Abbottabad [English]

Le présent billet a été rédigé par Jonathan Goldberg, que je remercie. Une traduction en français sera publiée prochainement sur ce blog.

This Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed is named after the British general, Sir James Abbot, who founded it in 1853, a short time after Queen Victoria’s forces annexed the Punjab. (Modern Pakistan was founded in 1947. The name Pakistan means “Land of (the) Pure” in Urdu and Persian.)

In the Urdu language, Abbotabad means “the City of Abbot”, just as Islamabad means “the City of Islam.”

Sir James Abbot

The word “abbot” (with a small ‘a’) means the superior of a monastery. The word comes from Middle English abbod, from Old English, from Late Latin abbat-, abbas, from Late Greek abbas, from Aramaic abbā father.

Additional  sources:

James Abbot – Wikipedia