The Bormida (''Bormia'' in

Piedmontese language Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

) is a river of north-west

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Toponymy

The hydronym ''Bormida'' derives from the pre-Roman Ligurian proto-form ''*bormo'' ('warm or bubbling water'), also linked to the names of the gods of the springs ''Bormō'' and ''Bormānus''. Similar hydronyms are present in the region: the river Borbera and the river

Borbore The Borbore is a river of Piedmont, Italy. It is a left-side tributary of the Tanaro. Geography The Borbore rises in the hills of Roero near Guarene (province of Cuneo). Flowing towards the north-east it enters the Province of Asti and gets from ...

, but also the town of

Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellin ...

in Lombardy know since the ancient times for the thermal waters and the town of Burbons les bains in France known for the same reason. The root ''*borm-'' itself could have pre-Indo-European originsFrancesco Perono Cacciafoco. 2015
Pre-Indo-European Relics: The *borm- Root in the European Pre-Latin Context
''Acta Linguistica: Journal for Theoretical Linguistics'', 9, 2, pp. 57-69. and, therefore, could be connected with the lost language (or languages) of Prehistoric inhabitants of Europe who occupied Northern Italy before the possible arrival of the Indo-Europeans.

Geography

The Bormida rises in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

from the Rocca Barbena (close to

Colle Scravaion The Colle Scravaion (814 m) is a mountain pass in the Province of Savona (Italy). It connects Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena with Bardineto. Geography The pass stands between Monte Lingo (1103 m, West) and Rocca Barbena. Located on the ...

) as Bormida di Millesimo'', and flows at first through

and then through

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. After converging with the Bormida di Spigno near Bistagno it joins the

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drai ...

, of which it is the major tributary, north-east of Alessandria.

References

* Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Savona Rivers of the Province of Cuneo Rivers of the Province of Asti Rivers of the Province of Alessandria Rivers of the Alps Rivers of the Apennines {{Italy-river-stub