ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1899
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1899
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08 Feb 2000
From: Jodi McMaster 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked about names used sometime after 1050 which sounded similar to
the French surname <Duseney>. The names we suggest in this letter are
simply names that sound similar to <Duseney>, and we have no reason to
believe that they are related in any way.

There is a place-name <Sene/> that would yield <de Sene/> as a surname,
pronounced \d@ s@-NAY\ (the "@" represents a schwa, the first vowel
sound in <about>).   There's also <du Chesnaie>, from <chesnaie>,
'oak-wood', which was pronounced \du" tch@-NAY-@\ until the 12th century
and \du" sh@-NAY-@\ after. [1] The \u"\ is pronounced by trying to say
the vowel in <bit> with one's lips rounded.

The Old French word <saigne> "marshland" gave rise to a byname <du
Saigne> indirectly.  That name didn't mean "from the marshland" (which
would have been <de la Saigne>) but rather "son of a man known as
'Saigne'", pronounced \du" SEN~-@\ before the 15th c. (\n~\ is the same
as in the Spanish word <sen~or> or the "ny" in <canyon>).

We also found <Saunier> and <Saulnier>, both modernly pronounced
\so-NYAY\. [2] The Old French pronunciation is \sow-NYAYR\, with \ow\ as
in <cow> and \AY\ as in <hay>. By c.1500 the final <-r> of <Saunier> was
silent.  <Saulnier> is a Renaissance spelling; it is not Old French. Old
French had <salnier> in the early 12th c., but this soon became
<saunier>. 

We hope this letter has been helpful.  Please write us again if any part
of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval Benicouer,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Amant le Marinier, Blaise de Cormeilles, and
Talan Gwynek contributed comments and/or research for this letter.

For the Academy,

   AElfwyn aet Gyrwum
   8 February 2000
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References:

[1] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de
l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, III:175b (Paris: Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). 

[2] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms
de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.nn.
Dussaigne, Dussandier, Saunier.

[3] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_
(Paris: Larousse, 1997), s.v. saigne, sentier.