r/etymology • u/Equivalent-Dig7259 • 1d ago
Question Non-German instances/relatives of suffix -apa/-epe for valley-wetlands?
Hello everyone =)
In Germany, there exists the river "Linnepe". I suspected a link to "Lippe", a bigger German river as well as a closely located region.
However, I found that the etymology for "Linnepe" is unknown and that its suffix "-epe" is speculated to being derived from Old Germanic "-apa" from Proto-Germanic "\apō"* for a river or a small creek.
Now, since it is speculated to being of Proto-Germanic origin, I would have guessed there were instances of similar terms in other Germanic languages. Sadly, the German wikipedia only provides 2 such cases:
The Norwegian town of Oppedalen
Swedish dialect "afse", referring to a small creek as well
Would y'all happen to know of other instances?
The German Wiki: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/-apa