Berriz

Berriz
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Berriz Location of Berriz within the Basque Country
Coordinates: 43°10′33″N 2°34′32″W / 43.17583°N 2.57556°W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Basque Country
Province	Biscay
Comarca	Durangaldea
Government
• Mayor	Jose Jabier Azpitarte Ariño
Area
• Total	30.07 km^2 (11.61 sq mi)
Elevation	192 m (630 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	4,888
• Density	160/km^2 (420/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Berritzarra
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	48240
Website	Official website

Berriz (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: Bérriz) is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Berriz is part of the comarca of Durangaldea and has a population of 4.759 inhabitants as of 2007 and according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute.

Toponymy

Berriz belongs to a series of Basque toponyms with an -iz ending. Julio Caro Baroja defended that most of these toponyms came from an original Basque toponym plus the Latin suffix -icus. Caro Baroja considered that on toponymy, the suffixes -oz, -ez and -iz used to be combined with the name of the owner of the lands, with its origin being in some place between the Middle Ages and the Roman Empire.

In the case of Berriz, Caro Baroja suggested that the name might come from Verrius, the documented Latin name. Then, to the name Verrius it was added the suffix -icus (indicating that the lands were owned by Verrius) and became Verricus^[1] From then, the name evolved to Verrici and from there to Verriz. The name of the town in Spanish used to be Vérriz.

Another theory about is origin negates the Latin origin and proposes a Basque origin. Berriz might come from Be(h)e ("under") and Oiz in reference to the Oiz mountain, and then "under Oiz" as of "in the or at the bottom of Oiz".

References

1. Caro Baroja, Julio (1945-6). Materiales para una historia de la lengua vasca en su relación con la latina. Acta Salmanticensia, tomo I, número 3. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Bérriz in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (Spanish)
• Bérriz Town Hall in Basque and Spanish