Quote Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
I read that on wikipedia too... sounds reasonable enough I suppose, but theological scholars are usually known for their attention to detail...
Wikipedia is citing the Online Etymological Dictionary - but I found it in the OED. There's not a better tool for English word origins. As far as the theological scholars' attention to detail, we're talking about a timeframe when Latin was completing its mutation/fragmentation into French/Spanish/Portuguese and so on (all of which were also fractured regionally) , and when spelling was whatever the scholar in question thought looked good at the moment. Small changes like Iakobos=>Iakobus=>Iakombus=>Iakomus were probably hardly noticeable.