Neuter

Bonn

Bonn (an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the Rhine River; the former capital of West Germany and (until 1999) seat of government of unified Germany)

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɔn/

Inherited from Middle High German

Inherited from Old High German

In summary

From Middle High German Bonne, Bunne, from Old High German Bunna, from Proto-West Germanic *Bunnā, from Latin Bonna, short for Castra Bonnensia. The Germanic form shows its very old age in the replacement of -o- with -u-, which then also failed to undergo a-mutation because of the following nasal geminate. The modern German -o- is per se a regular development (cf. Sonne, Wonne), but was likely reinforced by readaptation to the Latin. One theory relates it to the tribe Eburones. Folk etymology has proposed origin from dedication to Saint Boniface, but this is a crass anachronism. During the Middle Ages, Bonn was often called Verona in Latin texts.