Gontar is a Russian occupational surname that refers to a roofer or shingler, like Shingler in English and Schindler in German. The occupational meaning of Gontar is obsolete. It derives from Russian gont (гонт), shingle,[1] from Polish gont, shingle,[2][3] from Middle High German gant, beam,[4] from Latin cantherius, rafter,[5] from Greek kanthelion (κανθήλιον), rafter.[6] The English word gantry also derives from the Latin cantherius.[7]
The same slavic word for shingle, and the surname, also exist in Ukrainian as both Gontar and Hontar,[8] and in Polish, Gontar.[9] Ukrainian Гонтар may be approximated by Hontar, as Г in that language indicates an 'h' sound that is slightly fricative. In Russian, Г sounds as a hard g, written in Ukrainian by a Ghe with upturn, Ґ. Many people in Ukraine, however, appear to use the Gontar pronunciation. The usual Russian Cyrillic spelling is Гонтарь.
As spelled Gontar, 75% of people bearing the surname live in Russia, at 3,192.[10] Yet 99% of people bearing the Hontar spelling live in Ukraine, and more than double the bearers of the Gontar spelling worldwide.[11]
Notable people with the surname include:
- Abram Yutkovich Gontar (1908–1981), Soviet Jewish poet and novelist of Ukrainian origin, participant in the Kengir uprising
- Anastasiia Gontar, Russian Paralympic swimmer
- Anna Hontar, Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer
- Nikolai Gontar (born 1949), Russian footballer
- Olga Gontar (born 1979), Belarusian rhythmic gymnast
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ https://context.reverso.net/translation/russian-english/гонт
- ^ https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gont
- ^ Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980
- ^ Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980
- ^ Ulrich, Roger B. Roman Woodworking. Yale University Press, 2007, p.366
- ^ https://lsj.gr/wiki/κανθήλια
- ^ "Gantry | Etymology, origin and meaning of gantry by etymonline".
- ^ "ГОНТ — ПЕРЕКЛАД | Горох — українські словники". goroh.pp.ua.
- ^ https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gont
- ^ "Gontar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io.
- ^ "Hontar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io.