The role of Geography in the analysis of the meaning of place names. The case of Alicante

The relation between Geography and Toponymy is remarkable, since place names designate places upon the terrestrial surface, and geography is the science that studies phenomena happening upon those places. In addition, place names are an exceptional tool for reconstituting a disappeared geographic landscape. Geography, History and Linguistics are the three main auxiliary disciplines in order to study place names. A place name analysis of a paradigmatic case (Alacant/Alicante) is studied in this paper. First we review the long, convulsive history of ancient Alicante, which involved the abandonment of its Roman site and its moving –together with its place name– into its current location. We also carry out a geographic analysis of the physical features around the Roman site. Finally we carry out an etymological analysis of this place name and formulate a new hypothesis about its possible meaning.