Editing Alps (section)

== Etymology and toponymy ==
{{See also|Albion#Etymology}}
[[File:Bildstock an der Alpe Bardughe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|An "Alp" refers to a high elevation pasture frequented only in summer. It often includes several huts and small places of worship (here the Alpe Bardughè in [[Ticino]]).]]

The English word ''Alps'' comes from the Latin ''Alpes''.

The Latin word ''[[wikt:en:Alpes|Alpes]]'' could possibly come from the adjective ''[[wikt:en:albus|albus]]''<ref name="etymonline.com"/> ("white"), or could possibly come from the Greek goddess [[Alphito]], whose name is related to ''alphita'', the "white flour"; ''[[alphos]]'', a dull white leprosy; and finally the [[Proto-Indo-European]] word [[wikt:𒀠𒉺𒀸#Hittite|*albʰós]]. Similarly, the river god [[Alpheus (deity)|Alpheus]] is also supposed to derive from the Greek ''alphos'' and means whitish.<ref>Smith, Jennifer Nimmo (2004). The river Alpheus in Greek, Christian and Byzantine thought. ''Byzantion''</ref>

In his commentary on the ''Aeneid'' of [[Virgil]], the late fourth-century grammarian [[Maurus Servius Honoratus]] says that all high mountains are called ''Alpes'' by Celts.<ref>{{cite book |author=Maurus Servius Honoratus |title=Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii |chapter=Book 10, line 13 |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D10%3Acommline%3D13 |language=la |editor=Georgius Thilo |access-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106073851/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D10%3Acommline%3D13 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the Latin ''Alpes'' might derive from a [[Pre-Indo-European languages|pre-Indo-European]] word *''alb'' "hill"; "Albania" is a related derivation. Albania, the name of the region known as the country of [[Albania]], has been used as a name for several mountainous areas across Europe.

In [[Ancient Rome|Roman times]], "Albania" was a name for the eastern [[Caucasus]], while in the English languages "Albania" (or "Albany") was occasionally used as a name for [[Scotland]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Albania&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |date=May 14, 1955 |access-date=April 18, 2012 |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728055023/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Albania&searchmode=none |url-status=live }}</ref> although it is more likely derived from the Latin word ''[[wikt:en:albus|albus]]'',<ref name="etymonline.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/alp |title=Alp &#124; Origin and meaning of alp by Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=December 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217110610/https://www.etymonline.com/word/alp |url-status=live }}</ref> the colour white.

In modern languages the term ''alp'', ''alm'', ''albe'' or ''alpe'' refers to a [[Transhumance in the Alps|grazing pastures]] in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks.<ref name=Schmid93>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s00015-004-1113-x |title=Tectonic map and overall architecture of the Alpine orogen |journal=Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae |volume=97 |year=2004 |last1=Schmid |first1=Stefan M. |last2=Genschuh |first2=Bernhard |last3=Kissling |first3=Eduard |last4=Schuster |first4=Ralf |issue=1 |bibcode=2004SwJG...97...93S |s2cid=22393862 |doi-access=free|page=93}}</ref>

An ''alp'' refers to a high mountain pasture, typically near or above the [[tree line]], where cows and other livestock are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where huts and hay barns can be found, sometimes constituting tiny hamlets. Therefore, the term "the Alps", as a reference to the mountains, is a misnomer.<ref name="Reynolds43ff" /><ref name="Fleming 4">Fleming (2000), 4</ref> The term for the mountain peaks varies by nation and language: words such as ''Horn'', ''Kogel'', ''Kopf'', ''Gipfel'', ''Spitze'', ''Stock'', and ''Berg'' are used in German-speaking regions; ''Mont'', ''Pic'', ''Tête'', ''Pointe'', ''Dent'', ''Roche'', and ''Aiguille'' in French-speaking regions; and ''Monte'', ''Picco'', ''Corno'', ''Punta'', ''Pizzo'', or ''Cima'' in Italian-speaking regions.<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 117–19</ref>