The meaning of names among Mediterranean Jews
Marc Eliany
©
ASSUS
among other possible variations depending on the country and language of the person.
Assus is a rare name in the inventory of Jewish Mediterranean creators reviewed here. It is represented by two entries of Algerian origin (father ans son) and may refer to an origin, i.e., from Sousse.
Prefixes attached
to the root name such as (aben, iben, abi, avi, am, ben, bin, abou, a,
aj, al, as, bel, ha, i, la, lel, me, m, o, wi, vi, ) denotes usually a relation
to a person, i.e., the father of or the son of X, a place, i.e., a person
from X, an occupation, i.e., a person who practices a specific occupation, a
characteristic of a person, i.e., beautiful... The prefixes al, el are equivalent
to 'the' in English or the article 'le' in French. In the Moroccan Berbers tradition,
prefixes such as 'wi' 'vi' 'i' means usually a family relationship to X, the
equivalent of Abu in Arabic, i.e., 'the father of', 'son of' a man, a tribal
affiliation and so forth.In
the Hebrew tradition, the prefix ‘M ‘ is an abbreviation of
the word 'from.'
Suffixes such as 'illo' 'ano' 'ino'
ASSUS
Armand (1892-1977). Algeria. Son of Salomon Assus. Painter (pointillist). Painted
on commission for European Museums.
References:
Azoulay, Hayim Yossef Shem Hagdolim (the names of the great)
AZOULAY Haïm Yossef David (Hida) (1724-1807) Chém haguédolim va’ad lahakhamim (The names of the Great Council of Sages).
Levi, J et. al. 2000 Dictionnaire biographique du monde Juif Sepharade et Mediteranean, Editions Elysee, Montreal.
Toledano, J. 1983 La saga des familles, Les juifs du Maroc et leurs noms, Editions Stavit, Tel Aviv
Laredo A. 1978 Les noms des juifs au Maroc (Madrid, 1978)