Carthage: history, layout, and scholarship

Etymology of the name Carthage

The name “Carthage” is an Early Modern English form derived from Middle French “Carthage” (pronounced /kartaʒə/), which in turn comes from Latin “Carthāgō/Karthāgō.” The Latin forms are connected to Greek “Karkhēdōn” (Καρχηδών) and “Karkhadōn” (Καρχαδών), as well as an Etruscan form reconstructed as *Carθaza. These ultimately reflect the Punic root qrt-ḥdšt, meaning “new city,” and the related adjective “qrt-ḥdty” meaning “Carthaginian,” with the name also implying a “new Tyre.” In later usage, Latin “pūnicus” (“Phoenician”) influenced English borrowings such as “Punic Wars” and “Punic language.” In Modern Standard Arabic, “Qarṭāj” (قرطاج) is described as an adoption of the French “Carthage,” replacing an older local toponym “Cartagenna” that continued the Latin name. The etymology therefore ties the city’s name to the Punic concept of a “new city,” associated with Phoenician origins and the idea of a “new Tyre.”

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Founding legend of Dido and Elissa

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