On the origin of the name Dinara

Abstract

This short paper on the origin of the name Dinara based on literature is in fact an open question and a challenge for future researchers. The authors are relatively well acquainted with the Western part of Dinaric karst and corresponding ”western” literature and from this point of view they tried to find out where and when appeared the name Dinara for the mountain as well as for the whole Dinaric chain as we call it nowadays. Based on older literature and maps they found out that the name Dinara appeared in the 16th century in a novel, not in a professional work, while in the 17th (Evliya Çelebi) and during the 18th centuries it became largely used by authors describing Balkans (Fortis 1774, Hacquet 1785). During the 19th century it was a generally adopted name, often as Dinaric Alps. Authors make an appeal to researchers whose topic is Dinaric karst to pay attention to this question; especially to older publications which are not generally known and accessible.
Key words: Dinara, Dinaric Mountains, origin of name.

Vprašanje izvora imena Dinara

Pričujoči kratki prispevek na podlagi pregledane literature predstavlja nerešeno vprašanje izvora imena Dinara, kar je lahko tudi izziv za prihodnje raziskovalce. Kot poznavalca predvsem zahodnega dela Dinarskega krasa in ustrezne »zahodne« literature sta avtorja poskušala ugotoviti, od kod izvira oziroma od kdaj se pojavlja ime Dinara za samo goro s tem imenom pa tudi za celotno Dinarsko gorstvo, kot ga pojmujemo danes. Na podlagi starejše literature in zemljevidov ugotavljata, da se ime Dinara pojavi v 16. stol. v romanu, ne v strokovni publikaciji, v 17. (Evliya Çelebi) in 18. stol. ga že pogosteje uporabljajo opisovalci tega dela Balkana (Fortis 1774, Hacquet 1785), v 19. stol. pa je že splošno priznano ime, pogosto kot Dinarske Alpe. Avtorja pozivata raziskovalce, ki se ukvarjajo z Dinarskim krasom, naj posvetijo nekaj pozornosti temu vprašanju, posebno o starejši literaturi, ki ni splošno znana in dostopna.

Ključne besede: Dinara, Dinarsko gorstvo, izvor imena.