Because of its identification with
Alesia the origin of the name of Alise-Sainte-Reine has been the subject of numerous studies. Several ideas have been proposed for a root of
*alis and three proposals have attracted the attention of linguists and toponymists: • (
Sorbus aria) (a tree originating from Southern Europe), • rocky height,
cliff, and •
spring. These points were confirmed by Jacques Lacroix in his study of the god of Alise:
Alisanos. Research on '''' remains largely unfinished despite numerous attempts to develop the subject. The theme of the oronym *
alis or *
ales meaning "rocky height" is the one that is currently most frequently put forward to explain the name of Alesia. It is from an Indo-European root *
palis or *
pales, the initial [p] became silent in Celtic, while on the contrary it remains in Latin place names such as
Palatinus (
Palatine Hill) for example. In
Germanic the Indo-European [p] was mute [f] which gives *'
in lower Old Frankish, ' in
Old High German or the German
Fels meaning "rock". A number of researchers also believe that the term may be suitable for a site in Alise-Sainte-Reine that has cliffs. The explanation of a
hydronym was mentioned early - in 1901
Camille Jullian said that the name of
Alise derived from the spring in the heart of the village and which was very famous until the early 20th century. It recurred in 1908 by breaking the radical *
Alis into two themes
AL +
IS. In 1956 Paul Lebel did not resume this juxtaposition of the two hydronymic themes, he proposed instead for some rivers the prototype *
alisa from the post-Celtic period, which is why in the case of Alesia, he ultimately opted for the
oronym. In 1990 the study of the etymology of the name of Alesia was taken over by Marianne Mulon. She wrote that the oronymic and the hydronymic proposals were both "reasonable". The same year Ernest Nègre in his
General toponymy of France, vol 1, explained the name of Alise-Sainte-Reine as pre-Celtic *
alis + Gallic Suffix
-ia and he indicated that it is a derivative from a designation of a spring. In 1995 the historian Francis Lassus and linguist Gerard Taverdet annotate the study by Ernest Nègre stating that his explanation by hydronym is legitimate because of the thermal spring present at Alise. In 2007 Gerard Taverdet stated that this spring has been the subject of numerous pilgrimages while being exploited for therapy. In 2010 Stephane Gendron, another toponymist, posed the question: is it from the root *
ales designating a mountain or the root *
alis designating the spring? He adds, however, that the village has a mineral source and a sanctuary with a Gallic bathhouse with a therapeutic function. The healing waters site were undoubtedly famous since Celtic times. In the modern era the trade in
mineral water from Alise went beyond the borders of Burgundy and even extended to
Europe which lasted until the early 20th century. The sanctuary was very large and it was dedicated to
Apollo Moritasgus. Jacques Lacroix said that this deity was associated with the healing waters with the first part of its name
Mori- designating the sea or water as in
are-morica (
Armorique) or in the maritime tribe of the
Morini. During the revolutionary period of the
National Convention (1792–1795), the commune bore the names of
Alise and
Petite-Alise. ==History==