[oman-l] Oman etymology

[Joachim Duester]

>Query:  Oman is a very ancient word. That is, it appears on very old maps.
 >          What is the "meaning" and etymology of Oman?
 >          Any possible connection with a word referring to the
 >          bottom or end of a foot, especially (big) toe or toes,
 >          such as BoHeN (in Hebrew)?
>
>Can anybody help with these questions?
>
>Isa

Looking briefly through some standard literature on Oman, it is remarkable
how little is there on  the origin of the word Oman (i.e., 'Uman). In the
introduction to his translation of a "History of the Imams and seyyids of
'Oman", George P. Badger writes about the early Greek and Arab geographeers
who mention Oman (pp. i-iv), but he fails to give an etymological analysis.


There is a small sub-chapter "The origin of the name 'Oman' " on pp. 73 of
the book "Oman in history" (London: Immel, 1995. - ISBN 1-898162-11-5;
original ed. in Arabic "Tarikh fi 'Uman") which I summarize for you as
follows even though it does not solve the question:

<<< Opinions of Arab geographers and historians differ greatly as to the
origin of the name, some sources linking it to the Qahtani tribe of Oman
and others linking it linguistically to a word having the meaning of
"settling" or "staying".  Ibn al-Qabi says: "Oman means those who occupy a
place, as in the adjective aamen, or amoun, i.e. settled man. From this was
derived Oman". 
al-Zujjaji says: "Oman was named after Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil", while
Ibn al-Kalbi says: "It was named after Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin
Ibrahim, God's Khalil (or close friend), because he was the person 
who built the city of Oman". Shaykh al-Rabwa, on the other hand, ascribes
the name to Oman bin Loot, the prophet Lot of the Bible. 
Another explanation is that the Azd (a tribe migrating from Yemen to Oman
in pre-Islamic times) called Oman "Omana" because they came from a valley
at Ma'rib in Yemen which went by the name of Oman, and 
they likened it to this place.
One of the earliest Roman historians to mention Oman is Yalainous who lived
from 23-79 AD. He presents in his writings a city which he names Omana.
This name recurs in Ptolemy (second century AD). Some historians identify
this Omana of Ptolemy as the city of Sohar (on the Batina coast of Oman),
which was the pre-eminent trading centre of Arabia in the classical age of
Islam.  >>>

I did not check what the Encyclopedia of Islam has to say about the origin
of the word 'Uman but will look it up tomorrow.

Joachim

Oman Studies Centre
http://www.oman.org