a word that means "bind" and thus mean something like "coalition," in which case it is probably a loose endonym (a name by which they called themselves). It probably has some relation to the odd Latin noun basterna, which typically seems to denote a posh unwheeled carriage carried by mules (sort of like a litter). It does not seem like the type of conveyance a Germanic tribe on the Lower Danube would employ, though...
Teutonēs : this is a cool one. The word derives from the Proto-Indo-European root teute[]- meaning "people, group." I think it is likely that it comes to Latin via Celtic tow-tā "people, tribe." For this one we have Hittite tuzzi "infantry, people under arms". Its use a generic term for "Germans" is much later, from the early Medieval period. The Teutones are NOT linked to the common Germanic root þeuđanaz which gives us Gallic Toutonos, but Gothic þiudans, Old English ðeoden, both of which mean "king" and will be familiar to Tolkien fans.
Francī "Franks" - probably not an original endonym for any tribe, but it came to be the term to refer to a coalition of smaller peoples in Late Antiquity. There are many theories for the name, all of which are just about equally likely. It definitely seems Germanic in origin (ie not an exonym). I like a possible connection to the Germanic root frankōn "javelin," which gives us Old Norse frakka, Old English franca.
Gothi - the name is certainly their own endonym, Gothic Gut-þiuda. Tons has been written about this one. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic root geuta, IE gheu- "pour," but what exactly it means as a tribe name is not clear. This same root gives Latin fundere and Greek χέω "to pour out," and also as a dessert morsel, it gives Tocharian ku- "pour."
And many more.
If anyone has a further interest in Germanic etymologies, Orel's Handbook of Germanic Etymology (Leiden: Brill 2003) is insanely valuable.
