Re: German "Stein"

["Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim" <Jdibrahim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Harlan Messinger wrote:

> Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim wrote:
> > The German word for stone ,,Stein" is used in German very widely in
> > combinations particularly with proper names like surnames, names of
> > streets....
> > 1. The combination of some words like Bernstein is clear to me but I
> > can't understand a name like Einstein "one stone".
> > 2. Germany is not that mountainous so why this overuse of "Stein"(
> > maybe particularly in the north?) Any historic explanation?
>
> 1. "Stein" means "stone", not "mountain", so what do mountains have to
> do with it?
>
> 2. Much of the region where *German is spoken* is mountainous.

1. You may have noticed the meaning of Stein is known to me. Yes,
Germany id full of stones if you mean Switzerland and part of Austria
or south Germany. Does this explain the overuse of "Stein"?  There
are other regions in the world much more mountainous. Is there no link?
2. What does the name Einstein mean?
3. A mineral water is called: Gerolsteinerstein. (I hope I wrote it
correctly) here the use of Stein is even  trippled (Geroel + two times
Stein).