Origin and meaning of the name Christopher
By Manuel Luciano da Silva, M.D.

As a sequence to the investigation concerning the navigator Cristovão Colon, we are going today to analyze the origin and meaning of the name Christopher. In the next article we will analyze the origin and meaning of the name Colon.

We all know that it was Jesus Christ who funded Christianity and the Christian Theology, which has had and continues to have an enormous impact in the history of humanity. The name Christ has served as inspiration for the making of magnificent works of arts, paintings, sculptures, churches, cathedrals, poems and even musical hymns. The name Christ has been invoked, unfortunately, in many religious wars. But has been used also used in a variety of nomenclature including the personal name: Christopher.

With this introduction we are going to make a comparative analysis of the names Cristóvão in Portuguese and Christopher in English. Both words are names composed of two parts: 'Cristo' plus 'vão' in Portuguese and 'Christ' plus 'pher' in English. We are going to verify -- strange as it may seem -- that 'vão' and 'pher' are derived from the same Latin verb 'fer'.

Which is the etymological meaning of the words 'ferry' and 'vão'?

Christopher Colon --> Cristofer Colon --> Cristofõm Colon -->

Cristovam Colon --> Cristóvão Colon.

Summary:

We are going to see that "fer" is derived from the root of the Latin verb "fero," creating the word "fom" which developed into Portuguese as "vão".

Strange as it may seem, it is from the same "fer", derived from the same Latin verb "fero", that the English word "ferry" was born, as we use it in "ferryboat" having the same meaning as "vão". Thus, "vão" and "Ferry" have the same mother, the Latin verb "fero"!

Click on photo for a larger view. This is Mount Hope Bridge, connecting Bristol to Portsmouth, in the State of Rhode Island, U. S. A. It was built in 1929. Before the bridge, both towns were connected by a ferryboat. Even today there is a Ferry Road in Bristol which crosses the span of the bridge and continues as Bristol Ferry Road in Portsmouth!

Our trip to Italy

For years I promised my wife a trip to Italy. Finally I fulfilled my promise in July 1994. We spent two enchanting weeks visiting Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, Pisa, Verona, Venice and Milan.

While in Rome we went to the Library of the Vatican to verify the contents of the first two Papal Bulls of Pope Alexander VI, dated May 3rd and 4th of 1493. There we found, written very clearly, the name of the navigator, "Cristofõm Colon." Both Papal Bulls were written in Latin. One would have expected to find the name of the navigator written in Latin: "Christopher Columbus." But this was not so! We could have expected his name to be written in Italian, "Cristoforo Colombo," since both Papal Bulls were published in Rome. But that did not happen either! These Papal Bulls were addressed to the Catholic Spanish Kings (Fernando & Isabela), so the name of the navigator could have been in Spanish, "Cristobal Colon," but that did not happen either!

Rather, the name that appears on Papal Bulls is in the Portuguese, "Cristofõm Colon". We know this because of all the languages which exist in the world, Portuguese is the only one that uses a tilde (~) over the vowel "õ", creating a nasal sound on the "o", as part of the diphthong (union of two vowels pronounced in one syllable) "ão."

Analysis of 'vão'

Now we are going to analyze how the word "fõm" was transformed into "vão." So we can better understand the meaning of the Latin verb "fero," which means, "to carry" or "to transport across a river," we have to refer to Greek mythology and also to the Christian tradition which is contained in the meaning of the name of Saint Cristóvão (Saint Christopher), the protector of good voyages. This saint is often depicted on medieval paintings carrying on his shoulders Christ the Child. The name "Cristóvão" means literally: "a person who carries Christ", that is, "one who spreads or propagates Christ".

Phonetic evolution of 'vão'

Let us look now at the phonetic or sound evolution of the name "Cristofõm." As we stated above: the Latin name "Christo" was changed into Portuguese as "Cristo". The part of the name "pher" was first changed into "fer" and then evolved into "fõm" as it appears on the Papal Bulls. As it happens to many words in Portuguese, the letter "f" was changed to "v", originating the form "vam", which was used on the letter King John II wrote to Cristóvam Colon on March 20, 1488.

We should note that archaic Portuguese words terminating in "om" or "on" all evolved into the diphthong "ão" as it happened in the final form of the name "Cristó+vão." There are innumerable examples of this phonetic methamorphosis in the Portuguese language from the Latin into Portuguese: constellation --> constelação; construction --> construção, etc.

DICTIONARIES

To unravel the transformation of "fõm" into "vão" we need to consult several dictionaries and encyclopedias in Portuguese and English:

(l) Dictionary Latin-Portuguese,

(2) Dictionary of the Portuguese Language,

(3) Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira,

(4) World Book Dictionary,

(5) Webster's Third New International Dictionary,

(6) Dicionário Inglês -Português (Dictionary English-Portuguese).

(1) Latin-Portuguese Dictionary, by António Gomes Ferreira, published by Porto Editora, Oporto, Portugal, on page 469, we can read: fero, fers, ferre, tuli, latum v. (verb), tr. (transitive). And on page 471 we see: fers, fert, second and third person singular of the present indicative of the verb "fero." Thus, the name "Christopher" --> 'Cristofer' or 'Cristofõm' (as it appears on the Papal Bull) is composed of 'Cristo' + 'carry', therefore, 'a person who carries Christ'.

(2) Dictionary of the Portuguese Language by António de Morais Silva,

published by Confluência / Livros Horizonte, Lisbon, Portugal, Volume V, on page 428 we see: vão -> part of the bridge between the pillars or span of the bridge.

(3) Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira, 40 volumes. In Volume 34, page 157, first column, we see: vão -> the distance between the pillars of a bridge, the span of the bridge. The Dictionary of the Portuguese Language and the Portuguese Encyclopedia both describe 'vão' as the essential part of the bridge which crosses a river, which is the same definition contained in the meaning of the Latin verb 'fero]: 'to take, to carry, to cross.' We should note that 'vão' in Portuguese also means an ]empty space,' which is the empty space between the pillars when the span of the bridge does not exist.

(4) World Book Dictionary, published by World Book Encyclopedia. On page 787 we see: 'ferry' and the following information is given: ferry, v.t., to carry (people, vehicles, and goods) back and forth across a river or narrow stretch of water. In Greek mythology, 'Charon ferried the souls of the dead over River Styx.' Note the meaning, 'ferried over.'

(5) Webster's Third New International Dictionary. We can verify on page 838, second column, that the word 'ferry' is also derived from the Latin verb 'fero.' Here is what the Webster's dictionary states: Fer com form, [F&L] fr., fere: bear, carry , more BEAR]: one that bears, <aquifer> <conifer>.

(6) Dicionário Inglês -Português, Porto Editora, Porto, Portugal. More interesting to note on page 296 is a definition of the word 'ferry' -> transport boat which crosses a river or lake, from one margin to the other; locale at a river or lake where one can cross using a boat". We should note that this definition of 'ferry' is given without the combined word 'ferryboat,' which means then that the word 'ferry' by itself, because it is derived from the latin word 'fero,' contains the ENTIRE meaning of 'crossing a river or a lake'.

It was interesting to explore more deeply the meaning of the Latin verb 'fero' which means 'to carry, to bear' and verify its association with the meaning of 'vão' in Portuguese, meaning the essential part of a bridge (otherwise no one could cross to the other margin) and at the same time verify that the same verb 'fero' is the etymological origin of the word 'ferry', the main meaning of which is 'to bear, carry' to the other margin of the river. Let us repeat from above: 'to carry (people, vehicles, and goods) back and forth across a river or narrow stretch of water'.

Palatalization

Without hesitation we can conclude this article in this way: both 'vão' and 'ferry' come from the same Latin mother, 'fere.' Congratulations to both important words!