What is "aach"

n. 1 (abbreviation of Aachen English) 2 (surname from=German English)

Aach is a frequent element in German toponymy, see Aach (toponymy).

• Rivers called Aach:
  • Aach (Arbon)
  • Linzer Aach
  • Memminger Aach
  • Radolfzeller Aach
  • Stockacher Aach
  • Zwiefalter Aach
• Towns or villages called Aach:
  • Aach, Baden-Württemberg
  • Aach, Rhineland-Palatinate
• Aach is also a German surname derived from the toponym, see Aach (surname)

The Aach is a river in Arbon in Switzerland, formed by the confluence of two rivers, each about long. It flows through the city of Arbon and after almost two kilometers flows into Lake Constance

The link road Arbon-Landquart crosses the Aach. Built in 1910, the bridge over the river was completely renovated for the first time in April 2006, after more than 90 years.

Aach, also von Aach, is a German surname derived from the toponym Aach. Notable people of the name include:

• Christoph Wilhelm von Aach (fl. mid-18th century), German metal caster from Nuremberg
• Hans Günther Aach (b. 1919), German botanist
• Herb Aach (1923–1985), American painter and writer

Aach (variants Ache; Aa) is a widespread Upper German hydronym, from an Old High German aha (Proto-Germanic *ahwō) "running water" (ultimately from PIE *hakʷā- "(moving) water") The word has also been reduced to a frequent sufix -ach in Alemannic and Austro-Bavarian toponymy. The word is cognate with Old English ǣ (reflected in English placenames as -ea, also Yeo, Eau), Old Saxon aha, Old Norse á, Gothic aƕa, all meaning "river; running water".

Related is the German Aue (variant Au) with a meaning " river island, wetland, floodplain, riparian woodland", i.e. a cultivated landscape in a riparian zone. It is derived from the same root, but with a -yo- suffix (Proto-Germanic *awjō). This word was also reduced to a suffix, as -au (as in Reichenau). It is frequent as a river name, as in Große Aue, Aue (Elbe), Aue (Weser), etc., as well as the name of a settlement, as in Aue (Saxony), Au, St. Gallen, Au, Vorarlberg, Au am Rhein, Au am Leithaberge, etc.

The river-name Aach in Upper Germany is reserved for broad, but non-navigable, running streams with noticeable gradient sufficient to power water mills; it contrasts with Fluss used for navigable rivers on one hand, and with Bach for minor brooks or rivulets. An instructive example is Salzach, now classed as a Fluss ("river") but formerly as Ache as it was only navigable by raft, not by regular riverboats.

Hydronymy in -ach generally indicates a Germanic settlement in the early medieval or migration period, while names in -bach indicate names of the high medieval period.

Hydronyms in aar, ahr, acher reflect a cognate Celtic word. In French, the Old Frankish form evolved into aix, as in Aix-en-Provence, Aix-les-Bains; the Italian reflex is -acco.