Ulvi Yurtsever <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I thought beethoven means, literally, "beet field." Am I wrong?

No, I don't think so, but who am I? The experts disagree.  The greater part
subscribes to the beet field explanation, but some dissidents think that
the name has something to do with the word "bet", meaning "better".  Their
explanation of the name is "better maedow".  Why? They point to the name of
a part of the Netherlands:  Betuwe.  It's some kind of island between the
river Maas (Dutch spelling) and the river Waal (also Dutch spelling) and
maybe one of the first places were the Batavians (the ancestors of the
Dutch) settled.  If they are right, well, then Beethoven's ancestors were
Dutch, not Flemish.  But I don't think so.  I agree with the beet field
explanation and Flanders.  The 16th-century Beethovens were Flemish farmers
and as far as I know the name is still existing in Flanders, but, also as
far as I know, never a Dutch has been born with the name Beethoven or
related names.  To this day the Dutch/Flemish word "biet" means "beet" and
the word "hof" (plural "hoven") points not only to the garden, but also to
the buildings.  BTW, Thayers gives an interesting list of the various
spellings of the name, among them even the spelling "Piethoff".

Regards,
Joyce Maier ([log in to unmask])