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 The occupational meaning of Gontar is obsolete.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:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://context.reverso.net/translation/russian-english/гонт
  2. ^ https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gont
  3. ^ Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980
  4. ^ Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980
  5. ^ Ulrich, Roger B. Roman Woodworking. Yale University Press, 2007, p.366
  6. ^ https://lsj.gr/wiki/κανθήλια
  7. ^ "Gantry | Etymology, origin and meaning of gantry by etymonline".
  8. ^ "ГОНТ — ПЕРЕКЛАД | Горох — українські словники". goroh.pp.ua.
  9. ^ https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gont
  10. ^ "Gontar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io.
  11. ^ "Hontar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io.