Acerca del sufijo toponímico -ain

Abstract

The suffix –ain, the root of no little discussion among students of Basque toponymia, is examined by the author of this study with the idea in mind of shedding a little light on this still somewhat shady subject. As for the structure of the work, the author first explains how widespread the suffix is and tries to find some kind of relation between the Basque –ain and those Béarnaise names with a similar ending. He goes on to examine what different authors have had to say about –ain and classifies them by groups. Finally, the author explains his own point of view in some detail, using the names that appear in Navarran toponymy as his main basis.