Saint-Arnac Explained
| Saint-Arnac |
| Native Name: | Sent Arnac |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Saint-Arnac 66.svg |
| Arrondissement: | Prades |
| Canton: | La Vallée de l'Agly |
| Insee: | 66169 |
| Postal Code: | 66220 |
| Mayor: | Guy Calvet[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Agly Fenouillèdes |
| Coordinates: | 42.7808°N 2.53°W |
| Elevation M: | 306 |
| Elevation Min M: | 212 |
| Elevation Max M: | 583 |
| Area Km2: | 6.60 |
Saint-Arnac (in French pronounced as /sɛ̃.t‿aʁnak/; Occitan (post 1500);: Centernac) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.
Geography
Saint-Arnac is in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan.
Toponymy
- Attested formsThe name of Saint-Arnac appears in 899 as villare Centernacho, followed by Centernacum in the 12th century. But already in 1137, Ermengaud de So gives the name Sent Ernach, which later becomes Sant Arnach or Sanctum Arnachum, and then Saint-Arnac or Saint-Arnach in French.[2] [3]
- EtymologyThe original name, Centernach, is probably that of a landowner, followed by the suffix -acum, which may be either :[3]
- Centerinus (from Centenus) ;
- Cincturinus (from Cinctura) ;
- Centuriones (from centurion).
The mistake made in the 12th century by homonymy is a reference to a supposed saint Arnach, who never existed, although Arnac used to be a common German name at the time (from arn, eagle, followed by -acum).[3]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020. fr.
- Jean Sagnes (dir.), Le pays catalan, t. 2, Pau, Société nouvelle d'éditions régionales, 1985
- Lluís Basseda, Toponymie historique de Catalunya Nord, t. 1, Prades, Revista Terra Nostra, 1990
