Lapscheure, etymologisch verscheurd. Een overzicht van de opvattingen, nieuwe gegevens en een voorstel tot verzoenende oplossing

Abstract

The etymology of the West Flemish place name Lapscheure remains uncertain and contentious. The dispute involves both elements of the name. Gysseling (1960) interprets the second part, -scheure, as the local phonetic form of 'schuur' (barn), while Mansion (1935) and Tavernier-Vereecken (1954, 1968) suggest it means 'schoor/schor/schorre' (shore/marsh). The oldest records, such as "lappescura" (1019-30), use <u>, with later records showing <eu/ue>, indicating a Middle West Flemish pronunciation of [ø]. Tavernier-Vereecken's attempt to categorize 'schoor/schorre' within a group of ingvaeonisms (like veugel, weunen, bleuzen) lacks support in contemporary West Flemish. Conversely, unambiguous 'schuur' place names, such as the French-Flemish Ruischeure (Fr. Renescure) and Buisscheure (Fr. Buysscheure), suggest a more straightforward interpretation of 'schuur'. Mansion and Tavernier-Vereecken propose that Lapscheure derives from a personal name, such as Lappa or Lappo. Initially, Gysseling, however, considered the name could mean a repaired barn, later suggesting an Indo-European root *lap (‘bright, beautiful’), which gained little traction. The notion of a repaired barn appeared earlier in Tanghe's 1857 "Beschryving van Lapscheure". The noun lap (‘patch’) dates back to the 10th-century Old Dutch Wachtendonk Psalms and exists in all Germanic languages except Gothic. The verb lappen (‘to mend’) first appeared in 1285 (Dordrecht), possibly originating as a Northwest Germanic/Ingvaeonic term. However, naming a prominent barn this way is doubtful, whereas a personal name remains more plausible. The earliest form, with the expressive geminate -pp-, suggests Lappo as a diminutive of the frequent medieval name Landberht/Landbrecht, evolving through forms like Landbo, Lambo, Lampo, and Lampe to Lappe. This analysis aligns with similar transformations seen in medieval names, as discussed by Debrabandere (1980).