Etymology
The name Old Goa was first used in the 1960s in the address of the Konkani monthly magazine, dedicated to spread the devotion of the Sacred Heart, Dor Mhoineachi Rotti which was shifted to the Basilica de Bom Jesus in 1964. Postal letters were returned to the sender, as the name "Old Goa" was unknown then, according to then and longtime editor of the monthly, the great Goan historian late Padre Moreno de Souza, SJ.
The village panchayat uses the name Sé-Old Goa, while the post office, Archaeological Survey of India use the name Velha Goa. The place is called as Saibachem Goem (referring to St. Francis Xavier as Saib i.e. Master), Pornem Goem, Adlem Goem or just Goem in Konkani. The name Velha Goa should not be confused with another former Goan capital Goa Velha, lying some villages away in the south. The names Vhoddlem Goem and Thorlem Goem refers to Goa Velha, while Goem besides referring to Velha Goa i.e. Old Goa also refers to the whole state of Goa in some contexts.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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