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4 



LOCAL 



ETYMOLOGY 



A DERIVATIVE DICTIONARY 



OF 



GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES. 



BT 



RICHARD STEPHEN CHARNOCK, F.S.A. 



LONDON : 

HOULSTON AND WRIGHT, 

65, Paternoster Row. 

. 1859. 



/^/. e..yi^ 






LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Adams, Mr. W. J., Fleet Street, two copies. 
Angus, Mr. Wm., 68, Lord Street, Liverpool. 
Ashley, H., Esq., Charles Square, HoxtOD. 

Bakth, Heinrich, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.G.S., 39, Alpha Road, St. 

John's Wood, London. 
Bathqate, James, Esq., En^)4/ • • •'• 
Beetham, a. W., Esq., F.R.*9:."; 10, (Sown Office Row, Temple. 
Berry, H., Esq., 5, Veralani^efiidin^ ^h^» Inn* 
Blackie, W. Graham, Esq.; th.^yF.R.G'.S., Glasgow. 
BoswooD, Mr. Daniel, Gray's hux. 
BoswoRTU, Rev. Joseph, D.D., F.R.S., &c., Islip, Oxon. 
Bkacebridge, C. H., Esq., Atherstone Hall, Warwickshire. 
Brougham, The Right Honourable Lord, Grafton Street. 
Browne, Rev. J. W., Southgate House, Winchester. 

Canney, Rev. A. S., Princes Street, Upper Stamford Street. 
Cannon, Thos., Esq., Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. 
Chapman, Fred., Esq., New Cross Road, Kent. 
Charnock, Richard, Esq., 5, King's Bench Walk, Temple, six 

copies. 
Charnock, W. Whytehead, Esq., Camberwell, two copies. 
Chauntler, Thomas, Esq., Gray's Inn Square. 
Child, C, Esq., Universal Life Assurance, King William Street, 

City. 
Cole, Charles A., Esq., Public Record Office, Fetter Lane. 

a 2 



A' 



1^ LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

CoRNFORTii, Jolm, Esq., Biriiiinghaiii. 

Cox, William, Ksq., M.P., Canoiibury Square, li(liiigtoii. 

Crowdy, Rev. Anthony, Winchester. 

Curtis, J. Lewelyn, Esq., Merchant, Aldermanbury. 

Dales, John, Esq., Warwick Square. 

Daniel, Peter Austin, Esq., Gray's Inn Square, two copies. 

Devenisii, S. W., Esq., M.D., Billiter S<iUHre. 

DuBOSC, J. B., p;isq., Spring Grove, near Hounslow. 

Elderton, E. M., Esq., Uare Court, Inner Temple. 

Fenton, E. W., Esq., Walsall, Staffordshire. 

GOFF, Henry Lindon B., Escj., 7, Frederick's Phice, Old Jewry. 
GoUGil, Edward, Esq., 11, South Square, Gray's Inn. 
Gray's Inn, The Honourable Society of. 
Griffith, Thomas, Escj., Steward's Office, Gray's Inn. 

Haddan, C. W., Esq., Hertford Road, Kingsland. 

Hall, Robert Coleman, Esq., 70, Wardour Street, Soho. 

Harbridge, R. H., Esq., Alcester. 

Harrison, Rev. M., M.A., Oakley Rectory, Basingstoke. 

Harrison, William, Esq., F.G.S., Galligrcavcs House, Blackburn, 

Lancashire. 
HiGGS. Samuel, Esq., Penzance. 
Howes, Henry, Esq., Adjutant General's Offict*, Horse (Tuards, twa 

copies. 
Hunter, Mr. W. II., Cursitor Street, Cliancery I^ne. 

Isaacs, I., Esq., Lancaster. 

Isaacs, L. H., Esq., Verulam Buildings, Gray's Inn. 

Jarvis, R. T. Es(i., 23, Chancery Ijine. 

Johnston, Alex. Keith, Esq., F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., Edinburgh. 

Jones, J., Esq., Dinorben, St. A.^aph. 

Joyce, Samuel, Esq., Middle Temple, two copies. 

Joyce, William, Esq., 56, Chancery Lane. 

Kain, G. J., Esq., Basinghall Street. 
Kerslake, Thomas, Esq., Bristol, two copies. 

Labrow, Valentine II., Esq., F.S.A., Chancery Lane. 
Laxton, Henry, Es(j.. Arundel Street, Strand. 



% . LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. V 

Levy, Jonas, Esq., Tavistock Square. 

Lewis, James, Esq., 4, St. John's Wood Terrace. 

Lewis, Thomas, Esq., 25, Clement's Lane, Lombard Street. 

M. B., Lincoln's Inn, two copies. 

Mansfield, W. C. Esq., Ampton Place, Gray's Inn Road. 

March, R. A., Esq., Great James Street, Bedford Row. 

Mayer, Joseph, Esq., F.S.A., F.R.A.S., M.R.S.N.A., Lord Street, 

Liverpool. 
Mercier, Rev. Lewis P., M.A., Walthamslow. 
Meredith, George, Esq., Lower Halliford, Chertsey. 
MoLLWO, March, & Co., Merchants, St. Mary-at-Hill. 
Morgan, Thomas Vaughan, Esq., Battersea Works, Battersea. 
Morris, Mr. Edward, Ludgate Hill. 
Morris, Mr. Richard, 339, Strand. 
MoxoN, J., Esq., 63, George Street, Edinburgh, two copies. 

NiCHOLLS, Mr. H., 52, Regent Street, St. James's. 
Nicholson, John, Esq., Denbigh Villas, Bayswater. 
Nicholson, William, Esq., Elgin Road^ Kensington Park. 
NuTT, D., Esq., 270, Strand, three copies. 

Oram, Mr. G. J., 19, Wilmington Square. 

Paris, T. J., Esq., 68, Lord Street, Liverpool. 

Peacock, E. G., Esq., St. Leonard's Terrace, Paddington, two copies. 

Peckuam, Robt., Esq., Ludgate Street, St. Paul's. 

Phippen, Thomas, Esq., St. Mary's Road, Peckham, two copies. 

Poland, II. B., Esq., King's Bench Walk, Temple. 

Price, Charles, Esq., Stock Exchange. 

Quaritch, Bernard, Esq., Castle Street, Leicester Square. 

Rathbone, John, Esq., Upper Baker Street. 
Reed, E. H., Esq., 1, Church Yard Court, Temple. 
Richardson, R., Esq., Newton Heath, near Manchester. 
Robins, E. C, Esq., Arundel Street, Strand. 

Satchell, John, Esq., Queen Street, Cheapside. 

Sheridan, H. B., Esq., M.P., Bellefield House, Fulham. 

Simmons, Edward, Esq., Canterbury. 

Simpson, Mr. John, Eldon Chambers, Inner Temple. 

Slipper, James, Esq., St. Augustine's Road, Camden Road Villas. 

Sleigh, W. Campbell, Esq., Middle Temple. 



VI LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 

Snell, BlagravCy Esq., Acton Street, Gray's Inn Road. 

Sparrow, Mr. Thomas J., New North Street, Red Lion Square. 

Steel, Mr., Holborn. 

Steismetz, Andrew, Esq., Wellington Road, Kentish Town. 

Stevenson, Mr. William, High Street, Croydon. 

Sullivan, J as., Esq., Onslow House, Brompton. 

Tanswell, John, E^q., Inner Temple. 
Turner, Samuel, Esq., Gray's Inn Square. 

Vacher, G., Esq., F.R.G.S., Parliament Street, London. 

Wallis, Henry, Esq., 8, Gray's Inn Square, London. 

White, George, Esq., Epsom. 

WiLCE, Jas., Esq., Park Street, Camberwell. 

Williams, Edward, Esq., Morning Past. 

Williams, L., Esq., Holborn. 

Wilson, Rev. W., D.D., Canon of Winchester, Southampton. 

Wolff, Rev. Joseph, D.D., F.R.G.S., De Brewers, Somerset. 

Wood, J. T., Esq., Adam Street, Ad«lphi. 

Wyld, JameSy Esq., M.P., F.R.G.S., Charing Cross. 



^ 



PREFACE. 



In tracing the deriyatlon of Geographical Names, the 
Author has confined himself principally to those of most 
interest to the general reader. 

The volume contains the etymology of about 3000 
names. 

' In addition to researches in the principal known lan- 
guages, the works of Camden, Spelman, Selden, Bochart, 
Baxter, Lambarde, Ihre, Wachter, and most of the his- 
tories in the British Museum, have been consulted. The 
Author is also indebted for much useful information to 
the following works: — Dr. Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon 
Dictionary ; Chalmers' Caledonia ; Professor Wilson's 
Glossary of Indian Terms ; Shakespcar's Hindustani 
Dictionary; The Statistical Account of Scotland; La- 
martiniere's Grande Dictionnaire Geographique et Cri- 
tique ; Canes' Dictionary in Spanish, Arabic, and Latin ; 



Vm PREFACE. 



AmiBtrong's Gaelic Dictionary ; and Pryce's Cornish 
Archaeology. 

In derivations from the Oriental languages, the Author 
has deemed it advisable to give not only the Oriental 
character, but also the Italic equivalents. 

The reader is invited to compare the Additions and 
CouuECTiONS at page 307, et seq.y with the body of the 
work. 

The Index of Grouped Niunes refers to such as do not 
occur in their alphabetical order, but are explained inci- 
dentally under other heads. 



8, Gray's Inn Square, 
December y 1858. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 



A. S. .« «.... Anglo-Saxon. 

Anc. Brit Ancient Britieh. 

Arab Arabic. 

Armen Armenian. 

Arm «. Armoric. 

Barb. Gr. ...... Barbaric Greek. 

Ba8 Bret Bas Breton. 

Basq Basque. 

Belg Belgic. 

Beng Beng^lf. 

Boh Bohemian. 

C. Chin Cochin Chinese. 

Celt Celtic. 

Chal Chaldee. 

Chin Chinese. 

Copt Coptic. 

Com Cornish. 

D Dutch. 

Dan Danish. 

Eng English. 

Eth Ethiopic. 

Flem Flemish. 

Fr French. 

Fries Friesic. 

G German. 

Gael Gaelic. 

Goth Gothic. 

Gr Greek. 

Heb Hebrew. 



Hind Uinddstini. 

Hung Hungarian. 

Ice Icelandic. 

Illyr Dlyrian. 

Ir Irish or Erse. 

It Italian. 

Kam Kam^ta. 

L Latin. 

Low L Low Latin. 

M. Goth Mseso-Gothic. 

Mai Malay. 

Mex Mexican. 

N. & Q Notes & Queries. 

Norm Norman. 

Old. 

P Prussian. 

P. Cyc Penny Cyclopae- 
dia. 

Pers Persic. 

Phoen Phoenician. 

Plat Plat-Deutsch. 

Pol Polish. 

Port Portuguese. 

priv privative. 

pron pronounced. 

Pun Punic, i.e. Car- 
thaginian. 

Russ Russian. 

Sans Sanskrit. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 



Sax SaxoTi. 

Slav Slavonic. 

Sco Scotch. 

Sp Spanish. 

Stat. Ace. Scot. The New Statis- 
tical Account 
of Scotland. 

Styr Styrian. 

Sw Swedish. 



Syr Syriac. 

Tarn Tamil. 

Tart Tartar or Tatar. 

Tel Telugu. 

Teut Teutonic. 

Turc Turcic. 

Tyr Tyrolese. 

W Welsh. 

Walach Walachian. 



^ 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 



AALBORG, a town in Jutland, famous for eels ; from Dan. 
aal an eel, borff a town. 

AB, in local names in England, is sometimes an abbreviation 
of abbey or abbot, as Abton, i.e. abbey-town, or abbot-town. 

AB, AUB, in local names in India, as Punjab, Doab, is the 

Pers. c^l db water, from Sans, dpah, 

ABAD, in local names in India, is the Pers. dbdd a city, as 
Akbarabad, Aurangabad. It means literally, populous, cultivated, 
as a village or tract of country. In revenue phrase, abad denotes 
a village or tract from which revenue may be levied ; in military 
topography, a place where supplies may be expected. (See WiUan.) 

AB£R, a Celtic prefix of several names of places in Great 
Britain, particularly in Wales. It generally means the mouth or 
embouchure of a river, whether it falls into a greater river or into 
the sea, and by metaphor a port or harbour ; as Abergavenny, 
Aberdale, Aberdour, Aberdeen, Aberbroath (Arbroath), Aber- 
fraw, Aberystwith, Aberayron, Abergele. The W. and Com. 
aber may come from Heb. habar, to join together ; Chal. Syr. 
and £th. id. Boxhom considers aber a Phoenician word. 

ABERDEEN, NEW; named from its situation near the 
mouth (aber) of the river Dee. 

ABERDEEN, OLD ; formerly and correctly Aberdon, named 
from its situation on the south bank of the Don, near its mouth. 
It is sometimes called Old Machar, from the cathedral of St. 
Machar, part of which has been converted into the parish church, 
and the rest nearly demolished. 

ABERDOUR, co. Aberdeen ; named from its situation at the 
mouth of the Dour. 

B 



2 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

ABERFRAW, named from its sitoadon mt the mouth of the 
Fraw. 

AB£R6A\TyXY {aherganny\ co. Monmouth, named from 
its situation at the confluence of the riven Usk and (rotwiuiy. 
See Aber. 

ABERYSTWYTH, co. Cardigan, named from its situation 
near the outlet (aber) of the Ystwith. It stands on a kind of 
peninsula between the river Rheidiol and the sea. The Ystwith 
enters the sea about half a mile from the embouchure of the 
Rheidiol, but there is a tradition that the sea has here encroached 
on the land, and there may have been formerly a town at the 
outlet of the Ystwith. 

ABINGDON, from A. S. ahhan abbot's, dun a hill. 

ABYSSINIA, Arab. .,\JLjo. haUkdn, Abjssinians, Ethiopians ; 

from habaskOf to congregate, collect. Bubdihatun denotes a 
mixed body of men not of one race. 

ACH (ak). Kohl, speaking of Loch Achray, says, ** in whose 
name I again found the aeh (aqua) which so often occurs in 
names of places in Scotland." In the neighbourhood of Loch 
Achray he gives Ach, Acham, Achoan, Achirgam, Achepan, 
Achinver, Achaltic, Achnagillin, Achenboni, Achnacrieve, Acha- 
nellan, Venachar, Trosachs, &c. Here, however, aeh is not a 
prefix in the sense suggested; it is neither the O. 6. aeh a 
brook, nor the L. aqua water. It is found in composition in at 
least 100 local names in Scotland, and generally means a field, 
from Gael, ach a field (aehadk a field, plain, meadow, cornfield). 
In some names it may be aeha a mound or bank, or aeh, aeha, a 
skirmish. 

ACHAR (akar)^ the obelisk of, Argyle, from Gael, aeha a field, 
edrragh a pillar — the field of the pillar. 

ACKERMAN, Bessarabia. See Ak and Inkxrman. 

ACRE. The ruins of Ptolemais or St. Jean d'Acre or 
Acra, from its ancient Hebrew name Acco or Accho. This 
town, among several others mentioned in the Book of Judges as 
being in the tribe of Ashur, was so strong, that that tribe oould 
not drive out the old inhabitants ; so that it retained its name 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 6 

among the natives, seeing the Arahs still call it Akka. The 
name of Ptolemais was since given it from one of the Ptolemies 
of Egypt, and that of Acra prohahlj from its fortifications and 
importance ; whence the knights of St. John of Jerusalem after* 
wards gave it that of St. Jean d'Acre. Univ, Hist. See also 
Pocock, 

ACTON, Middlesex, from A. S. ae an oak, tun a town ; the 
neighbourhood having, in former times, abounded with oak-trees, 
and some land in the parish having, from time immemorial, been 
called Old Oak Common* 

ADEN, Arabia ; qu. Arab, ^^xc *adan a permanent dwelling, 
also the Garden of Eden. Aden is called in the Periplus 
Eudaimon, (Gr.) or The Prosperous. 

ADDERBOURN, a river in Wilts, so called from its crooked 
windings, like a snake. (Bailey,) 

ADRIANOPLE, Turkey, from the Emperor Adrian or 
Hadrian, by whom it was built ; Gr. itokig a city. 

ADIJR) a river in Sussex ; qu. Anc. Brit, dwr water* There 
is also a river called the Adour in France. See Durum. 

AFFGHANISTANi the stan or country of the Affghans, who 
claim to be descendants of the Jews of the Babylonish captivity. 

AFRICA. Dr. Hyde derives Africa from Phoen. or Rmic 
Havarca, or Avreea, i.e. the Barca, or country of Barca, which 
was one of the most remarkable parts of this continent. Serenius 
says from Gr. avBv^piy,riQ without cold, an appellation expressing 
the heat of the climate. Servius and Isidorus say Africa is as 
though aprica, sunny, warmed with the sun, because greatly ex- 
posed thereto ; or from oL^^piicrjy, because void of cold. Cleodenus 
derives it from Afra and Afer, the two sons of Abraha ; Solinus 
and Cedrenus from Afrus, either the son of Hercules or of Saturn ; 
others from Ifricus, king of the Arabs ; Suidas, from Africa, the 
ancient name of Carthage; others again from Heb. ^&M ephor 
dust, because Africa is a sandy country. Leo says from Heb. 
p1& pharaka to separate, tear asunder, because the Nile divides it 
from Asia, and Gades from Europe. Bochart ridicules this, for, 

B 2 



4 LOCAL F/ryMOLOGY. 

says he, neither is Africa any more divided from Europe, than 
Europe from Africa, or Asia from either ; and he derives it from 
a Punic word signifying an ear of corn, referring it to the fer- 
tility of the country. He says that in the Syr. perac (in Arah. 
pharaca) is to rub, and peruc (in Arab, pheric) is an ear of corn. 
Warburton also derives Africa from a Punic word signifying corn, 
applied by the Romans to the northern districts, now called 
Tripoli and Tunis, which constituted their granary. Salmon 
derives Africa from a, priv,, and piyouj to shiver with cold, 
because it is not cold in Africa. 

AG'ORA, Athens ; from Gr. ayopoc, a place where men meet 
to transact business ; market, forum, council, assembly ; from 
aysipuj to collect, assemble, meet ; allied to Heb. ager to gather. 

AG'RA, Hindustan ; corruption of Akbar, i.e. Akbar-dbdd, the 
city of Akbar, which he made his capital. See Abad. 

AK,in names of places, &c., in Turkey, is the Turc. i\ a^ white, 

as ak dengiz^ the Mediterranean Sea ; lit. the White Sea ; Ak- 
kermariy Ackerman (Bielograd), a town of Bessarabia. 

ALAND. The Aland Isles, at the entrance of the Gulf of 
Bothnia, in one of which was the fortress of Bomarsund. The 
word is usually pronounced Awaland, water-land, from Goth. 
ahwa water (from L. aqua), and land, A northern traveller says, 
" the name * water-land ' is well suited to the place, so intricately 
are land and water, sea and tarn, rock and island, twisted and 
jumbled together." See Oeland. 

ALAUNA, a town of the Damnii, who anciently inhabited a 
tract of countrv in Scotland. Chalmers derives Alauna from 
Brit. Allan f the river on which it stood, from al-wen the clear or 
white stream. There is a village in Perth named Allan, and 
Allen is the name of a bog in Ireland, and of a river and of a parish 
— St. Allen — in Cornwall. 

ALBACETE (albathej/te), in Spain, from Arab, al the, and 

Wm/.v-c mabasat plain, level, extended. Canes says, " En el 

reyno de Murcia hay una villa que se llama Albacete, nombre 
que le impusieron los Arabes, por lo llano y extendido del terri- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

torio donde esta fundada, y asi lo mismo es decir Albacete, que 
lugar llano, 6 fundado en un terreno llano y extenso." 

ALBION, the oldest name by which Great Britain was known 
to the Greeks and Romans. Albion is usually derived from 
L. allms white. It is more probably from the 0. Gael, alb, 
an eminence, height, and inn, in, from innia a country, island — 
'* the high country or island." Alba, Albainn or Albuin (Corn. 
Allan) is still the only name by which the Highlanders call Scot- 
land. Caesar calls England Britannia ; Pliny Albion ; the whole 
set of islands being called Britannic. " The name of Albion was 
probably given to England by the Gaels of the opposite coast, 
who could not fail to be struck with the chalky cliffs that cha- 
racterize the nearest part of Kent." (P. Cyc) The Breton bards 
identify Albion with the isle of Alwon, or of Gwion. An old 
Gallic poet calls Britain ** Le pays de Mercure," and, says Ville- 
marqu6, it is admitted that the Celtic Hermes was the greatest 
divinity of the insular Britons. The Rev. Dr. Skinner says 
Al-by-on means the residence beyond the passage of the water, 
which also corroborates the etymology of Dr. Borlase. See 
Barbaz-Breiz, Chants Pop. de la Bretagne, par Yillemarqu^, Paris, 
1846, quoting Myvyrian t. i. p. 158; Eustate's Com. in Dion, 
p. 566 ; and Agathemerus G6og. ii. c. ix. ; also Grant's Orig. 
of the Gael, and Armstrong, Gael. Diet. 

ALBUFERA (alboofair'a), the name of several lagunes on 
the southern coast of Spam and Portugal, generally supposed to 

be formed by the sea : from Arab, al the, buheira dim. of _^u 

bahr, a great quantity of water, the sea. 

ALBUQUERQUE {albooker^ke), in Spanish Estremadura, from 
L. alba white, hoary, quercus an oak. 

ALCANTARA, in Spanish Estremadura. Under the Romans 
it bore the name of Norba Caesarea, and was distinguished by a 
beautiful bridge of six arches over the river Tagus, built in the 
reign of Trajan by the celebrated architect Lacer. When the 
Arabs became masters of this part of the peninsula, the name 
was exchanged for Al-Cantarat-al-Seif, i.e. the bridge of the sword, 



C LiCAL FTTMOLOGT. 

of which its prrMst name is ad ftbbrmatiaB — Iran Anb. mi, the 
iJl-jJ kamfarei a bridge. Canes «ijs» "En Toledo hay an 
famooo pnente qnc le Daman d pocnte de Aleantara. y ei lo 
mismo qne dedr ei pmemie del pmente** 

ALCAZAR, or ALCACER {mlkmthmr). -«the name girai by 
the Moors to their rojal pahues. It is naed in Portngal for any 
fortress, castle, or palace. The c^tal dtj of the piofinoe of 
Asgar, upon the coast of Baibary. A iriDage in Fortogal, where 
the famous mathematician, Peter Nonnes, was bora." (Fiieyra.) 
From same root as Lrxon. 

ALCESTER, co. Warwick, fbimd written Anloester, Alencester, 
Alnacester, Alceter, Awseter, commonly pronoonced AnUter and 
Juster. and bv some of the inhabitants in Camden's time« 
Ouldcetter, It b situated at the confluence id the Arrow 
and Alne, from which last rirer it derixes the first part of its 
name. It is a place of great antiquity, and was probably a 
Roman station, fiailey gives also A]|>fifff^ in Cumberland, 
famous for a synod of English Saxons, from the river Aln, which 
runs by it ; also Anauter (co. Lincoln), from An (qu. Aln) and 
Sax. ceaster, a castle. Alchester, or Alcester (Ozon), is said to 
be the .£/ta Casira of Richard of Cirencester. 

ALCHURCH. See Alton. 

ALCOBA'C^A, a town in Portuguese Estremadura, situate 
between the rivers Coa and B^, whence, with the addition of 
the Arab, article al the, its name — Al-Coa-B^i9a. 

ALDEA (aldaya), in local names in Spain and Portugal, is the 
Sp. and Port, aid^a, a village, from Arab, al the, ixj^ dai *at 
a field, plain, farm ; " lugar corto, L. pagus, vicus,** say others. 

ALENTEJO (alentayho), a province in Portugal, on the S. side 
of the river Tagus ; from Port. AlemUjo ; alem beyond, on the 
farther side, Tejo tlie Tagus. 

ALEPPO (called by the Turks ,^^Jo^ haleb), m Syria. Golius 
and others deduce this name from the Arab, haleb, a variegated gray 
mid white colour, from the colour of the soil and the buildings. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 7 

The Arab writers assert that when the patriarch Abraham 
migrated into the land of Canaan, he rested for some time 
on the hill where the castle of Aleppo now stands^ and that 
the name Haleb is derived from the circumstance of his dis- 
tributing milk (halab) to the poor of a neighbouring village. 
Their frequent repetition of the words Ibraheem haleb, or 
" Abraham has milked," gave occasion, it is said, to the name 
Haleb, which was conferred on the town afterwards built on this 
spot. (Bees.) 

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, caUed also Aleutan, Aleutic, or 
Aleutskj Islands. A group of islands in the North Pacific 
Ocean : from Russ. aleut, a bald rock. 

ALEXANDRIA, so called from Alexander the Great, who 
either founded this city or one in its neighbourhood. See Scan- 

DEROON. 

ALGAR'VE, a province of Portugal, called also the kingdom 
of Algarva : from Arab, algarve a level and fruitful country, or 
a country lying towards the west. {Vieyra.) The Arab, has 

^j-i gharbi western, gharb the west. 

" AL6EZIRAS (aighethtfras), an ancient town of Andalusia, 
Here the Moors are said to have made their first landing in Spain, 
and they held this place nearly 700 years. The name is derived 

from Arab, al the, iji^jtuira an island, peninsula; the harbour 

being formed by two islands. The Spaniards have added the Sp. 
plural. 

ALGIERS, found written Argel, from Arab, i^ \^\ Aljazira, 

i.e. The Island, to which was formerly added the epithet Al GJiazi, 
The Warlike. The oldest Arabian writers, however, call it Jezira 
Beni Mazighanan, the Island of the Sons of Mazigh, whose race, 
it is believed, at one time extended all over North Africa, from 
the borders of Egypt to the Canary Islands. Algiers does not, 
however, appear to be an island. Its shape is that of an irregular 
triangle, of which one side is formed by the sea-coast, and the 
other two run up the declivity of a steep hill. It may have taken 
its name from the island on which the light-house is built, which 



LOCAL ETT>:OL«>jT. 



Ammianas MireeUmas oils Insula Mazxana. Hie Tmks write 

^- ^ ■ 

ALHA^LA (alya'ma)^ in Gnsada, Spain, takes iu name from 

the baths in the neiehboarhood ; frocn Arab, ml the, kamumhmdi, 

pL €^ Aammuim a baih: Acmim Let water. See Hummcms. 

ALHAMBRA, an aDoen: cas:2e and palace of the Moham- 

madan kings of Granada, bcilt bj Mi:ba2n!i:ad II. ahoot a.o. 

1273. Socce deriiY its naze frca xhe tribe of Mnhaminad 

Jlkcwkjor, i.e-. the Red ; others sar, Mshan:.2Lad care it the name 

of Mttdimat JlJkcmira, cr the Red Citr, from beine built of m 

kiikd of red clar : frox Arab, a/ the, .«>-* clmmr, red. Others 

derive the nair.e froxL, * . ^ krm^er^ carv^^nee. acaa^aovei. 

ALHUCEN Kmlkcfot\f%\ a tovn in Spain: AtNn Aimb. 

,. ^* alkamam^ lit. £?>od, beautifbl. It here in-eans heiaiitiful, 

« pl»aant to the dgiii : -Inrsr berzsoso o irniahle a la rata,'' 
Cofspa.'e h. Belre-iere, Fr. !WIeT^. 

ALLAHABAD. L e. the aS>3e ::' Ai:ah « &>i, it being the 
capEtil of Agn. t>e chief aS:de cf lie Rnhxras, and mndi 
pcsoned to br pirrisis. a::cI mz>1 els J, q. v 

-^LLAX. See Alavxa 

ALLEMAGXE. Fr. f.-r Gfrziazr Tiis na=e is prT^rhr 
aj^oa-V* lo zh^Li pan of feniii-y "whk-h w« i:i:ab;ted by the 
Jl^mcmm», wb:- an? siii to tike th«r naaoe fr^cn O::. m2l <ither, 
mam piioe : ^.ae c^ tTKcber place, a $:ntn«T 

ALLEN. S«AL%r>A 

ALMADEX aImcdiTyx\ ]- Cor.^.va. $j,k:i , f^^ ^^v. 
^" «.« eA^ the rri::^. • A*. £r. ie U S6«n ie Cordoba 
^' :^«r ^ « i:tr:i» Ahrjt3cr. :..t::Vw ^i:e « Ie iirpuso 
p:*r «UT 2zi,:c. i it rr.l- x «..^^^ sXvlsi.rc-" . " S« C 4> es. 

ALMANZA r/W.-i. . * :,.^, :;; x,^ e^il^*, Spain. 
*^=««^ ^:t a .irto^ whi^ r.;a«.i P :::v IL r->r ^ ;be t>:r:^::e! 






■ ** 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. ^ 

makhzan a storehouse, a magazine. The Spanish has almaeen, 
almacSn, almagaciny storehouse, warehouse, magazine of military 
or warhke stores. From makhzan comes also our word magazine. 

ALMERIA, a maritime city in Granada, Spain, from ij ^\ 

almariyyaty i. e. a dear place, a place where a great deal of 
country may he seen. 

ALNWICK (an'niek), found written Anwick; a town in 
Northumberland, remarkable for the captivity of William, and 
for the death of Malcolm III., kings of Scotland ; from A. S. 
Ealntoick, from the river Alne and wic village, castle, &c. 

ALP, ALPS, some derive from L. albus, Gr. aA^oc, white ; 
others from O. Gael, alb, an eminence, or alb, white, or from 
Gael, ailp, mountain, or ailp, white ; as being always white with 
snow, says Armstrong. The Celts called the high mountains 
Alpes or Olbe. (Cluver.) Another writer says, the name is sup- 
posed to be derived from Celt, alp, signif) iiig verdant heights or 
mountains ; and, amongst the ancient Scythians, the spirit of a 
mountain ; or from L. albus, alptts, white with snow. {Lond, 
Eneyc.) The Chal. has alban to be white, Syr. alben to whiten, 
Teut. alp a swan. See also Isid, in Orig. lib. iii. and Servius in 
Virg. jEn. lib. iii. 

ALSACE {alsastl), a province of France. In L. it is found 
written Elisatia, Alisatia, and Alsatia. According to some writers 
its ancient name was Elsas, i.e. the Country of the Elsassin, 
a tribe who are supposed to have derived their name from the 
river III, on the banks of which they dwelt. Manage says the 
111, Ellus, or Illus was amciently called the Alsa, as appears by 
old title-deeds at Strasburg ; hence Alsa-tia, Alsace. 

ALSATIA, Blackfriars, London. Sheridan thinks Alsatia 
may have been the habitation of tht Ancient Saxons. Qu. A. S. 
Eald Seaxen, Old Saxons. See Alsace* 

ALSTON, in Cornwall. AU-ton in Com. means the high- 
cliff hill. 

ALTAI. The Altai are a vast ridge of mountains exteuding, 
in an easterly direction, through a considerable part of Asia, and 
forming a boundary between the Ilussiaii aud Chinese dominiuus. 



10 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

{Pinkertofu) Tooke, i. 121, derives Altai from Tart, alatau, 
perhaps al-tag, high mountain. Altai may, however^ come from 
Tore* alt^ gold. The Chinese call these momitains kgn-choH, 
or mountains of gold. 

ALTEN (alt'n) a town in N* of Norway^ situated at the moutli 
of the Alten Elv, or river. 

ALTON, ALVETON, the parish of Alton, Alveton, Alchurch, 
or Alvechurch, co. Stafford. Alve may he another orthography 
of the O. Eng. alne (Fr. aune, aulne; A. S. air) an alder-tree; 
from L. alnus. Cowel says, alvetum is the same as alnetwm, 
which he translates, " a place where alder-trees grow." Bailey 
gives alveium same as alnetum, an alder-grove. Nash says, 
'* Douhtless the place Alvechurch took its name from the Saxon 
founder of the church here, one iGlfgyth ; which, with Alfwith, 
Alluuith, and the like, were common appellations of our Saxon 
ancestors; that in the most ancient writings Alvechurch was 
called ^Ifgythe Circea ; in Domesday survey, Alvieve Church ; 
and in the later records, Alviuechurch, Alvieth-church, Alvechurch 
or Allchurch, as it is at this day." Alton is a contraction of 
Alveton. 

ALVERTHORPE, co. York. See Thorpe. 

ALVERTON, a village in Cornwall. Al-ver-tan in Com. 
means the high green hill. 

AMAZONIA, AMAZON, S. America. Amazonia was first 
traversed in 1580 by Francisco Orellana, who, coming from Peru, 
sailed down the great river to the Atlantic. Observing companies 
of women in arms on its banks, he called the country Amazonia, 
and the river Amazon, Oriedo and Condamine both speak of these 
Amazon women. When the Abb^ Gilii, who lived in S. America 
many years, asked of the Quaquis, on the borders of the Cuccivere, 
which discharges itself into the Orinoco, the names of the dif- 
ferent tribes in the vicinity of this river, they replied that there 
were the Acherecottes, Payures, Aich^am, and Benano, which 
latter word, in the language of the Quaquis, the Abb^ translates, 
*' a nation composed solely of women." 

AMERICA, from Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, who, in 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 11 

1497, landed on that part of the continent to the south of the 
Equator. The continent was, however, first discovered by 
Columbus, a Grenoese, in 1492. Webster says, "first discovered 
by Sebastian Cabot, June 11, o. s., 1498, and by Columbus, or 
Christoval Colon, August 1, in the same year." Vespucci's real 
Christian name was Emmericua (the German St. Emmerich), 
afterwards Italianized into Amerigo. 

AMIENS, {almiansT) in France, from L. ambianum^ firom 
ambientibus aquts, because surrounded by water. {Diet. Nat,) 

AMSTERDAM has its name from the river Amstel, on the 
confluence of which, with an arm of the Zuider Zee, called the Y, 
it is situated, and dam, a dam, bank to confine water. 

ANATOLIA, or NATOLIA, a geographical term now gene- 
rally considered as synonymous in extent with Asia Minor ; from 
6r. ayaroXi} the east, the part where the sun rises ; lit. a coming 
forth ; the rising of the sun or moon ; from avareXXaj, of ava up, 
rsX?^ to bring to an end ; mid, to be, arise, &c. AyoLroXr} may 
be compared with the Fr. Levant and the Arab, shark, the rising 
of the sun, the place where the sun rises, the east. 

ANCONA, Italy, named from its angular shape, from 6r. 
ayKujy angle, comer, valley, anything angular, from ayxr} any- 
thing curved ; perhaps from Sans, ak, ag ; to bend. Thus, ak, 
ag, ayxyj, ayxMv, ancon, Ancona. See also Proeop. Goth, war, 
lib. 2, c. 13. 

ANDALUSIA, a province of Spain. Some authors assert that 
Andalusia is a corruption of Vandalusia, i. e. the country of the 
Vandals. R. P. Hardouin says, if this word was derived from 
Vandal, it would have been Vandalia. Others say Spain was first 
peopled by Andalous, son of Japhet. Herbelot says, Andalous 
is the name the Arabs gave to Spain in general, from the name of 
one of its provinces, Andalusia ; that this province was the first 
known to the Moors, and the first conquered by them ; and that it 
is not to be wondered at, that the Arabs, knowing nothing of the 
Vandals, who were ancient in comparison with the Moors, should 
have imagined that Andalous was the grandson of Noah ; and that 
Oriental nations beUeved that Spain^was one of the isles which. 



12 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

according to Sacred ^Ynt, were bequeaihcd to tiie posterity of 
Japhet. 

ANDARTON, a village in Cornwall. Jn-dar-toM, hi Com. 
ineaus the cak hill. 

ANDES (andeec), the general name given to the great range 
of mountains which runs along the western side of S. America. 
Considering that in the language of the Incas these mountains 
are called JntU, and as they al>ound in copper and other metals, 
llumboldt is (if opiiiion that the name is derived from the Perunan 
word ant<i, signifying copper, and metal in general. 

ANGLESKA, from A. S. rpyf island, Angles of the Angles. 
It was anciently calKd Mona, and Anglesea afler it was conquered 
hy the English. (Bonuorth.) 

ANT, ANTON, a river in Hants. See Southampton. 

ANTARCTIC OCEAN. Sec Arctic. 

ANTILLES ((intirietzi, a general name for those islands which 
lie beyond iIk- BtTniuJjis, towards the Gulf of Mexico. Arm- 
strong say!>, according to a great antiquary, Antilles means water- 
land, and he derives it from Gael, an uater, and tealla land. 
In the language of the natives Antilles may mean water-land, hut 
how the >^ord can bo coimected with the Gaelic it is difficult to 
conceive. 

ANTWERP (Fr. Anvers, Flem. Antwerpen, O. G. Antarff, 
Sp. Enveies, Aniberes, Aiiveres, and Anversa ; Low L, Antwerpia 
and llunduvcipia. The Gernjans have called it in L. Antorpia, 
and the autiiors uf tlie chronicles write A/Uicerpha and Andover^ 
pum). Sonic derive the name from Flem. handt hand, werpen to 
throw, bccaubc Sihius Brubon cut off the hand of the giant 
Antigone (who lived upon the banks of the Scheldt) and threw it 
into that river I AVhat may have contributed to strengthen the 
story, is a tooth that is shown, greater even than the hand, and 
weighing (3oz. ; as also the custom, in certain fetes, of exhibiting 
representations of castles with the figure of a giant ; and stiU 
further from the fact that the arms of the town are a castle and 
two hands. The most judicious historians, however, agree that 
the irue i'Lyuioiog) la iioiii inc Fkiu. Atitwv/p, added — not, as 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 13 

some have thought, because three different inclosurcs have been 
made round the town, as by degrees it increased to its present 
size, but because in ancient times the waters of the Scheldt, not 
being restrained by any dyke, flowed over the plain, carrying with 
them a foreign deposit, which finally raised this place high enough 
to enable the present city to be built, to which was given a name 
derived from such successive deposits; so that from Aenwerp 
came Aenwerpen, Latinized into Antwerpum, and lastly into Ant- 
werpen, (Trans, from Lamartinihre.) 

APENNINE, from L. apenfiinus : ad, and penninus, an epithet 
applied to a peak or ridge of tlie Alps, from Celt, pen or ben, the 
peak of a mountain. (See Livy,) 

APPLEBY, CO. Westmoreland, found written Apleby and 
Apulby, and called by the Romans Aballabm whence perhaps its 
present name, with the addition of Dan. by city, town. Baxter 
derives Aballaba from *' ab vel av, quod est furca (vel sinus) undae 
vel amnis ;** i. e. the fork or separation of the wave or stream. 
The historian doubts this, and thinks it may come from apple, 
and says there is a place of this name in Derby ; another in 
Liucoln ; also Appleby Magna and Parva in Leicester, &c. ; also 
Applethwaite, Applegarth, Appleton, derived in like manner. 

APPLEDORE, Kent. " Apuldre, Appledore, near Tenterden ; 
a harbour on the coast of Devon ; Apuldre Comb, Appledore 
Comb, Isle of Wight." (Bosworth.) From A. S. apulder, 
apuldur, apuldre, (spuldre, ceppuldre, ceppeltreow, apple- treow, 
an apple-tree ; tepl, apl, apple, treoto, tree. " The apple-tree 
villa or village." 

APPLEDRAM, formerly Apuldrara, co. Sussex. Dallaway 
says Apuldram, or Apuldre- ham is a Saxon name descriptive of 
its situation, viz. a house or village upon an estuary or sea-marsh. 
He refers to Lye, who, however, is speaking of Appledore in 
Kent. " Apuldre, villa in agro Cantiano hodie Appledoore dicta." 
From same root as Appledore. 

ARANJUEZ {aran'hoo-eth), a town in Spain, said to be cor- 
rupted from L. Ara Jovis, the altar of Jove. 

ARABIA, ancientlv called Arabah, which some derive from 



14 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Heb. arab or ereb, signifyiDg the west ; also merchandise, traffic^ 
&c.; others from Jarab, soa of Joktan; or from Araboky or 
Arbah, a district of Tehama, which was inhabited by Ishmael. 
By the Syrians and many of the Orientals it was called Arabistan. 
Moses styles western Arabia, Arabah, which affords a strong 
presumption that its original name was derived from its situation. 

(Rees,) The Arab, has c— >-£ ^^rb, or 'artib, " The Arab nation,'* 

peculiarly those who inhabit cities. 

ARARAT, the mountain on which the Ark is said to have 
rested. The name, according to some writers, is properly that 
of a region, not of a mountain. See Moses Chorenensis, Hist. 
Arm. ed. Whiston, pp. 289 — 361. This region is nearly in the 
middle of Armenia, between the Araxes and Lake Tan, and is still 
called by the Armenians Ararat. It is sometimes used in a 
wider sense for the whole of Armenia itself. Some derive the 
Heb. ^oy^.H ararat from Sans, arjawarta, holy ground. See 
Wahl, Asien, 518, 806, seq. ; Morier, Second Journey, 312; 
Schroeder, Thes. Ling. Arm. 55 ; Ker Porter, Travels, vol. i. 178, 
seq. ; Smith & Dwight's Res. in Armen. vol. ii. 73, and Gresen. 
Tregelles, Lond. 1846. 

ARBROATH, sometimes Aberbrothwick, more correctly ^5er- 
brothock, a town in Forfar, Scotland, named from its situation at 
the mouth of the small river Brothock. See Aber. 

ARCHANGEL, Russia, named after Michael the archangel. 

ARCHES COURT, an Ecclesiastical Court in England, so 
called from the Church of St. MBTj-le-Bow (de arcubus), 
whose top is raised of stone pillars, built bow or archwise, 
where it was anciently held. (Blackstone.) From L. arcus 
abow, arch, vault. Court from A. S. curt (Arm. court; It. 
Sp. and Port, corte ; Fr. cour), from Gr. xo/?roc an enclosure, 
court-yard. 

ARCHIPELAGO, properly the sea which separates Greece 
from Asia Minor, otherwise called the ^gean Sea ; but also 
applied to a sea interspersed with many isles, or a group of isles. 
Some say from Gr. ap^OQ chief, others from Aiyaiog JSgean, and 
ireXayoc sea, from or allied to Heb. peleff stream. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 15 

ARCTIC OCEAN, i.e. the Northern Ocean, whence the Ant- 
arctic Ocean, i.e. the ocean opposite to the Arctic Ocean — from 
6r. apytriKO^, id., from apKrog a hear, also a northern constella- 
tion (the Bear). 

ARDENNES (ardenT), a tract of country in France and 
Belgium, from the O. Gaul, word arden a wood ; others say from 
ar great, den a forest. Manage, quoting Camden, says, ''whence 
Arden, now called Woodland, co. Warwick, which was the greatest 
forest in England;" further, "that in Sweden, pr^s de TOstro- 
gothie, is a forest named Com-Arden." Caesar calls Ardennes 
Arduenna ; Fortunatus, Ardenna. 

AR6H, ERGH (which form the last syllable of many local 
names in Lancashire, Westmoreland, and the adjoining parts of 
Yorkshire, as in Strasergh, Mansergh, Sizergh, Frisergh, Britergh, 
Grimsargh), Whitaker deriyes from Sw. arf, ploughed land. 
Arf may be from L. anmm a field, literally arable land, from 
arvus ploughed, for aruus, from aro to plough. 

ARGYLL, found written Argyle, a county in Scotland ; from 
Ghiel. Argaily said to be contracted from Arre-Gaidhely i.e. the 
frontier of the Gaels ; some 9ay Earra-Ghaidheal, the country 
of the West Gael. 

ARLBERG, in Tyrol ; properly Adler*s berg, i.e. eagle's 
mountain. See Yorarlbero. 

ARLON, Belgium, said to be the Roman Orolanum, 

ARMENIA. The Greeks derive the name of this tract of 
country from one Armenus, who, after accompanying Jason in 
the Argonautic expedition, settled here. Others, transforming 
Armenia into Aramia, derive it from Aram, son of Shem, or from 
a Idng of Armenia of that name. Bochart thinks Armenia may 
come from Heb. aar mountain, and Mini, the name of a province 
in this country, mentioned by Jeremiah, and placed by that 
prophet between Ararat and Ashchenaz. This opinion is sup- 
ported by Chaldee interpreters, who on this and a like passage in 
Amos, instead of Mini read Armeina, so that Armenia may mean 
the mountain or mountainous part of Mini or Mynias, as Nicolas 
of Damascus calls it. The name Mini, Menni, and Mynias, or 



1(> LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Mylias, was at first |)eculiar to one province, but in time became 
common to the whole country. Mini or Afenni is supposed to 
be derived from a Heb. word signifying metal; Armenia, according 
to Procopius, abounding with mines. See Moses Choren. Hist. 
Armen. p. 49 ; Boch. Phaleg. lib. i. c. 3 ; Jerem. li. 27 ; 
Amos, iv. 3 ; Procop. lib. i. De Bell. Pers. 

ARMORICA, the ancient appellation of that part of France 
now called Bretagne ; from Celt, ar upon, tnor the sea, i. e. 
maritime. 

ARRAS, a town of France — ** a corruption of Origiacum, its 
ancient name, said to be from Celt, or mouth, embouchure, 
ripui cut, divided, ac river." 

ARRO, a river in co. Radnor, properly arw, from W. parw 
rough. Bryn Arw is the name of a mountain in co. Monmouth. 

ARUN, a river in Sussex ; qu. W. arwyn very white, bright, 
from prefix ar, and gwyn white ; or Arun may be an extension of 
the Celt. ar. See Ayrshire. 

ARUNDEL, Sussex. The earliest conjectural accounts ascribe 
tlie name of this place to hirondelle, a swallow, which is still the 
arms of the town, though the origin of the bearing is not known. 
Some assert that the celebrated Bcvis of TTampton (South), the 
conqueror of the giant Ascapart, and hero of ancient romances, 
who is supposed to have been keeper of the castle here, had a 
favourite horse, which for its swiftness he not only termed 
Ilirondelle, or Orundele in Norman-French, but also the demesne 
after its name. There is still a tradition among the Norwegians, 
which asserts that their countrymen, in the course of their 
descents on these coasts, established themselves here, and gave 
the name of their own Arendal to this place. The etymology of 
Arundel seems simple enough, i.e. Dell of the Arun, on which 
river this town is situated. King Alfred left Erundele to his 
brother Athelm. But see Tierney, Hist. Arundel. See also 
Arun. 

ASCENSION ISLE, one of the African islands in the South 
Atlantic Ocean. Tt was first discovered in 1501 by Galego, 
a Portucuesc navigator, who called it Ilha de Nossa Senhora de 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 17 

Concei9ao ; Isle of Our Lady of Conception. It was seen a 
second time by Albuquerque, on his voyage to India in 1503, 
probably on Ascension Day, when it received its present name. 
{Rees,) There is also another isle of this name, lying about 
iOO leagues £. from the coast of Brazil. 

ASUBY-DE-LA-ZOUCU, co. Leicester. Its original de 
signation was simply Ashby ; it received the addition ** De-la- 
Zouch*' from the Zouches, who were lords of it. Ashby, in 
ancient writings is called Ascebi and Esseby — perhaps the by or 
town of the Asci or Esau Zouch was formerly written Zuche 
(Low L. Zucheus) and Souch, which signifies a withered or dry 
stock ; from Fr. souche, a corruption of 6. stock. 

ASIA. A name originally given to Asia Minor, or some part of 
it ; perhaps from the Asses, Ases, or Osses about Mount Taurus. 
Mallet, North. Antiq. i. 60. Qu. Gr. a^w to dry, make dry, a^x 
drought, allied to Heb. az to bum. Bochart*s etymology is 
very reasonable. He says the term Asia was first applied to the 
great peninsula — now commonly called Asia Minor — which occu- 
pies a middle place between Europe and Africa, and he derives 
it from the Phcen. ^n asi, which signifies not only half, but 
middle ; and he quotes Pliny, who says, '' H)nc, id est k 
Gadibus, intranti dextrd Africa est, l<Bvd Europa. Inter has 
Asia est." Also Mela de Asi^ lib. i. cap. 2 : *' Media nostris 
eequoribus excipitur." Others derive Asia from Sans, aswa a 
horse. 

ASSYNT, CO. Sutherland. Assynt or Assint is said to be a 
contraction of the Gael, as agus innte, signifying '^out and in," 
evidently referring to and descriptive of tlfe general outline of 
this parish. A glance at the map of Assynt makes it extremely 
probable that this derivation is correct. (Stat. Aec. Scot,) 

ASTO, ASTA, ASTI, in names of places in the Basque pro- 
vinces of Spain, as in Astobeza, Astorga, and in Sp. names men- 
tioned by Roman writers, as in Asta, Astige, Astapa, Astura, 
Asturica, is a corruption of the Basq. acAo, aitza, a rock ; thus 
Asta-pa, a dwelling at the foot of a rock ; Ast-ura, the river 
Astura, literally rock- water (urd water). See Asturias. 

c 



18 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

ASPORGA, in Spain, corrupted from Asturica (Augusta) its 
ancient name ; but see Asto. 

ASTRAKHAN, found written Astrakan, Astracan, and Astra- 
chan ; name of a province of the Russian Empire, and formerly 
of a Khannate — i.e. the dominion or district of a Khan — ^which 
extended northward from the river Terek to the sources of the 
Ufa in the Ural Mountains. Astrakhan is also the name of the 
capital of the province. Some assert that this city was built bj 
a Tartar king named Astra Khan, who gave it his name. M. de 
risle, in his Carte d*Asie for his Hist, of Jangiz Khan, names 
this city Hadji Tercan or Astracan, and the historians of Jangis 
Khan and Timur Bee speak of a title giving great privileges, and 
called a tercan, 

ASTU'RIAS, a province of Spain lying near the Bay of Biscay ; 
the country inhabited by the Astures, i.e. those who dwelt on 
the banks of the Astura. Silius Italicus says the Astures take 
their name from Astur or Astyr, Memnon's charioteer ! There 
is a village called Astura, 39 miles S. £. of Rome, at the mouth 
of a little river of the same name. Strabo calls it JlropOQ vora/xoc ; 
Pliny, Astura ; Festus, Stura. Lamartini^re thinks the Astures 
of Spain may have originally dwelt on the banks of this river. 
But see Asto. 

ATCHAFALAYA, a river of the United Stotes, one of the 
western arms of the Mississippi at its delta. The name means 
the "lost water." (Johnston.) 

ATHENS (Fr. Athhnes, L. Athena, Sp. Atenas, It. Atene), 
from Gr. k^vou^ Aflijyij, from AflijyTj, Aflijyaua, Minerva or Pallas, 
goddess of Wisdom! At Athens was a tribunal famous for the 
justice and impartiality of its decisions, called Areopagus. Labbe 
derives the name from Apeoc ifayoi:, the hill of Mars. A^c may 
come from Sans, arah the planet Mars. 

ATHERSTONE, a market town, co. Warwick, a corruption of 
Arden's-town, it being situated on the confines of the great 
forest. See Ardennes. 

ATLANTIC. This ocean was called Atlanticns, either from 
its washing the coast not far from Mount Atlas, on the western 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 19 

side of Africa^ or from its being the great sea beyond Mount 
Atlas. ** Atlas is sajed to support the heavens near where the 
Hesperides are situated. Atlas might possibly have been the 
founder of the people who possessed the extremest parts of 
Africa about Mount Atlas, which on account of its extraordinary 
height, seemed to prop up heaven, and because it was far in the 
west, where they imagined heaven almost met the earth. This 
mountain might have had the name from the first ruler of the 
people." (Cooke, notes on Hesiod.) From L. Atlanticus, from 
6r. ArXarriMc, from ArXag, one who carries burdens ; not sup- 
porting pain or toil, a, priv., r\7iiJi,i, r?^uf, to bear, endure, suffer. 

Some of the Arabic lexicons give tuAio\ atlas, bare, smooth, 

satin, sphere, &c. 

ATLANTICA or ATLANTIS, an isle mentioned by the 
ancients as situated W. of Cadiz, on the strait of Gibraltar, 
and which they allege to have been sunk and overwhelmed 
by the ocean. Atlas, Atlantis, Atlanticus, Atlantica. See At- 
lantic. 

ATTOCK, a fort and small town in the Panjab. Its name 
signifies " obstacle," which is supposed to have been given to it 
under the presumption that no scrupulous Hindoo would pro- 
ceed westward of it. Some assert that the name was given to 
it by the Emperor Akbar, because he here found much difficulty 
in crossing the river. The river itself is at thb place frequently 

by the natives called Attock. (Thornton.) From Hind. (^)i\ 

atdk, prevention, stop, hindrance, obstruction, bar, obstacle; 
atak-nd, to be stopped, prevented. 

AU, as a termination of names of places in Grermany, is the 
6. aue a pasture, meadow. 

AUDLEY, firom A. S. old, old, Uag, a field^the old field. 

AUDLET END, Essex, takes its name from a magnificent 
palace built there by Thomas Audley, Chancellor of England. 

AUGSBURG (pwgf/burg) in Bavaria, situated near the junction 
of the rivers Wertach and Lech ; called by the Bomans Vindo 
and liens ; whence the original city founded by them was named 

c 2 



20 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Augusta Yindelicorum ; and from Augusta comes the first syllable 
in Augsburg. Thus, Augusta-burg, Augstburg, Augsburg. 

AUNE, or Avon, name of a river in Devon, and of several 
rivers in England. See Avon. 

AURAN6ABAD, a city in Hindustan ; the city of Aurang- 
zeb. See An ad. 

AUSTIN FRIARS, contraction of Augustine Friars. 

AUSTRALIA, contraction of Austral Asia, i.e. Southern Asia, 
fVom L. australis, from ouster the South. 

AUSTRIA, Latinized from G. Oesterreich; Mer Eastern, 
retch kingdom ; the Eastern Empire, so called in reference to the 
Western dominions of Charlemagne. " Ostirrichi " (oat-reich or 
Mer-reich, the eastern realm) first occurs in a diploma of Otho III. 

AUTUN (otun'). See Dunum. 

AUVERGNE (ovaim'), a province of France ; from Low L. 
Jrvemia, said to be from Celt, ar excellence, bem, contraction 
of baran soldiers, because the Auvergnats were very warlike. 

AVA, capital of Birma. Its native name is Angwa, which 
means a fish-pond ; and it is said to have been so called because 
erected where such a pond had formerly been. Angwa was cor- 
rupted by the Hindus and Malays into Awa, and by the Eu- 
ropeans into Ava. Its official name b Ratnapura (City of the 
Pearl). The capital is not confined to Ava, but embraces Sagaing 
and Amarapura (Town of Immortality). 

AVE MARIA LANE. See Paternoster Row. 

AVERNUS, The Lake of, Campania, Italy, so called because 
the vapours that exhaled from it were so poisonous, that they 
struck dead the birds that flew over it. The name was not 
peculiar to Italy. One of these Avemi was near the Temple of 
Minerva at Athens, and another in Syria. Avemus is from Gr. 
aopvot, a, priv., opvig a bird. See Cic, also Liv., Plin. lib. 4 ; 
Virg. JEn. lib. iv. 512, vi. 242 ; Lucret. vi. 738 et seq., also 818. 

AVON, found written Aune, Afene, and Afon ; a river in 
Somerset ; also the name of four other rivers in England ; from 
W, a/on, avon. Arm. c/bn, Com. auan. It. abhan, Manx aan 
a river, from Grael. amhainn, which Armstrong derives from amk 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 21 

tvater, ocean, ain water. '' Avon " is found in names of places 
in Wales, as Aberavon, S. Wales. See Aber. 

AXHOLM {aai/home), co. Lincoln ; from Sax. Ecucanholm, from 
the town Axel, and holm an isle having many rivers in it. 
(Bailey,) But see Isca. 

AXMINSTER, from A. S. EaxannUnster. See Isca. 

AXMOUTH. See Isca. 

AYLESBURY, co. Bucks. The British, name is said to be 
lost. The Saxons called this city Aeglesburge. In Domesday 
it is mentioned under Eilesberia and Elesberie. Leland writes 
Alesbury, Camden, Ailesbury, which mode of spelling is retained 
in the title of the Marquis of Ailesbury (Enff, Ency.). The 
name is also found written Ailesburie and Aylesburie. " Ailsbury 
derived great fame from Eadburg or Edburg and her sister 
Eaditha, two holy virgins, the daughters of Frewald or Fredewall, 
a king or Mercian prince, who was lord of this country." 
(Eennett, Paroch. Antiq.) Speed afHrms that Aylesbury " be- 
came much frequented on account of the holiness of St. Edith, 
and that the town was allotted to her for her dowry," &c. &c. 
Elfleda, Duchess of Mercia, daughter of King Alfred, is said to 
have induced her brother Edward, called the Elder, to repair 
Edsbnry, after the town had been laid waste by the Danes. 
Leland also speaks of " Ellesburowe, in Chiltern Hilles, three 
miles from Alesbury by south." Eadburg, Eadsburg, Eadsbury, 
Ealsbury, Alesbury, Ailsbury, Aylesbury. 

ATRSHIRE. The river Ayr is said to give its name not only 
to the town of Ayr, at whose mouth it stands, but also to the 
parish and county. In royal charters, and in all ancient records, 
the name of the burgh is written Are, subsequently changed to 
Air, and since the end of the last century it has been written Ayr. 
The name of the river may be from Celt, ar clear, " said to be 
sufficiently characteristic of this stream, which, flowing above a 
gravelly bed, continues clear and limpid through the whole of its 
course. There are other rivers bearing the same name, and 
doubtless having a common etymology, not only in England, 
France, and Switzerland, but in almost every country in Europe." 



22 LOCAL ETYMOLOGT. 

AZORES^ or Western Isles, a series of islands in the N. Atlan- 
tic« belonging to Portugal, were so called from the great nomber 
of hawks found there ; from Port, adores, pi. of agor a hawk. 

AZ'OV, the Sea of, in Russia, takes its name from the town of 
Azov, on the mainland. Azov is found written Aioph, Asaph» 
Azov, Azach, Azoff, Assoff, and Asoph. In ancient histoiy there 
were several rivers and towns named respectively Asopie, Aaopo, 
Asopus, and Asopa. Josephus mentions Asoph or Asophon aa 
the name of a village in Palestine, near the Jordan. OrteHus, 
referring to Josephus, says that by Asophos is meant the village 
of Asochis. Some assert that the river in Bceotia was so called 
on account of its extreme muddiness ; others that Asophus, son 
of Neptune, gave his name to this river. 



B. 



BAALBEC, BALBEC. Mr. Francis Crossley thinks Baalbec 
is the Phoen.-Ir. baal^beact, i.e. the sun-circle ; and he says it was 
no doubt originally one of those vast circular earthen embankments 
with upright stones, and an altar in the centre, such as the 
Phoenicians erected at Amesbury ; at the Giant's Ring, near 
Belfast ; and at Greenan Mountain, co. Donegal ; and that the 
name of the latter particularly carries us back to remote antiquity : 
Grian, i.e. Grynoeus ; an, i.e. ain a circle. In Arab, it is pro- 
nounced Ba'albak, and was called by the Greeks Heliopolis, i.e. 
City of the Sun. Some assert that Baalbec is the Baalath of 
Scripture. 

BABEL, from Arab. Jjb bdb bel, the gate or court (city) of 

Bel, or Belus, in allusion to the Tower or Temple of Belus, 
commonly called Tower of Babel. Some say Babel is for Heb. 
b^b^ bilbel confusion ; balal, to mix or confuse. See Babbl- 

MANDKL. 

BABELMANDEL, properly Babelmandeb, a strait which 
joins the Red Sea to the Ocean, called by some Latin geographers 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 23 

Ostium Lucius : from Arab. Bdbu 7 mandab, i.e. the funeral gate, 
passage of mourning, the gate of tears, from c^b bdb a gate, 

Jl al the, c-;jj nadaha to bewail (a death). It received its 

name from the old Arabians, from the danger of the navigation, 
and the number of shipwrecks bj which it was distinguished ; 
which induced them to consider as dead, and to wear mourning 
for all who had the boldness to hazard the passage through it 
into the Ethiopic Ocean. 

BABYLON, supposed to have stood on the spot where the 
Tower of Babel was built ; from Babel. 

BACH (bak)t in names of places in Wales, is the W. bach 
small. 

BACHARACH (baifarak), on the Rhine, a contraction of 
L. Baccki ara, the altar of Bacchus, a name conferred upon a 
rock in the bed of the river, usually covered with water, but in 
very dry seasons appearing above the surface. The sight of it is 
hailed with joy by tbe owner of the vineyard, who regards this 
as a sure sign of a fine vintage. (^Murray,) 

BADAJOZ {bad'ahoth)), "from Arab, beled aix, land of Ufe." 

(Fieyra.) Perhaps jjj balad province, city, town, />uj^ *aish 
life. 

BADEN (bak'cTn), the name of many places in Germany, &c. 
The word Baden is simply the pi. of G. bad a bath, most of the 
places in question being, or having once been, famous for their 
baths. Baden-Baden is so called to distinguish it from the 
others. 

BAFFA, in Cyprus, corrupted from Gr. Uojfoc, a city which 
was sacred to Venus. 

BAGDAD (in Arab. j\sx3 bdghddd). It is said that the city 

of Seleuca (built by Seleucus) was reduced to such a state of 
desolation, as to have nothing remaining on the spot where it 
formerly stood but the cell of a monk called Dady and a garden 
adjoining, whence it was called Bagdad, i.e. the Garden of Dad. 

cb bdgh in Pers. is a garden. Paradise. 



-•I 



21 LOCAL ETTMOLOGr. 

BAGH« or BA6« in local names in India, is the Fen, L\j bdgh 

a gardeu, orchard, plantation ; as Kndsiya \A^^ the name of a 
garden outside the walls of Delhi. 

BAHAR', or BIHAR', capital of a prorince of the same name 
in Hindustan, and which, though distinct from, is sometimes 
identified with Bengal ; corrupted from Sans, riior, a Buddhist 
monastery. 

BAKTSCHISERA'I, a town in the Crimea, hidden in a yallej. 

The name means "the palace of the gardens," from Turc. ^L:^U 

bdgtche a garden, ^\ ^ 9erdi palace. 

BALA, in names of places in Wales and Ireland, means the 
exit of a river out of a lake. (W. and Ir.) 

BALA HISSAR, of the city of Cahul, Affghanistan, signifies 
the upper town or castle, *'as Bala-Khanen means the upper 
room of the royal palace, which commanded the lower and more 
extensive portion, divided into two by the Cabul river." (Black- 
wood.) The Pers. bdid signifies above, high ; the Arab hisdr is 
a fortified town, a castle. 

BALAKLATA (Crimea). The Genoese founded the little 
town at the bottom of the haven, and built the fort on the 
adjoining cliff. The name is corrupted from It. bella ekiave 
beautiful quay ; an appellation which it well deserves. 

BALEARIC ISLES. Majorca and Minorca were anciently 
called Baleares. The most western, being the greatest, was named 
Balearis Major, whence Majorca; the most eastern, for same 
reason, was called Balearis Minor, whence Minorca. Some derive 
Baleares from Gr. fiaWut to throw, because the inhabitants were 
good slingers. Bochart agrees with Strabo and others, who 
consider the name to be of native origin, and he derives it from 
Phoen. baal lord, also skilful, and yarah to throw, i.e. skilful in 
the art of throwing. 

BALKH, one of the capitals of Khurasan, supposed to be the 
ancient Bactra, whence the name may have been corrupted. The 
historians of Persia attribute the foundation of this town to 
Kajumarath, first king of this coimtry, and say that he named it 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 25 

Balkhe, from balkiden or baigiden, to welcome a friend^ because, 
having for a long time lost his brother, he at last found him at 
this place. Balkh in Arab, means "proud." 

BALKAN, from Turc. j^^V ^^^^^^» meaning chains of 
mountains in general ; particularly the Balkan, or Mount Httmus, 
which separates Bulgaria from Roumelia. 

BALLANGLEICH, a pathway leading down from the brow of 
the castle hill at Stirling. The name is Gael., and signifies 
" the winding pass." 

BALLY or BAL, BALLYROBE, BALLYSHANNON. Bally 
or Bal in local names in Ireland is the Ir. haile a town, village, 
townland — thus. Bally mony, town on the bog ; Ballintra, town 
on the strand ; Ballymore, the great town ; Ballinahinch, town on 
the island ; Ballyrobe, Bally shannon, towns on the rivers Robe 
and Shannon. 

BALSCOTE (bahcut), Oxon. See Cote. 

BALTA LIMAN', on the European shore of the Bosphorus, 
celebrated for a treaty between the Turks and Russians which 

was signed there. The Turc. j^UjJ Itmdn is a port, from Gr. 

BALTIC SEA. This sea has either been named from its 
having the shape or appearance of a belt, or from certain straits 
or channels surrounding its isles, called belts ; as the Greater and 
Lesser Belt on the coast of Denmark. Bailey says, "the sea 
belonging to Baltia, an island in the German Ocean" — from L. 
Balticum (mare), from balteum (A. S. belt, Sw. bait, Dan. b€Blte) 
a belt, which some derive from the Gael, beilt, 

BALTIMORE, one of the chief cities in Maryland, U.S., 
takes its name from Lord Baltimore, who settled the province of 
Maryland in 1635. 

BALIJCHAR. Under " Bdlu-char, or chur, land covered by 
a deposit of sand, a sand-bank formed by a deposit of sand from 
the waters of a river," Wilson says, " name of a village near 
Murshidabad, perhaps originally so formed from the river" — 

from Hind. A\j bdlu sand (from Sans, b&lukd), y>^ char, choorf 

a shoal, bank. 



26 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

BAM, BEAM, found as initials in names of places in En^and, 
are said to denote that they received their names from being 
situated in woody places, or near a grove. The A* S. beam is a 
tree. See Bampton and Beamfleet. 

BAMBERG, a town of Germany, in Franconia, anciently 
Babenberg, the name supposed to have been given to it by Babe, 
(daughter of the Emperor Otho II.), who enlarged it. 

BAMPTON. Many places in England have been so named, 
from their elevated situation and being covered with wood, from 
A. S. beam-dune ; beam a tree, dune a hill. 

BANBURY, Oxon, means, according to some, ^'high fastness." 
(See Bury.) Bailey says, '' of Sax. bona manslaughter, byrigk 
a city, perhaps so called from some great slaughter there." 
Bailey probably refers to the great battle between King Cynrie 
and the Britons, a.d. 556 ; but Banbury in Wilts also lays claim 
to being the site of the same event. Camden says the Saxon 
name of this place was Banesbyrig ; in Domesday it is called 
Banesberie. The A. S. b&na is destruction ; the W. ban is high. 

BANGOR, found written Banchor, N. Wales. De Barri, 
speaking of the cathedral church of Bangor, says, *' it must not 
be confounded with the celebrated college of the same name in 
Flintshire. Bangor (i.e. the college in Caermarthen) is properly 
called Bangor Deiniol, Bangor Vawr yn Arllechwdh." The 
historian Cressy places the date of its foundation in a.d. 516, and 
adds, " Malgo Ck)nan not long after built a city, which for the 
beauty of its situation he called Ban-cSr, i.e. the high or con- 
spicuous choir ;" and in a note De Barri adds, <'When Christianity 
was first established in Britain, it was only in particular societies, 
which went by the appellation of C6r, i.e. circle, society, or con- 
gregation, distinguished afler by the names of those teachers who 
established them. When these CSrau began to have authority, 
they came to be called by the name of Bangor, from ban high, 
and e6r, i.e. the supreme society or college." Somner derives 
the A. S. Bancorena'burk, Bancama-byrig (Bangor) from banc 
a bank, an elevation^ chor a choir, and burh or byrig^ a burg or 
city. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 27 

BARBARY, a large, tract of conntiy in tbe N. of Africa, so 

called by the Arabs, and said to be from ^ j harriyyun an 

nncaltivated country, or harriyyat a desert, because it was very 
little populated before the Arabs inhabited it. See Lamartinidre, 
quoting Dapper, p. 116. 

BARBICAN. Pennant says, ** the Barbican which I men- 
tioned as originally a Roman specula or watch-tower, lay a little 
to the north of this street (Noble Street). It was an appendage 
to most fortified places. The Saxons gave them the title of 
Burgh-kenning. They were esteemed so important, that the 
custody was always committed to some man of rank." ** There 
was of old a manor-house of the kmg's, called Base-court, or 
Barbican, destroyed in 1251 ; but it was restored, as appears 
aboYC." See Pennant, pp. 12, 331, Lond. 1813. 

BARCELONA, Spain, corrupted from L. Bareimhonis ; thus, 
Barcinone, Barcelone, Barcelona. Pineda says, ''anciently 
Bareimdne, a name given it by Amilcar Bareinus." 

BAR'DAWAN, a district and a city in Bengal ; from Pers. 

^IjJj bardawdn, from Sans, vardhamdna thriving. 

BARDNEY, co. Lincoln, from A. S. €Bge island, beordana of 
birds. It is found written Beordan-ige. See Bosworth. 

BARDSEY, an island off the coast of Caernarvon, so called from 
having been the last retreat of the Welsh bards ; from W. bardd 
a bard, ey from A. S. ig, an isle. 

BARLOW. See Low. 

BARMOUTH, N. Wales ; named from its situation near the 
conflux {aber) of the Maw — usually called Avon Vawr, i. e. the 
Great River — ^from aber maw ; thus, Aber Maw, Bermaw, Bar- 
mouth. 

BAR'NAGORE. See Nagore. 

BARTON. See Berwick. 

BASING, OLD, a town and castle near Basmgstoke, Hants ; 
Bailey says, from Sax. basing^ a coat of mail, because of the re- 
semblance it has thereto. But see Ing. 

BASINGHALL STREET, a corruption of Basing-haugh, i. e. 



28 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the haugh belonging to the Basing family. Haugh or haw is a 
small piece of ground adjoining a house, a small field ; literally 
an inclosed piece of land, from A. S. haya. The Sco. haugh is a 
low-lying meadow. Bailey says, " Basing-hall or Bassishaw Street, 
once called Basingis-hawe, from Sax. basing a cloak, awe a hall, 
q. d. a place for cloth of which cloaks, &c., are made." 

BASLE, Basel, Basil, or B^le, a town in Switzerland, built upon 
the site of the ancient Basilia; from Gr. fixariXeix queen, 
princess ; also kingdom, sovereignty. The French pronounce it 
bahl ; the Germans ha:/L 

BASQUE PROVINCES. The Basques call themselves Viz- 
cainos and Bdscos. Some derive Basque from the Basq. hauoco 
a mountaineer, a highlander. Humboldt says from bascoa a 
forest, whence baso-coa, belonging to a forest, pi. Basocoac. The 
Basques have been also called Vasques, Vascones, and Vascons. 
The general opinion seems to be that Gascony was peopled, 
towards the end of the sixth century, by a Spanish tribe that 
crossed the Pyrenees, and took possession of Novempopulaui. 
Gascon is therefore most probably merely another orthography of 
Vascon. The Gascons, hke the Basques, confound the letters v 
and b, which gave rise to Scaliger's pleasantry — " Felices populi 
quibus bibere est vivere.'* According to some writers, the Basques 
call themselves Euscaldunac, their coimtry Euscalerria, and their 
language Euscara, or Escuara. Larramendi derives Escuara from 
escuco free, era mode, or manner. It is more than probable that 
the only etymological part of Escuara is esc, and that esc and 
eusc may be synonymous with the first syllable iaBasq-ue, Fasq-ue, 
Bisq-ue, and Gasc-ony ; and perhaps with vesc and osc in some 
names of places, as Vesci, Vescia, Vescovato, and Osca. 

BASSORAH, or Basra, Balsorah, Turkey ; in Arab. " a mar- 
gin." It is situated on the Shat-al-Jrab, '* river of the Arabs." 
See Johnston. 

BASTIA, chief town of the island of Corsica. Qu. It. bastia 
rampart, trench, fence, from Low L. bastum, 

BATAVIA (Betuwe), an isle in Holland between the Rhine 
and the Waal. The word is thought by many to be contracted 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 29 

from hat-a%Cufers, *' inhabitants of good or fruitful land," from 
batf bet, good, auwe ground, country. It is thought that the 
name is preserved in part of Gelderland, the Betuwe, fruitful 
country, in opposition to Veluwe^ bad land from vale falling, 
defective, &c. (Hist. Dutch Lang, by Ypey.) Others say this 
isle occupies part of the country of the ancient Batavi or Insula 
Batavorum, and that the name Betuwe is derived from that of 
Batavia. It seems more reasonable to presume that Betuwe is 
the original of Batavia. 

BATCH, BACH, a termination of local names in England, as 
in Comberbatch and Sandbach (Cheshire), Woodbatch (Salop), 
may be the G. bach a stream, rivulet. The A. S. beck is still 
common in the northern counties. 

BATH. So called on account of the celebrity of its hot baths, 
from A. S. bceth, bat ho, a bath (W. badh, or baz, 6. D. Sw. and 
Dan. bad), bathian to bathe. " It was called by Antoninus the 
Waters of the Sun (Aquee Solis) ; and from the great concourse of 
diseased people Acemanni Civitas, in A. S. Acmanceaster, i. e. 
the sick folks' town." The Britons named it Badiza, and the 
Saxons Bathan-cester. 

BATTLE, Sussex. " Battle Abbey, so called by William the 
Conqueror, in token of a signal victory obtained over Harold, the 
last Danish king ; which was the first step to his reducing the 
whole kingdom to obedience." (^Bailey.) 

BATTERSEA. Bailey writes Batersea, " once called Patric's 
Ea, i. e. Patrick's Isle." According to Lysons it is called in the 
Conqueror's survey Patricesy, and has since been written Bat- 
trichsey, Battersey. Aubrey derives its name from St. Patrick. 
Lambarde says^ '* Battersey quasi Botersey ; because it was near 
the water-side, and was the removing-house of the archbishops of 
York." But, as Lysons observes, to confute so absurd an ety- 
mology, it is scarcely necessary to say that the archbishops of 
York had no property in Battersea till the reign of Edward IV. ; 
that Patricesy in the Saxon is " Peter's water" or river ; and as 
the same record which calls it Patricesy mentions that it was 
given to St. Peter, it might then first assume that appellation ; 



30 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

but this, he owns, is conjecture. Petersham, which is writteu 
precisely the same in Domesday, viz., Patriceham, belonged to 
St. Peter's Abbey, Chertsey, and retains its original name, a little 
modernized. 

BAVARIA (L.), anciently Boioaria, i. e. the country of the 
Boii, or Boioarii. 

BAYONNE {hayoW), Sp. Bay6na, a city in the S. W. of France, 
near the frontiers of Spain, from Basq. Bayon, from batyot bayona, 
a port, i.e. a good port. 

BEALACHNAM-BO, Loch Katrine : " the pass of cattle." 
(Gael.) 

BEAMFLEET, Beamfled (Hunts) Bamfleet, Benfled (Essex) ; 
from A. S. Beam-Jleot ; beam a tree (see Bam), fieot an arm of 
the sea, an estuary. See Chron. 897, and Bosworth. 

BEAUMARIS (bo'morris), in the Isle of Anglesey ; from Fr. 
beau, fine, and marais a fen or marsh. {Bailey.) 

BEAUNE {bone), in France ; from Celt, bel sources, na from, 
maou two {Diet, Nat,) : perhaps watered by two streams having 
their source near the town. Beaune was anciently written Beaulne 
(in L. Pagus Belnisus). 

BEAUYAIS {bo'vay), in France, in L. BelloTacum, from Celt. 
beloo Talour, gwys man. The inhabitants were anciently re- 
nowned for their courage. {Diet. Nat.) 

BECC, BEC, BECK, in names of places, or as a termination 
of names of places, in England, &c., denotes their situation to be 
near a brook or riyer ; from A. S. beec a brook, rivulet, from root 
of Ice. beck, D. beck, 6. baek. Beck is still used in the N. of 
England, particularly in Westmoreland, Cumberland, and north 
Lancashire for a mountain stream, or rivulet. See also Botworthf 
and Chr. 1140 ; lug. p. 370, 4. 

BEDDGELERT {beth'gelert), Caernarvon, N. Wales, properly 
Bedd Celert. Its name, says Carhsle, according to tradition 
implies " the grave of Celert," a greyhound which belonged to 
Lly welyn, the last Prince of Wales ; and a large rock is still 
pointed out as the monument of this celebrated dog, being on the 
spot where it was found dead, together with the stag which it had 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 31 

pursued from Caemanron. In W. bedd is a grave. For the 
tradition see Bingley (Excurs. in N. Wales). 

BEDFORD, formerly Bedanford, a contraction of Bedicanford, 
from A. S. bedican to bedike, fortify with a mound, Kud ford, id. 
"The fortress of the ford." The battle between Cuthwulf and 
the Britons, in a.d. 572, is said to have been fought here. 

BEDFORD ROW, Holbom, " took its name from the uses 
to which these lands, and others adjacent, were bequeathed by 
Sir William Harpur of Bedford ; viz., to found a free and per- 
petual school in that, his native place — for portioning poor 
maidens ; supporting poor children ; and maintaining the poor 
with the surplus ; all of them inhabitants of the said town." 
{Pennant,) 

BEDLAM, a corruption of Bethlehem (q. v.) ; the name of a 
religious house in London, afterwards converted into a lunatic 
asylum. 

BEER, in names of places in the Holy Land, is the Heb. inn 

(Arab, jo beer) a well ; thus. Beer, name of a city near Jeru- 
salem ; Beer-elim, the well of heroes ; Beer-sheba, the well or 
fountain of an oath {skabah an oath). 

BEER ALSTON, BEER FERRIS. Beer Alston is a small 
market town in the parish of Beer Ferris, Devon. Risdon says 
it was given by William the Conqueror to the French family of 
Allenson, soon after the conquest, from whom it took its name ; 
and that in the reign of Henry II. this honour, as well as 
Beer Ferrers, erroneously called Bere Ferris, was held by Henry 
Ferrers ; and Martin Ferrers, the last of that ancient house, was 
put in special trust to defend the sea-coast against the invasion 
of the French in Edward III.'s time. (See P. Cyc) Beer may 
come from A. S. beorh a hill, rampart, citadel, fortification, heap. 
The A. S. has also beora, beam, a grove, beano, bearo, a barrow, 
high or hilly place, wood, grove, hill covered with wood. 

BEERSHEBA. See Beer. 

BEHRING'S STRAITS (written also Beering and Bering). 
Captain Cook, who explored these straits, gave them this name, 
after Behring, an eminent navigator, who first discovered them. 



32 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

BELGIUM. The Belgse were most probably the same people 
as the Volkes. Strabo and Titus Livius call them Volcse, Caesar, 
Volgse, AusoDius, Bolgse, Cicero, Belgse, and in Greek they are 
called OvokKai. One of their chiefs is named by historians 
indifferently Bolgius and Belgius. Thierry and others assert that 
the Bolg or Fir-bolg were originally from Asia, and that, on 
quitting that continent, they for a long time dwelt on the borders 
of the Euxine, where the Greeks reduced them to servitude. 
From Thrace they emigrated to Ireland, and, having conquered 
the inhabitants, remained in the country for some time. They 
were, however, subsequently expelled by the inhabitants after a 
bloody battle, when they retired to the Isle of Man and the 
Ilebrides, where several names of places still recall their passage. 
The traditions of Ireland also make mention of an emigration 
into that isle of Belgse (Fir-bolg) from the embouchure of the 
Rhine in Gaul. Fir-Bholg means the ancient Irish, the ancient 
Belgee. Fir in Irish means men. Keating observes that there 
are still three families in Ireland descended from the Belgse, 
viz. the Gabhruighe of Connaught, the Fairsigh of Failghe, and 
the Galliuns of Leinster. The Belgae doubtless took their name 
from the Volga or Bolga, on the banks of which they dwelt. (See 
Bulgaria.) Volga, Bolga, Bolgse, Belgse, Belgseum, Belgium. 

BELGRADE, formerly the capital of Servia ; from Illyr. hel 
white, grad a castle, town. The Turks call it Beligrad, In 
Slav, it is Bjelohrad, in G. Griechisch-Weissenburg, and 
Belgrad, and in Hung. N&ndor-Fej^rvdr, all signifying white 
town. But see Bolgrad and Gorod. 

BEN, in names of places in Scotland, is the Gael, beann, beinn, 
beinne, a hill, mountain, summit, pinnacle. (Ir. beann, W. bann 
and pen, G. bann high, pinn a summit.) 

BEN LED I, a river flowing out of Loch Venachoir, Perth ; abo 
the name of the most conspicuous mountain in Callender — said to 
be a contraction of Gael. beinn-le-Dia, " the hill of God.*' Some 
think it was named by the Druids, who had a temple on the 
summit of this hill, where the inhabitants in the vicinity assembled 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 33 

for deTotion once a year ; and it is said that this meeting con- 
tinued three days. 

BEN LOMOND denotes, according to some, a hare green hill ; 
others say it is a contraction of Ben-loch-Iamin, *' the hill of the 
lake full of islands.'* Ben-more means the gre.it roouutain; 
Benvenue, the small mountain ; Beindeirg, the red mountain ; 
Bencleughs, the rock mountain. The Gael, lorn is bare, naked, 
open or exposed ; heagan is little (whence venue) ; dearg red ; 
elachy cloich, stone, pebble, rock. 

BEN NEVIS, the highest mountain in Britain, co. Inverness, 
Scotland. The name is generally derived from Gael, beinn 
a mountain, and L. nivis of snow. The better opinion seems to be 
that Benevis is for Benkvist contracted from beinn-nkatnh-bhathais, 
i.e. "the mountain with its summit in the clouds," or, as in 
Pope's Homer, *' cloud-kissing hill." Beinn a hill, n^am the 
heavens or clouds ; baihais, the part of the human head between 
the forehead and the crown. The name may have come thus : 
Beinn-n^amh-bhathais, Beinnambathais, Bennamvathais, Benna- 
vatais, Bennavais, Bennevais, Ben Nevis. 

BENARES, a city of Hindustan, on the Ganges, from Pers. 

fMiUu BandfiSy also B&n&ras, from Sans. Varandsi, from the 

two streams Vara and Nasi, as some say. Others derive Benares 
from Sans. Faranashi or Kasif the splendid. 

BENDER^ a town in Russia (formerly in Turkey), on the 
Dniester. It was anciently called Teckin or Tegine. This place 
is rendered famous from the sojourn here of Charles XII., after 
having been defeated by Peter the Great at Pultwa. The name 
is said to signify a tomb, and on that account, and in conse- 
quence of the length of the king's absence, many thought him 
dead. Bender in Turc. signifies a place of passage, a place 
of commerce upon the frontiers ; port de mer, 6chelle du 
Levant. 

BENT, CHOW-BENT. Chowbent is a village in Lanca- 
shire ; the name means the bent or common of Chow or Chew. 
(See Baines' Hist. Lane.) Bent, a coarse kind of grass 

D 



34 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

growing on hilly ground {Lightfoot) ; the open field, the plain 
{S, Douglas), Bintz, bins, is a rush, juncus, scirpus. (Jamieson, 
Sco. Diet.) 

BERDIANSE, in South Russia, named from its situation at 
the mouth of the Berda. 

BERE REGIS. See Regis. 

BERGEN, capital of the province of Bergenhuys, Norway. 
The name is found written Berghen and Bjorgin, and in Low L. 
Berga. Pliny calls it Bergio. Some derive the name from G. 
bergen, to hide, conceal. It is more prohably from berg, Dan. 
bierg, a mountain, from being surrounded on the land side by 
seven high mountains. 

BERIA, BERRA, BERIE, BERRY, found in names of places, 
is an O. Eng. word denoting a plain open heath or wide fiat 
champaign ; as in Mix-berie, Cornberrie, Beria Sancti Edmundi — 
mentioned by Matthew Paris — which does not refer to the town, 
but to the adjoining plain. Cowcl says, ''that many fiat and 
wide meads, and other open grounds, are still called by the name 
of beries and berie-^eids. So the spacious mead between Oxford 
and Isley was in the reign of King Athelstan called Bery, as now 
the largest pasture-ground in Quarendon, Bucks, is known by the 
name Berry-field. And such, indeed, were the berie meadows, 
which, though Sir H. Spelman interprets them to be the 
demesne meadows, or manor meadows, yet were truly any fiat 
open meadows that lay adjoining to any vill or firm." See Cowel, 
Law Diet. ; Dufresne, Glos. 

BERKELEY (barklg), co. Gloucester, from A. S. beorce 
a beech -tree, leag a field ; on account of the number of beech- 
trees originally growing there. 

BERK'HAMPSTEAD, Herts, formerly Berkhamsted. Bailey 
derives Bergamsted in Kent, from Sax. beorg a fort, ham a house, 
stedda a place ; but berk may be from A. S. birce birch. 

BERKSHIRE, "the bare oak shire," so called from a polled 
(lopped) oak in Windsor Forest, where public meetings were held. 
{Brompt, p. 801.) It was written most commonly by the Anglo- 
Saxons Barruc, Bearruc, and Bearwucscire. Bailey writes 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 35 

'* Barkshire, so called from the abundance of box growing there." 
From Sax. berroc a wood, and scire shire. 

BERLIN. Some assert that Albert, sumamed the Bear 
{der Bar), Ck)unt of Anhalt, built this city. Werdenhagen 
(de Reb. Ansea. part 3, c. 23, fol. 338) says that Albert (who 
was Margrave of Brandenburg) only enlarged this city and sur- 
rounded it with walls, on which account it took its name from 
him, like Beemaw, Beerwald, Beemstein, and other places which 
he also built ; and in corroboration it is said that it has for its 
arms a bear. The later opinion seems to be that the name is 
deriyed from berle, signifying uncultivated land, in the language 
of the Slavonian Vends, who were the earliest settlers in this 
part of the country. See Zeyler, Brandenb. Topog., p. 26 ; 
and Zedler, Lex. 

BERMONDSEY, formerly Bermundsey, and in the Conqueror's 
survey Bermundesye ; from Bermund's ige, i.e. Bermund's Isle, 
formerly (says Bailey) famous for an abbey erected by Bermund, 
either lord or abbot of that place. Bermund from A. S. beran 
to bear, mund peace. 

BERMUDA. The Bermudas, which consist of five small 
islands in the Atlantic Ocean, were named from Juan Bermudez, 
their Spanish discoverer. They are also called Somers' Isles, 
from Sir Greo. Somers, who was shipwrecked there in 1609. 

BERNICIA, name of a tract of country which formerly 
reached from the Tyne to the Frith of Forth. Some derive 
the name from Anc. Brit, brynaich, i.e. mountain land. Bailey 
says q. d. the province of Berwick, from Sax. beorn a man-child, 
6r. nycfi victory, so called from the warlike disposition of the 
inhabitants ; but Bernicia is more probably from Berenice, from 
Gr. fispyiKTj one that brings victory, from ^epuj to bring, vixi^ 
victory. 

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED (berrick), from A. S. beor, beer, 
or bere, barley, com, wic a village ; " a com village." Bailey 
gives also " Abermck, i.e. a town at the mouth of a river." In 
Domesday Berwica is a village. Dr. Bosworth derives Barton from 
bear or bere, and tun an enclosure, court-yard, com-farm, grange. 

D 2 



36 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

BESAN'QON, a town of France ; from Low L. Vesontio, 
Visontium, Besantio. Some historians have called it Chrjsopolis, 
*' the golden city." See Lamartinihre ; also Piganiol, Desc. de la 
France, t. 6, p. 397 ; Chiflet, Vesont. part 1, p. 44. 

BETH, BETHEL, BETHLEHEM. Beth, in names of places 

in Palestine, is the Heb. n**! beth (Arab. li^-vXJ bayt) a house; 

thus, Beth-el, "house of God," a very ancient city of the 
Canaanites ; Beth-scda, "house of mercy;" Beth-sdida, "place 
of hunting and fishing ;" Beth-aven (same with Bethel), " house 
of vanity or idols ;" Beth-Iehem, " house of bread," the birth- 
place of our Saviour, near Jerusalem. 

BETTWS-Y-COED (bett'oos-koid), N. Wales. Bettws is 
frequently found in local names in Wales. Carlisle says betitcs 
is a station or place of moderate temperature, between hill 
and vale. Others say it appertained at first to a monastery, 
from L. abbatis {abbas, abbatis, an abbot). The W. coed is a 
wood. Bettws Garmon was named from its church, which is 
dedic<;ted to St. Germanus, who led on the Britons to the famous 
'* Alleluia " victory, obtained over the Saxons at Maes-Grarmon, 
near Mold. 

BEVER, a castle in Leicestershire. There are several places 
named Bever in England. There is Bever in the neighbour- 
hood of Colchester. From Fr. belvoir, a fine prospect, bel, and 
voir, from L. videre to see. 

BEYROUT (beerooi') found written Beyrut, Bairout, Berout, 
and Beirut, a town in Syria. Some say from Heb. beroth wells 
(pi. of •)«! beer), on account of the springs of water there. 
Others say the name originated from the Phoenician deity Baal 
Beerith, "lord of wells." Periegetes tells us it was a Phoenician 
city of great antiquity, and was called B^rytus, or Bery'tus ; 
that Augustus, who made it a colony, called it after his daughter, 
Colonin Julia Augusta Felix Berytus ; and that medals were 
afterwards struck in honour of the Roman emperors, bearing the 
legend " Colonia Felix Berytus." (Pliu. v. 20.) 

BUAR, in the names of places in Scotland, is the Gael, bhdrr, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 37 

aspirated form of bitrr, bbr, bhir (Corn. W. and Arm. bar)^ top, 
summit, height, or hill ; perhaps from or allied to Heb. barkh 
high, O. Pers. and Chald. bar above. 

BHURTPORE, or BHARATPOOR, Hindustan ; " the town 
of Bharata." See Poor. 

BICESTER (bitter), Oxon, found written Bisetter and Bur- 
chester ; corruption of Birincester, " Birin's fortress/' because 
built, by his advice and assistance, out of the ruins of Alchester 
and Chesterton, or because a church was built and endowed by 
him. Birin or Birinus was bishop of Caer Dor, or Dorclioster, 
Oxon, about the middle of the seventh century. 

BICETRE {besai/tr), Paris, an hospital, lunatic asylum, and 
penitentiary, formerly called La Grange aux Gueux. It is said 
to take its name from Wincestre (Winchester), from occupying 
the site of a country house built in 1290 by John, bishop of Win- 
chester. Thus, Wincestre, Vincestre, Vicestre, Bicestre, Bic^tre. 
Others say the name is derived from its owner, in the 15th century 
(1410), John, Due de Berry (in L. Dux Bituricengis), SeeFauchet, 
Antiq. ; Du Chesne, sur Alain Chartier, p. 817 ; and Menage, 

BIiyEFORD, Devon, has its name from its situation near an 
ancient ford, i.e. " by the ford *^ It is built on both sides of the 
river Torridge, near its confluence with the Taw. 

BIGGIN, BYGGYN, a common termination of local names in 
the northern counties and in Scotland ; as Newbiggin, Northum- 
berland and Westmoreland ; Dowbiggin, Lancashire. It means 
a house of a large size as opposed to a cottage ; a building. It 
may come from A. S. byggan a building ; New-biggin, the new 
building ; Dow-biggin, the old buildiog. Dow is here a corruption 
of "Old ;" thus, old, d'old, d'owd, Dow. In Scotland biggin 
is sometimes used to designate certain small buildings on the 
banks of rivers, &c., in which night lights are placed to prevent 
vessels from mistaking their course. 

BIJANAGORE, a celebrated city in Hindustan, now decayed 
and deserted, from Vijayanagar, " The City of Triumph," 
from Hind, bijai or vi-jaya, triumph (from Sans, vi, and jay a 



38 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

victory, from ji to conquer), naffar, nugur^ a town, city. 
See Nagore. 

BIL'LERICAY, Essex. In ancient records the name is found 
written Beleuca. Its most ancient name is said to have been 
Baleuga, or Banleuga (in Fr. banlieu. Low L. bannum leuea), 
denoting the territory or precinct round a manor or borough. 

BILLINGSGATE, or, says Pennant—*' to adapt the spelling 
to the conjectures of antiquaries, who go beyond the realms of 
Chaos and old Night — Belin's-gate, or the gate of Belinus, king 
of Britain, fellow-adventurer with Brennus, king of the Gauls, at 
the sacking of Rome, 360 years before the Christian sera : and 
the Beli Mawr, who graces the pedigrees of numbers of us 
ancient Britons. For fear of falling on some inglorious name, 
I submit to the etymology, but must confess there does not appear 
any record of a gate at this place. His son Lud was more 
fortunate, for Ludgate preserves his memory to every citizen who 
knows the just value of antiquity. ' Grate ' here signifies only a 
place where there was a concourse of people — a common quay or 
wharf, where there is a free going in and out of the same." 

BILLOCKBY (billo'by). See Runham. 

BINGLEY, York (in Domesday Bingheleia), a market-town, 
CO. York. Tlie name is said to signify the field of Bing^ the 
original proprietor in Saxon times. A. S. leag a field. 

BIR'BHOOM, a district in Bengal ; corrupted from Fira- 
bkumiy ** the land of heroes." (Sans, vira a hero, bhumi land, 
earth, the earth.) 

BIRDTWISLE. See Twistle. 

BIRMINGHAM ; found written Bermyngham, Bermingham ; 
in the Letters Patent of Edw. VI., Brymyincham, and in other 
old writings Brumwycheham. Dugdale says the general opiniou 
seems to be that the " appellation Berming was originally taken 
from some ancient owner or planter there in the Saxons* time." 
Others assert that the original spelling was '* Brum-toich-ham,^^ 
(A. S.) i. e. *' the broom-place dwelling," in allusion to the natural 
growth of the shrub termed broom on its site ; and, indeed, there 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 39 

are two places in the neighbourhood called Bromwich. This 
latter etjmologj agrees with the vulgar pronounciation, " Brum- 
micham," See Smith, Hist. Warw. 

BISCAY, the Bay of, which washes the western shore of France 
and the northern shore of Spain, i.e. the Biscaya or Vizcaya, one of 
the Basque provinces. Biscay, Basque, and Gascony are merely 
different orthographies of the Sp. word. Some derive Biscaya 
from the Greek, others from an African word. Larramendi says 
Bizcaya is from Basq. bitsbitsd foamy, eaya a port ; or that 
it means ''Let it be a port," from biz, and cay a! But see 
Basque. 

BIS'HAM, or Bisham Montague, co. Berks ; corrupted from 
Bustleham, its ancient name ; " Bustle's ham or dwelling." 

BLACKHEATH. See Jack Straw's Castle. 

BLACK SEA. " The reason for calling this sea ' Black* may 
have been the frequent recurrence of storms and fogs ; but it 
might also have been the abounding black rocks in the extensive 
coal-fields between the Bosphorus and Heraclea." {Timbs.) More 
probably from the dark appearance which this sea sometimes has 
from the shadows of these rocks. The Turks call the Black Sea 
Karah Dengiz; in Russ. it is Tshemoe More, in G. Schwarzes 
Meer, in Fr. La Mer Noire, in Sp. Mar N^gro, in L. Pontus 
Euxinns, and Pontus, and in Gr. riovroc and Eu^ctvoc- 

BLENHEIM, in Germany. See Hochst. 

BLOUS, BOLOUS, BOL, BOLI, a termination in Oriental 
names of places, as iii Istdmb61 (Constantinople), Guel^bolf 
(Gallipoli), Tirdbolous (Tripoli), Nablous (Asia Minor), is a cor- 
ruption of Gr. voXiQ a city. See Stamboul. 

BODEN-SEE (zay). See Bregenz. 

BODMIN, in Cornwall ; Com. " stone-house." Bodmyn, the 
"kite's abode;" also "the dwellings on the ridge of a hill." 
{Lhuyd,) Bailey says, " from W. bod a kite, min the bank of a 
river, by reason of the great number of kites that frequent it." 

BOHEMIA, L., said to be from Bqjhemum, from Bojes, the 
name of the people. In ancient maps it is named Boiohemum. 



40 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

BOLGRAD, Bessarabia, found written Beloigorod, Bialogorod, 
Bialogrod, and Biellogrod ; from beloi white, gorod town. But 
see Belgrade, Gorod, and Ackerman. 

BOLSENA (J)oUat/na)y near Acquapendente, in the Roman 
States ; a corruption of Vulsinio, its ancient name. " The per- 
fection and elegance of workmanship of many articles lately dis- 
covered there confirm what writers assert, viz., that Vulsinio in 
Phoen. signifies ' the city of the artM.' " " It is called by 
Strabo the capital of Etruria, by Valerius Maximus caput Etrurue, 
and opulentissima by writers of high authority." 

BOLTON, Lancashire, found written Botltune, Bodeltune ; 
from A. S. botl, bold, bolt, an abode, dwelling, hall, mansion, 
house ; tun, an enclosure, village, &c. Cynilic botl, a kingly 
dwelling. Hicks translates Jricanbottle, Aula Wicensis. See 
Bosworth, also Whitaker (Craven), Qu. Wolfenbuttel in N. Ger- 
many. 

BOMBAY was first taken possession of by the Portuguese, 
soon afler their arrival in India, and called by them B6m Bahia, 
or "good bay," from the excellence of its harbour. B6m, or 
bdOf is from L. bonut good. 

BOOTH, a frequent adjunct to local names in Lancashire, as 
Hey Booth, Barrowford Booth, Laund Booth, Wheally Carr Booth, 
Rawtonstall Booth, Crawshaw Booth, Constable-le-Booth, Oaken- 
head Bootb. Camden derives Booth from D. boed, a temporary 
house built of boards. It may be from the Dan. bod (toldbody 
Tolbootb). The W. has bwth, Ir. boith or both, G. bude. The 
root of all may be the Heb. beth (Chal. bith, Arab, bayt) a house. 

BORDEAUX {bordd), in France, sometimes Bonrdeaux, named 
from its situation au bord des eaux. Some writers say its name 
is derived from two streams, the Bourde and the Jalle, not far 
from the city, whence L. Burdigala ; but, say others, the Bourde 
discharges itself into the Garonne a quarter of a league above the 
city, and the Jalle more than a league below the city, and it is not 
hkely that the Bourde gave its name to a great city watered by 
the Garonne. 

BORMIO, found written Bormco and Vormeo, a little town at 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 41 

the foot of Monte Stelvio in Italy. The Germans call Bormio, 
Worms. They are doubtless the same word, bat which is the 
original seems doubtful. The Germans call Monte Stelvio the 
Wormser Joch, and also Stilfser Joch, from the little village 
of Stilfs, perched up on a height, like a bird's nest, on the 
lyrolese side of the pass. The G. Veltlin (Eng. Valteline) is a 
corruption of the It Val Tellina, one of the four valleys which 
open out at Bormio. 

BORN, BOURN, BOURNE, BURN, and BONE, in names 
of places in England (as in Holborn, Marylebone, Tyburn, i. e. 
the Old-bourn, Mary-le-boum, the Ty-burn), is the A. S. hum a 
brook. The A. S. word is still in use in Scotland. 

BORNEO. A place and kingdom in the island of the same 

name, in the Eastern Archipelago ; from Mai. ^j^ bumi, some- 
times, but incorrectly, bumi. 

BORN'HOLM, an island in the Baltic, formerly called Burgen- 
daland, or land of Burgundians. Burgenda was first corrupted 
into Borrinff, and then into Bom ; and land has been changed 
into Dan. holm, an isle. Thus, Borringholm, Bornholm. See 
Bosworth, 

BOROUGH, another orthography of Burh, q. v. 

BORSTAL, BURSTAL, found written Burgstal, and Burgstol, 
from A. S. bearg a hill, stal seat, dwelling ; *' the names of places 
built on a hill." See Bosworth. 

BOSPHORUS. Some derive this word from G. /Souc an ox, 
iropoc a ford (Ox-ford) ; from being an ox-passage, a strait over 
which an ox may swim. Others say from /3ouc, and (^apw to bear, 
because lo, changed into the form of an ox, was borne over this 
strait. 

BOTANY BAY was discovered by Captain Cook in 1770, and 
received its name from the great variety of herbs which abounded 
on the shore ; from Gr. fioravT} a herb. 

BOTH'AM, in names of places in Lancashire, as in Ranis- 
botham, now Ramsbottom, is the O. Eug. word bothna, buth?ia, 
buihena, a park where cattle are enclosed and fed. Bothena is a 
barony, lordship, a sheriff-wick. See CoweL 



42 LOCAX ETYMOLOGY. 

BOULOGNE (boa-Ion!), a sea-port in France, from L. Bononia, 
by change of n into /. Thus, Bononia, Bolognia, Bologna, Bou- 
logne. 

BOWDEN (bau/den), a place in Ck>mwall. The name in 
Com. means a sorry fellow, a bad man, a nasty place. It is also 
a family name. 

BOYNE, the name of a river in Ireland, and of aeveral streams 
in Scotland ; from Ir. buinne a stream, rapid river ; Grael. id. 

BRABANT {brab'ong), a province of Belgium, said to take 
its name from Silvius Brabon, or Brubon, a Roman, who slew the 
giant at Antwerp! Brabant was anciently written Brachbant. 
The Dutch write Braband. See Antwerp. 

BRADFORD, Wilts, from A. S. Br&danford, from brad 
broad, ybrrf a ford. 

BRANSCOMB, perhaps from AbrahanCs Comb, i.e. Abra- 
ham's little valley or low piece of ground ; thus, Abraham's 
Comb, Abram's Comb, Bramscomb, Branscomb. 

BRAY, a parish and village near Maidenhead, Berks. Some 
think that the village occupies the site of the Roman station 
Bibracte, from which its present name may have been corrupted. 

BRAY, the name of a place in Cornwall ; from Com. bri, brea, 
a hill. It is also a family name. 

BRAZIL. " De brasa, en Port, braise, k cause de la couleur 
rouge&tre du bois de teinture que Ton tire de ce pays." {Bid, 
Nat,) The Port. Diet, does not give braise, but braza is a live 
coal, burning coal. The Sp. has brasil, brazil wood used by 
dyers. 

BREADALBANE, or Braidalbin, formerly one of the six dis- 
tricts into which Perthshire was divided. It is still popularly 
applied to this district, and is retained in the title of the present 
marquis ; from Gael, braidh, for braigh, the top of a mountain, 
an upland country, the upper or higher part of any country 
(as Braigh Raineach, the high grounds of Rannoch), and Alba, 
Albainn, Albuin, the Gael, name for Scotland, also the ancient 
name for England. Chalmers says the Scoto-Irish people gave 
to the south part of the Albani country [the name of Braid- Alban, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 43 

" the upper part of Alban/' and to a ridge of mountains in the 
north, that of Drum-alban, " the ridge of Alban." 

BRECKNOCKSHIRE, sometimes Breconshire, ''called in 
W. Brechitnenf from Brechianus, a prince that had 24 daughters, 
who were all canonized in the Choir of Saints." {Bailey,) *' From 
a prince of that country of the name of Brychan, who ruled 
over it about a.d. 400. From him this part of the principality 
was called ' Land of Brychan/ which in the British language 
at different periods is written Brechiniauc, Brechiniawg, Bre- 
chiniog, and Brecheiniog. Others suggest that, as torekin (per- 
haps from crugyn a hillock, or gwrychin a bristle) means an 
abrupt steep mountain, Brecheiniog may be a corruption of 
wrekiniog, or rather cruginiog or gwrychiniog, full of mountains 
or sharp ridges of hills, resembling the bristles of a hog's 
back. This is said to be confirmed by the neighbouring counties 
being called Mdr-gan-wg, the maritime country; Penfro, the 
head of the valley, or promontory, on the western extremity 
of the island. Brecknockshire was anciently called Garth- 
marthrin or Madrin, i. e. ' Fox-hill ' or ' Fox-hold, ' because 
perhaps formerly infested with that animal ; from garth, a pre- 
cipitous or abrupt eminence ; madrin, an obsolete word for a fox. 
This name was succeeded by Llwynog, or 'the inhabitants of 
the bushes,' which was afterwards changed to Cadno (pron. 
canddo), the only name by which the fox is at present known 
in Wales." (Jones, Hist. Breckn.) Llwynog means also a fox 
in Welsh. See Caermarthen. 

BREGENZ (bre^ntz), a town in Austria, at the east end of 
Lake Constance. It takes its name from a small river which falls 
into this lake near the town. The Romans called Bregenz 
Brigantium and Brigantia, and the lake, Brigantinus Yenacus, and 
Potamicus Lacus. Pliny calls it the Lake of Rheetia. Its former 
German name was Bregenzer-see. The modern German name is 
Boden-see. The town of Constance (in G. Constanz, and found 
written Costantz and Costnitz), situated on this lake, owes its 
origin to Constantius, father of the Emperor Constantine the 
Great, who founded it and built a strong fort here to protect 



44 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the frontier from the Germans. See Strabo, Ptolemy, Pliny, 
Lamartini^re, and Zeyler, Suevise Topog., p. 23. 

BRENDON, a place in Cornwall, from Corn. Brahan-dun, 
signifying " the crow's hill ;" also a family name. 

BRENTFORD, Middlesex, found written Bregenford, Brende- 
ford, and Brenford ; situated on the spot where the river Brent 
falls into the Thames ; Brent, and A. S. ford a ford. 

BRENTWOOD, Essex ; from Burnt-wood. 

BREST, a sea-port of France (Low L. Brestum), Some say 
from Brivatet Portus ; others from Celt, bras, bres, great (port, 
understood). M. de Longuerue (Desc. de la France, part 1, 
p. 94), does not consider it to be an ancient town, and says it has 
only become important since the reunion of Bretagne with the 
crown of France. 

BRIDEWEliL, a house of correction for the confinement of 
disorderly persons ; so called from the palace built near St. 
Bride's, i. e. St. Bridget s well, in London, which was turned into 
a workhouse. {Johnson.) 

BRIENTZ, BRIENZ (bree-enU), a town and lake in Switzer- 
land ; from Celt, bri a town, and hen embouchure ; '* ville situ6e 
k Tembouchure d*une riviere." (Diet. Nat.) 

BRI 6' A is often found as a termination of ancient names of 
places and peoples in Spain, &c., as in Augustobriga, Flaviobriga, 
Juliobriga, Lacobriga, Dcobriga, Nertobriga, Segobriga (now 
Segorbe), Veriobriga. Larramendi says it is an old Sp. word, signi- 
fying population, people, land, country, city, from Basq. uriga, 
id. from uri, tW, population, and the termination ffa, denoting 
place, situation ; and he says that both the Greeks and the Latins 
have briffa from the same root. (P. Cyc.) Humboldt thinks 
briga is not a Basq. word, and says it is found more frequently 
in names of places in Gaul. Astarloa says 6rt, vrt, and iirt mean 
peopled places, upon which a learned writer observes, that ga is a 
negative, and that therefore briga would mean a place without 
inhabitants, or a wild population (whence as some say Sp. ber- 
gante^ Fr. brigante) \ but as briga is always found as a termina- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 45 

tioD in the name of a town or inhabited place, it must have ac- 
quired a meaning contrary to its previous meaning. 

BRIGHTON ; found written Brighthelmston, Brightelmston, 
Brightelmestone, Brighthelmestone, Brightelmyston, Bright- 
helymjston, Brighthelmjston, Brighthelmstead. It is said to 
derive its name from Brighthelm, a Saxon bishop, who lived either 
there or in the vicinity, and A. S. tun a town. 

BRISTOL, formerly Bricg-stow, Bric-stow, Bristow, from A. S. 
biycff a bridge, stow a place, or stol a seat. {Rosworth,) Some 
assert that its ancient name was Caer Brito or Briton, i.e. the 
British city, nigh to and just under the Roman city, or station 
above, at Clifton. Henry of Huntingdon, in 11 4S, copying from 
Nennius, gives Caer Bristow for Caer Brito. The name is also 
found written Bryghsto, Brightstoe, Bricgstowe, Brigestow, 
Brigston, Bristowe, Brigestou, Bristallum, and in Domesday, 
and in ancient charters of Hen. II. and Hen. III., Bristold, 
Bristou, and Bristow ; and, says Barrett, *' since by Leland and in 
most of the old manuscripts, Brycghstowe. But the Saxons, who 
seem to have imposed this name of Brycghstowe, i.e. a bright 
illustrious place, we may reasonably presume found it in that 
flourishing condition, or the name could have been applied with 
no sort of propriety, unless we suppose it to be the casual varia- 
tion of Caer Brito, its original name. It might, indeed, have the 
name of Brigston from the Sax. bricg a bridge, i.e. a town with 
bridges, as Bishop Gibson has derived it, which seems well enough 
calculated for the peninsular situation of the old town, surrounded 
almost vrith water, which had great need, and still hath, of bridges, 
to preserve a communication with different places about it ; 
though the great bridge over the Avon till a later date was not in 
being." 

BRITAIN. Camden thinks that Britain may have its 
name from the abundance of tin which it contains, and says 
that in the Syriac varatanac means "land of tin," whence 
Britain. Bochart derives the Gr. fiperayiKrj from the Punic 
"pb« m^ barat anac, the land of tin or lead. Sbaw (Hist, 



46 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Staff,) says, " Dr. Boerhaave, fond of chymistry, and willing to 
do honour to England, from whence he had received not a few 
guineas, asserts that in Chal. and Syr. Brachmanac means hoth 
the kingdom of Jupiter and of tin, which metal the chymists 
assigned to the god ; and that Britain may easily be derived 
therefrom." Borlase says it may come from Heb. bara to create, 
which (in conjugation "Pihel") signifies to divide, separate, 
cut off; for the word brith or brif, which means a covenant, 
might also mean an island, or country separated from the con- 
tinent, as Britain really is, and long ago was described by the 
Roman poet "£t penittls toto divisos orbe Britannos." Most 
authors derive Briton from W. brith, brit, divers colours, spotted, 
from the manner in which the ancient Britons used to paint 
their bodies ; and some of them instance the Picts, from L. 
pictuSy painted ; but Pict is not from pictu8, but from a Gaelic 
word. Shaw, quoting the latter derivation, says, " other nations 
as well as the Britons, had this custom of painting or staining 
their skins, for the Arii, Greloni, and Agathyrsi all did so ; and 
yet I never heard that any of these words signified paint in any 
of these languages, or that these nations were so called from this 
particular circumstance." Bosworth, under Bryt a Briton, gives 
W. brithy brit, of divers colours, spotted ; Heb. Ti3 brd, hence 
the pi. Dn^3 brditn, spots, spotted with colours. The A. S. has 
Bryt, Brit, Bret, a Briton (applicable both to Great Britain and 
Bretagne), also Bryten, Bryton, Brytene, Breoten, Bretene, 
Bryttene, for Britain. The Irish call Britain Breatain, and a 
Welshman Breatknack. The Gaels call a Briton Breatunnach, 
and a Welshman Breathnach. The name Brython is preserved 
among the populations which speak the Armoric dialect. They 
call their country Breiz, and themselves Breizaded, or Breiziz. 
The Latins called the Britons Britanni and Bretanni. Owen 
(Welsh Diet.) says, *' Prydain (pryd), exhibiting presence, or 
cognizance ; exhibiting an open or fair aspect ; full of beauty, 
well-seeming, beautiful ; polished or civilized, with respect to 
morals. Tnys Prydain, * the fair island,' 'the isle of Britain.' 
Tri enw Tnys Prydain : cyn ei 9yvannezu y Gkd Gre ai galwai 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 47 

Clas merzin ; gwedi ei 9afael, y Vel Ynys ; a gwedi 9afael o 
Brydyn ab Aez Mawr hi, Ynys Prjdjn. The three names of 
the isle of Britain : before it was inhabited, the Hord Gali used 
to call it the water girt Green Plat ; after obtaining it, the Honey 
Island ; and after Prydyn, son of Aez the Great, had obtained 
it, the Isle of Prydyn." (Trios.) Armstrong {Gael, Diet.), 
under Breatunn, prefers Clark's derivation from Braith-tonn, 
the top of the wave, and says, '' to perceive the force of this, 
one has merely to imagine himself viewing Britain across the 
Channel from the north coast of France, whence came our Celtic 
ancestors ; that our island from that quarter seems a low dark 
line lying along the surface of the deep ; and that no term could 
have been found more descriptive of that appearance than Braith- 
tonn, or Brbith-tuinn (pronounced braitonn or braituinn)^ 
the land on the top of the waves. Others say Breatunn is 
a corruption of Bretinn, a high island, from the O. Celt. 
bret high, inn an island. Some derive Britain from Brutus, a 
fabulous king of it ; others, again, from W. bri honour, tain a 
river, ** being an island exceeding all others in Europe for the 
great and many rivers with which it abounds." One of the 
earliest names of Britain was that of FiUYnya, i. e. Isle of Honey, 
which was no doubt given to it by the Gaels. Some think 
Fel'Ynys is another orthography of Inia-Fal, one of the most 
celebrated surnames of Ireland; but Inis-Fal (Phail or Fai£) 
means Isle of Shepherds. Thierry (Hist, des Gaulois), quoting 
O'Connor, Her. Hib. Scrip. I, ii. 25, 4, says, " Inis-Fail, 
insula fatidica, otl existait la fameuse pierre appelee Lia-Fail, 
si^ge des rois d'lrlande." 

BRITTOX, The, a street in Devizes. This word is found 
written La Britasche, La Brutasehe, and La Brutax, and is pro- 
bably corrupted from O. Fr. bretesque, which Roquefort trans- 
lates a fortress, castle, strong place, parapet. The O. Fr. has also 
bret^che, an embattled fortress ; also the public place whence 
proclamations were made ; bretescher, bretequer, fortifier, gamir 
de cr^neaux. Manage derives breleche from It. berieaca, " qui 
se dit de cette barri^re qu'on met d' ordinaire devant la porte des 



48 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

palais," and he says the hreteches were made of wood, and derives 
bertesca from G. bret, board, plank, table. Thus, brety bert, 
bertiscu8y bertisca, bertesca. He says, however, that the Fr. 
word may have come thus : bret, bretisctis, bretisca, breteche. 
The Norm, has bret ages battlements, and britask a fortress with 
battlements ; the Low L. bretachia. See M6nage, Fr. EtymoL 
Diet. ; Manage, Orig. del. Ling. Ital. ; Bouteiller, Som. Rur. 
liv. 1, tit. 3, p. 13; Giov. Vallani, ix. 46, 3, x. 29, 7; Gug. 
Britone, de Gest. Phil. Ang. ; Jal. Antiq. Nav. ii. p. 260 ; 
Waylen, Chron. Deviz. p. 323 ; Roquefort, Gloss. Rom. ; 
Froissart, Ann. 1390 ; Devizes Gaz. 16 and 23, Ap. 1857 ; and 
Dufresne. 

BRO, in names of places in Scandinavia, as in Rote-bro, Ore- 
bro, in Sweden, may be the Sw. and Dan. bro ; a bridge. See 
Carisbroke. 

BROUGHAM (breu/am), or Burgham, co. Westmoreland; 
the ancient Brovacum, See Camden, Burke, and Lodge. 
• BRUSSELS (Flem. Bruxellaa), Some derive this name from 
Flem. brugge-senne, bridge on the Senne ; others from brugsel, 
hermitage bridge, or from broyseU, a nest of swans, on account 
of the number of these birds found in the adjacent rivers and 
marshes, or from brouaaailles bushes, a bushy place, this place 
being formerly surrounded by woods. Some derive brosae and 
broussailles from bmscus (whence Sp. bruscOf butcher's broom 
or prickly pettigree), from L. ruscus, broom, holm, furze. The 
Bas-Bretons call a boscage bruscoat, 

BRUTON, Somerset ; from the river Brew or Brue, on which 
it is situated, A. S. tun an enclosure, &c. 

BRYN, in names of places in Wales, is the W. bri/n a hill, 
mound. 

BUACHAILLE, Staffa, remarkable for its arched columns of 
basalt ; properly Boo-cho'lay " the herdsman's isle." 

BUCKINGHAM, from A. S. bucen or becen (sometimes boccen 
and buccen) beechen, ham a village ; so called, says Camden, from 
the number and size of its beech-trees. (Chr. 918.) Bucen or 
becen is from boc, a beech-tree. Spelman thftiks the name may 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 49 

be derived from bueeen^ bucks or deer. Lysons gives the pre- 
ference to Spelman's conjecture, for, says be, altbougb beech 
woods abound in some parts of Buckinghamshire, they are remote 
from the county town (from which, no doubt, the name of the 
county has been derived) ; and the soil of its neighbourhood is 
not favourable to their growth ; that it is well known that charter 
lands were anciently called by the Saxons boch-fand, in contra- 
distinction to copyholds, which were called /olkAnnd (whence 
Folkingham). That in Domesday and other ancient records the 
county town is called Boch^ing-ham, and that many villages of 
the name of Buckland occur in various parts of the kingdom, all 
of which are called in old records Boch-land, lit. charter-land, 
and that Boch-ing would be charter meadow. Lipscomb (Hist. 
Bucks) prefers Spelman's derivation, and says Lysons should 
have shown some reason why the term " book " or charter land 
should have been applied to places where the nature of the 
tenure does not accord with the expression ; or how Buckenham, 
or Bockingham, could have been an appropriate term for a town 
in which the tenures do not appear to have agreed with that 
signification. That if the town imparts its name to the county, 
and if that town were anciently situated in a forest, where were 
vast herds of deer, where no remarkable feature of the country, 
besides those and the woods they inhabited, presented itself to 
the attention of those who gave it the name, the term boch or 
imeken would be more likely to mean " bucks " in a place where 
there were many, than beech trees were there were few. More- 
over, that boeken bucks, and ham a home, agree perfectly well 
with the site of a town on the border of a river, and a forest, 
of whatever trees that forest might have consisted : and bucks, 
feeding on the border of that forest, or disporting themselves on 
the banks of that river, would suggest an appellation which, in 
the simplicity of an early age, might have been readily adoptee^ 
as descriptive of situation, so as to entitle the name to be perma- 
nently annexed to the district. Others think Buckingham may 
derive its name from Booking, the Saxon possessor of the lands ; 
like Walsingham, from Walsing. 



50 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

BUENOS AYRES {boo-a'nos air^-es), so called on account of 
the salubrity of the air ; meaning in Sp. good air, fine climate. 

BUKHOVINE {bookhoveen), a province of Austria. The 
name is said to come from Slav, bukowina, "the land of beeches." 
The Slav, bukomua is beech wood, buk a beech tree. 

BULGARIA. The Volgarians were originally Huns, who 
settled near the Volga. About the end of the seventh century, 
they made irruptions towards the Danube, and inundated the 
Roman empire. Afler passing through Moldavia and Wallachia, 
they crossed the Danube, and settled in part of Dacia and Moesia, 
giving their name to the country, which is still called Bulgaria. 
{Voltaire.) Volga, Volgarii, Volgaria, Bolgaria, Bulgaria. 

BUNDELCUND, Hindusten. See Kund. 

BUR, in names of places in England, is the A. S. biir a lodge, 
cottage, dwelling, inner room, storehouse. 

BURBA CH, a village, co. Leicester, said to derive its name 
from burvy a species of thistle for which the land there is still 
remarkable, and bach a brook. 

BURFORD, Oxon, found written Beorgford and Beorhford ; 
from A. S. beorh a hill, ford a ford : '' collis ad vadum." {Lye,) 
But see Bur. 

BURG, BURGH, from A. S. burh or burcg (Dan. Sw. and Ice. 
borg) ; primarily a place of defence, whether strong by nature 
or fortified by art, and situated on an eminence ; and then a 
fort, castle, city, town, court, palace, &c. Some derive burh^ burcg, 
from beorgan, borgan, bgrgan, to defend, keep safe, fortify, 
strengthen ; from Goth, bairgan. Others derive the synonymous 
word, the Fr. bourg, from Low L. burgua, from Gr. irvpyog a tower, 
turret, defence. Casaubon says from Sopyog^ which in the 
Macedonian and Thracian dialects was used for vupyoQ. Cyrille 
translates itvpyoQ turris, burgus. The Arab, has _ j bury a castle, 
tower, wall, and c j burgh a dam, marsh. 

BURGCLERE. See Burg and Clere. 

BURGOS, capital of Old Castile, Spain. It is situated on a 
mountain. Qu. Gr. irvpyoQ, or Goth, bairgs a tower, turret, 
castle, city. See Burg. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 51 

BURH (whence Borough), from A. S. burh or bureg. See Burg. 

BUBI DIHIN6, a river in Asam. Bun means the Great, 
in contradistinction to Ifoa the Little, Dihing. 

BURRAMPOOTER, a river in Hindustan ; from Pers. 
Barakmaputar, from Sans. Brahma-putra, ** Brahma's son." 

BURY, from A. S. burg, dative bt/rig. See Burg. 

BUXTON (called in Sax. Baddecan, i.e. hot baths), a town in 
Derbyshire ; " of A. S. boece a beech-tree, and town {tun), by 
reason of the plenty of beeches growing there." {Bailey.) 

BUYUKDERE', a village on the European shore of the 
Bosphorus ; from Turc. c^^jo buyuk great, i. j derS valley. 
Baron Bubsch, of Crrouthal, chose his title from Buyukder^. 

BY {be), in names of places in Sweden and Norway, is the 
Sw. by a village, hamlet ; Dan. by a city, town, borough ; Ice. by 
a habitation, village ; A. S. by, bye, a dwelling, habitation. Thus, 
Mosby, Rissby, Soderby, Wisby, &c. The Dan. by is also very fre- 
quently found in local names in England ; particularly in the nortii. 

BYZANTIUM (Fr. Byzance), an ancient Greek city, which 
occupied part of the site of modern Constantinople, from Gr. 
^liXfiLvriov (on coins sometimes fiva-avrioy); said to be derived 
fVom Byzas — leader of the Megarian colony — by whom it was built » 
and who is reported to have been son of Neptune ; perhaps 
because he was commander of the fleet of this colony. 



c. 



CA'ABA, the Temple at Mecca ; in Arab. <u*i3< alka^bat, 
so called from its quadrangular form ; al the, ka*bat a four-cornered 
house (domus quadrata). 

CABUL {kabooV), Affghanistan, named from its situation on 
the river Cabul. A Scriptural writer, referring to Cabul, in Asia 
Minor, says, " Cabul (Heb. dirty), the name which Hiram, king 
of Tyre, gave to the twenty cities of which Solomon made him a 
present : these cities not being agreeable to Hiram, he gave them 

E 2 



52 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the name Cabul." Some translate the Heb. kab^l, a barren 
country, •' une terre sterile, sabloneuse, dess^ch^e, une terre 
boueuse et humide, trop charg6e d'herbes." Josephus says, 
kab^l in Phoen. means that which does not please. Others think 
kabul is for ffab&l frontier. It seems to correspond to the village 
Xa^wXuj, mentioned by Josephus. A fortress called J^l^ kabiil 
is mentioned by Arabian writers in the district of Safed. See 
Gesen. (Robinson,) 

CADER IDRIS, Wales ; " the chair of Idris." Archdeacon 
Williams thinks Idris was a great astronomer. He says the Arab 
in the East, as well as the Cymro in the West, recognised a great 
astronomer by the name of Idris or Edris ; although the Arab 
would have him to be the patriarch Enoch, the Cymro, a giant, 
whose observatory was the bold mountain called Cader Idris, the 
chair of Idris, and whose name was connected with a locality in 
the holy island of Mona. He says that the Homeric l^pig is 
applied to a skilful sailor, whose vocation required a knowledge 
of the stars. The W. cader is a fortress, stronghold, chair 
(Gael, eat hair, a town, city, fortified city, chair, seat, bench ; 
Com. eadair, Arm. eader and eadoer, a chair). The root of 
these words may be the Phcen. kartha, Chal. and Syr. id.. 
Pun. karta, eartha, eirtha, a town. But see Oude. 

CA'DIZ (pronounced in Sp. kad'ith), a maritime city in Spain, 
built by the Phoenicians, who called it Gadir or Gaddir, which is 
said to signify "enclosed or hemmed in;'* either because the 
island on which it is built was surrounded by the sea, or on 
account of the fortifications with which it was surrounded. The 
Romans afterwards corrupted Gadir into Gkides, which the 
Spaniards changed into Cadiz. By some of the ancients it is called 
Tartessus, and in the old Spanish chroniclers Calls ; hence English 
sailors used formerly to call it Cales. Vallaucey says the Aire- 
Coti, or ancient Irish, named Cadiz Cotiueusa, i.e. Coti-inse, or 
the island of sheep pasture, whence Gadir, its synonymous name. 
The Phoen. Gadir may, however, be another orthography of the 

Arab. .jU kddir^ or kadir, powerful. 

CAEN (kaung), in Normandy. Some derive the name of this 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 53 

town from Cadmus^ who, when in search of his daughter, 
founded it; others from Caii damns, hecause it was built by 
Julius Ciesar, or bj a maitre-d*h6tel of King Artus, named 
Caius. Fauchet says Caen is the same as Quentovicum ; but this 
is a mistake, for the latter was a town of Artois, situated upon 
the Quanche. Caen was anciently written Cathim, Cathem, 
Cathum, and Catheum, which Lamartini^re says is a word half 
Gaulish and half Saxon, and which Bochart translates '* demeure 
de guerre," and Huet ** demeure des cadettes." Cathem may 
come from Grael. caih war, and G. heim a home. Sax. ham a 
dwelling. Thus, Cath-heim, Catheim, Cathem, Cahem, CaSn, 
Caen. Catk may come from the same root as Oude. 

CAER {kar), in names of places in Wales, is the W. eaer, 
a wall or mound for defence, the walls of a city, a castle, or 
fortress, a walled or fortified town or city. This word is most 
probably of Oriental origin. Manage gives the Bas-Bret. ker, 
which Bochart derives from the Phcen. rrrp ^trya, or Hn^p kartha. 
Johannes Caius says that in the Trojan language a city was called 
eair ; that in Heb. I^p kir is a wall, and kiria a city ; that in 
like manner the British eair denotes walls, and a city girt with 
walls; and that the Scythians called a city car. See Tzetzes, 
Chil. G. Hist. 224. Gesenius gives "i^p, once ^p, a wall, e. g. a wall 
of a city, a place fortified with a wall, a fortress ; proper name of 
a fortified city on the borders of the land of Moab, now called 
Kerrek ; Kir-heres, Eir-hereahy the wall of bricks, or the brick 
fortress ; and many names of cities beginning with kir ; thus, 

Kir-jath, &c. The Arab, has ij ^ kar-yat a city (urbs, pagus, 

villa), kar& to entertain a guest, to seek hospitality. 

CAERMARTHEN, S. Wales, formerly Caer Merdiu, " Merlin's 
town;" from W. caer castle, city, and Merdin, or Merdhin, 
It is said that Merlin, the magician, lived here. Jones {Iliat, 
Breckn.) thinks Caermarthen may be from Garth-marthrin, or 
Madrin. See Brecknockshire. 

CAERNARVON, N. Wales. The Roman Segontium, situated 
about half a mile south of Caernarvon, from being opposite to 
Mona, or Anglesea, was called Caer yn Arvou, i.e. the stronghold 



54 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

in the country opposite to Mona ; which appellation was after- 
wards transferred to the present town of Caernarvon. Some 
remains of Segontiura, which the Welsh call Caer Segont, i.e. the 
fort of the river Sciont, and Caer Custeint, the fort of Constantine, 
are still visible. (P. Cyc) The Welsh call Anglesea Sir Fon 
or V6n, which has been corrupted from Mon or Mona. Thus, 
Mon, Von, Arvon, Caer-yn-Arvon, Caernarvon. 

CAFIRISTAN, a country lying on the other side of the 
Hindoo Koosh ; the stan or country of the C&firs. See 
Caffraria and Stan. 

CAFFRARIA or KAFFRARIA, a large district of S. 
Africa, so called from being inhabited by a people called the 
Caifers, Cafres, or Kaffirs. The name was given to them by the 
Arabs, who look upon them as infidels ; from Arab. Jl^ kdfir an 
infidel, one who denies the dogmas of the Muhammadan religion ; 
from J^ kqfr a village. A Kaffir is literally one who lives in a 
hut, apart from civilization ; therefore one who does not acknow- 
ledge the religion of Muhammad. The words ''pagan" and 
" heathen" have been formed upon the same principle. 

CAGLIARI {kal'i/e»a/e), chief town in the island of Sardinia ; 
cornipted from L. Caralis ; thus, Caralis, Carali, Calari, Caglari, 
Cagliari. 

CAIRO (kyro), the metropolis of Egypt ; from Arab. 
^.fcUll alkdhirah, "the victorious." It was named by Jawhar, 
general to the first F&timite khaKf of Egypt, who ordered the 
foundations to be laid (a.d. 968) when the planet Mars (to 
which the Arabian astronomers give the epithet kdhtr, or " the 
conqueror") was in the ascendant. (Richardson.) Others say 
Jawhar named it Alkahirah, because he had subjected Egypt. 
This, however, agrees with the time chosen by him for laying the 
foundations. 

CAITH'NESS, in Scotland. Chalmers says Caithness is for 
Catti-ness, from the Catti or Catini who inhabited the extremity 
of N. Britain ; and that the Catti may derive their name from cat 
or cataiy the Brit, name of the weapon with which they fought ; 
and that Catini may have meant ** club-men." See Ness. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 55 

CALA, CAL, GALA, or GAL, in or at the termination of 
names of aea-port towns noted for good harbours (as in Calais, 
Kiel, Burdicala or Burdigala, Portucal or Portugal), is considered 
by some to be the Gael. ciUa, caladh, a harbour, fort, shore, ferry. 
The Low L. has cala. It. eala, a lee shore, a bay ; Sp. cala, a 
bay ; Tent, kille and Inelli ; Ir. cale. 

CALAHORRA, a city of Old Castile, Spain; from Arab. 

kalaVharrat ; J^ii kal *at a castle, fort (especially on the top of 
a mountain), al the, ij>^ harrat a stony place. In like manner 



Calatrava, from Arab, kal 'aturdb, from karat, al and (^^\ J turdb, 

land, ground, earth. 

CALAIS. Some derive Calais from Celt. (Gael.) chla, caladh, 
a harbour, port, shore, ferry. In Norm, however, Galeya is used 
for both Calais and France {GuilL de Galeys, Wm. de Wuleys ; 
Gallest GaleySf Wales, Welsh), and in Low L. Calais is called 
Caletum and Calesium. See Cala and Gaul. 

CALATRAVA, a city of New Castile, Spain. See Cala- 
borra. 

CALCUTTA, capital of Bengal ; '' from Cutta, a temple dedi- 
cated by the Hindiis to Caly, goddess of time, which was situated 
between the villages of Chutumitty and Gobindpore." The Sans. 
Edii "is the name of a popular goddess, vrife of Siva, named 
from her black complexion." (Wilson,) Kuti, kuti, is a small 
house, cottage, hut ; in Bengal any large building. 

CALEDONIA, the ancient name of Scotland. Some derive 
Caledonia from Anc. Brit. Calyddon, " the country of forests ;** 
others from Cael, Celts, dun a hill— "the Celts of the hill 
country.'* Camden says kaled is hard, pi. kaledion, i. e. people 
hardy, rough, uncivilized, as northern nations in general are. 
Dr. Macpherson informs us that in Brit, and Gael, in or yn is 
a country, and that by joining together kaled RXid in, came kaledin, 
signifying a rough mountainous country ; which (as some assert) 
has been changed by historians into Caledin, Calidon, and Caledon. 
The most reasonable derivation is that from the Gael. Coilldaoine, 
" men of the woods," from codl, coiile (Arm. call. Corn, kelli, 



56 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Jr. coill), a wood^ daoine, pi. of duine, a man. Caledon in ancient 
writings is spoken of only as a division of Scotland ; Caledonia 
was latterly applied by the Romans to the whole of Scotland. 
(Camden,) Chalmers states that in early ages an extensive forest 
spread over the interior and western parts of the country on the 
W. side of the Forth and Clvde, to which the British colonists 
gave the descriptive name of Celyddon^ lit. "coverts," and 
generally denoting a woody region ; and that the large tribe who 
then inhabited a great portion of the forest Celyddon, were con- 
sequently called Celyddoni and Celyddoniaid ; " the people of the 
coverts." 

CALICUT, a sea-port town in Malabar. The name of the 
place is properly Colicodu. Dr. Hamilton (Buchanan) gives the 
following account of the origin of the name. When Cheruman 
Permal, the first monarch of Malabar, had divided that country 
among his nobles, and had no principality remaining to bestow 
on the ancestor of the Tamuri, he gave that chief his sword, with 
all the territory in which a cock, crowing at a small temple in the 
town, could be heard. This formed the original dominions of the 
Tamuri, and was called Colicodu, or the cock-crowing. 

CAL'LANDER, a parish in Scotland. The name is generally 
supposed to be derived from Gael, calladh a ferry, and srhid a 
street, way ; " the way leading to the ferry over the Teath, a httle 
below where the present bridge stands." 

CALVARY, a hill outside Jerusalem, where Christ was cruci- 
fied ; so called from the skulls of dead men found there. Fr. 
Calvaire, It. Calvdrio, Literally, a place of skulls ; from L. 
Caivaria, lit. the skull ; from calva a skull, or scalp, the head ; 
from caivus bald. 

CAM'BRAY, or CAMBRAI, in France (in L. Cameracum 
Nerviorum, Cameracum, Urbs Cameracensis). Some assert that 
this town was built by an ancient duke of Cimbria and Denmark 
named Cambro or Cambre, who walled it in and named it aAer 
himself; others think it was named Cambrai from the number of 
caverns (in O. Gaul, Cambres) and subterranean places found 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 57 

both in the town and in its environs, where the original inhabi- 
tants were wont to pnt their goods in safety. 

CAMBRIA, another name for Wales. Cambria comes from 
Low L. Cambri (L. Cimbri), from Anc. Brit. Cymri, Cytnry, 
Kymbri, called by the Greeks K/|XjX£pio<. The Kymri are by some 
considered to have been the first Celtic race that inhabited Britain. 
The better opinion seems to be that the Grauls, or Gaels, were the 
first settlers. The Kymri are said to have come from Jutland in 
Denmark. Some authors assert that this Celtic race anciently 
inhabited the country now called the Crimea (q. v.). Lemon 
derives Cymbri from Celt, kym a mountain, bro region. Owen 
thinks the more probable derivation is from bru, that which has 
existence, a womb, and the prefix cym. He says Cymbru in 
W. means the place of existence or country, and that Cymro 
is the universal appellation by which the Welsh call themselves 
and every other people of the same race and language, wheresoever 
situate. 

CAMBRIDGE is said to take its name from the modem ap- 
pellation of the river Cam, on which it is situated ; and it is 
asserted that the ancient name of that river was the Granta, which 
is still retained above Cambridge ; and that there still exists a 
village not far from Cambridge called Grantchester, anciently 
Grauta-ceaster. Cambridge is said to have been built on the site 
of the Roman Granta, and to have been anciently called Granta- 
bry<^, Grantebry<^, Grantanbrycge, Grantebrige, Grantabric, 
Granthebrige, Grantebryge, Granntebrigge, Grantabrycg, and in 
Domesday Grentebrige. Cleland (Focab,) says Cambridge is only 
a contraction of Cantalbureich, from cant head, al a school or 
college, bureieh or reich a borough or bury ; '' the head precinct 
of a college," or ** principal college borough ;" and he says there 
are many reasons to believe that Cantalbury, Cambray, or Cam- 
bridge existed in the state of a head collegiate borough for ages 
before the Roman invasion. There is a Cambridge on the Severn, 
in Gloacestershire, which was anciently called Cwatbricge, Cant- 
bricge, Qnantebridge, and Quatbrig. (See Somner and Bonoorth.) 



58 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

If Cam were the original name of the river^ it might come from 
W. cam crooked, i.e. a river full of windings. Some derive grant 
in Grantebrige, from A. S. gron, a fen. The Welsh call Cam- 
bridge Caergraumt, 

CAMBRIDGE, Cornwall, in Com. means a crooked bridge. 

CANAAN, the land of Canaan, was named after Canaan, 
Noah's grandson, by whom it was peopled, and who died there. 
See Gen. xii. 6, 7, ziii. 14, et seq. Canaan in Heb. means a 
merchant, a trader. 

CANADA. Sir John Barrow says, " When the Portuguese, 
under Gaspar Cortereal, first ascended the St. Lawrence, they 
believed it to be the strait of which they were in search, and 
through which a passage might be discovered into the Indian Sea ; 
but on arriving at the point whence they could clearly ascertain 
that it was not a strait, but a river, they, with all the emphasis of 
disappointed hopes, exclaimed repeatedly, ' Canada I' " (Here 
nothing) — words which were remembered and repeated by the 
natives on seeing Europeans arrive in 1 534, who naturally con- 
jectured that the word they heard employed so oflen must denote 
the name of the country. This derivation would be from Port. 
ca here, ndda nothing — Canada. Father Hennipin, confirming 
this early visit of the Portuguese, says that, finding nothing to 
gratify their desire for gold, they called the country El Capo de 
Nada, '' Cape Nothing." Others assert that it was named after 
a M. Cane, a French nobleman. '' The more generally received 
derivation, which is supported by the analogy of other names, is 
either that given by Charleroix from the Iroguis, kannata, *& 
collection of huts,' or, by other writers, from two Indian words, 
kan or can, a mouth, ada a country, ''the mouth of the country;" 
originally applied perhaps to the river St. Lawrence, and mistaken 
for the name of the province of Canada." 

CANTABRIA, in ancient geography, the name of a country on 
the coast of Spain, now comprehended by the provinces of Biscay, 
AJava, and Guipuscoa. The Abb6 D'llharci says the people of 
this country derive their name, Cantabri, by which they were 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 59 

known to the Romans, from Ehantor-ber, signifying sweet singers. 
But see Kent. 

CANTERBURY, under the Saxon Heptarchy, was the principal 
place in the kingdom of Kent, and at the time of the Norman 
Conquest it still possessed a castle. The Britons called it Caer 
Cani, and in A. S. it is found written Cant-wara-byrig, -burghe, 
-buruh, and Cant-waree-burg. The name was afterwards changed 
to Cantuaria and Canterbury. The Kentish men were called 
Cant-waras. Wara is the A. S. weru, which in composition 
means people, inhabitants, from wer a man (Erse, /ear, W. gwr, 
L. vir), from Sans. vira. See Kent and Burh. 

CANTON from Chin. Kwang-tung, properly the province of 
Canton, but applied by Europeans to the town itself. Its real 
name is Kwang-chow foo-ching ; or Sang-ching, " the provincial 
city," or metropolis of the empire. Kwang means large, great, 
wide, extensive, tung, east. 

CAPEL, in local names in Wales is the W. eapel a chapel. 

CAPRI {cap'ree), an island in the Tuscan sea, formerly Caprea, 
80 named from having once being famous for its wild goats. 
Capra, Caprea, Caprese, Capri. Capra is both L. and Etrusc 
for a she-goat. 

CAFUA, Italy. Virgil {Mn. lib. x., 145) derives Capua 
from a leader named Capys ; Strabo (lib. v.) from caput a head, 
because Capua is the head, i.e. the chief city of Campania. 

CARDIGAN, from Caredigion, i.e. the territory of Caredig, 
the first king of this district, who was succeeded by a long line of 
princes. Or, " of caer and W, decan, * dean's town.' " {Bailey,) 

CARGILL, a parish in Perthshire, said to be from Celt, caer 
a fortress, town, &c., cil a place of worship. 

CARISBROOK CASTLE, Isle of Wight. Leland, speaking 
of Newport, says, •* There is also, fast by, an old castle which 
the Britons called Caerbro, because it stoade upon the sea ; for 
bro with theim signified eestuarium." " I take it to be the same 
that is now called Caresbroke," says Lambarde. This castle, 
however, is at some distance from the sea, but Newport stands on 



60 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

a river whick falls into the sea at Cowes. " Between Yarmouth 
and the Needles, the site of two other forts is known, and the 
points on which thej stood bear the names of Carey* s Sconce, and 
Worsley's Tower ; but no vestige of them exists." {HUt. J. of 
Wight.) It is possible that "Carisbrook" may have been cor- 
rupted from its Sax. name, Wiht-gara-burh, "the castle of 
the men of Wight." See Osborne, Pembrokeshire, and 
Kent. 

CARLISLE, CO. Cumberland, from W. eaer a town ; and 
Luell ; or from Car Lualid, from W. lugh a tower, gwall a 
trench ; i.e. a fort nigh a trench ; for there is a Roman trench to 
be seen just by the city to this day. {Bailey,) Luel is said to 
be a Sax. corruption of Luffuvallumy a Roman station mentioned 
in the Itinerary of Antoninus. 

CARLSRUHE, or KARLSRUHE (karWroo-a), capital of 
the Grand Duchy of Baden, from G. KarVs-ruhey " Charles* 
rest.'* It owes its origin to the Margrave Charles of Baden, who 
first built a hunting seat on this spot. 

CARLSTADT, or KARLSTADT, in the Austrian province of 
Agram (Hung. L. Carolostadium, Slav. Karlovecz), may have its 
name from the fortress constructed there iu 1579 by the Arch- 
duke Karl of S^ria. 

CARMEL, Mount, in Syria. According to some writers 
Carmcl in Heb. means " the vine of God," and is constantly used 
to signify a fruitful spot, or any place planted with trees ; and this 
mount especially, we are told, was very fertile, particularly on the 
top. Mr. Sandys says that when cultivated it abounds with 
olives, vines, and a variety of plants and herbs, both medicinal and 
aromatic. (See also Hierom. Loc. Hebr.; Bochart, Hieroz. part I., 
lib. ii. c. 48 ; Josh. xix. 26.) Others say Carmel means a garden, 
orchard, and is formed from the noun DID kerem, a vineyard, and 
that the termination el has only a diminutive force. 

CARNAC, a village or small town in Bretagne in France, 
remarkable for the remains of an extensive Celtic monument, 
having some resemblance to that at Stonehenge. Some assert 



LOCAL BTTMOLOGT. 61 

that in the Breton language Carnac means '* field of flesh." 
Dueaoge translates it a burial place, cemetery. The name is 
most probably derived from the Gael, camach abounding in 
cairns, from earn, cairn, cuim (Corn. W. and Ir. cam), a heap 
of stones loosely thrown together. 

CARNOCH, the name of a parish, and of a village, and of 
other places in Fifeshire. There is also Camock House in 
Lanark, and Carnock Castle and Camock Water in Stirling. 
Some say Carnock means a village or collection of houses adjoining 
a small hill, from Gael, cam, cairn, a monumental heap of stones, 
a barrow, a cairn, and cnoc, enoic, a hillock, little hill, knoll, 
eminence. " The cnoes were the ancient scenes of religious cere- 
monies, and, in process of time, of festivity among the Gael; 
hence enoc-aireachd signifies merry-making." {Armstrong,) But 
see Carnac. 

CARPENTARIA, the Gulf of, in the N. coast of Australia, 
discovered and surveyed by the Dutch General Carpenter, after 
whom it was named. 

CARPETANIA, Spain, the L. form of the Basq. gara-be, 
signifying the place at the foot of the hills. 

CARR^ in names of places in Lincolnshire, as in Morton-Carr, 
near Gkdnsborough, Haxey-Carr, Star-Carr, Axholm-Carr, is said 
to mean a woody, moist, or boggy ground, a wood in a boggy 
place ; from Dan. earr a pool. '' The soil (Isle of Axholme) 
by the water, be fenny and morische and ful of carres." (Leland, 
Itin. vol. i. 39, 40. See also Whitaker, Hist. Craven, 421.) 
The A. S. earr is a rock ; north country, earroek, 

CARRICK, CARRICKFERGUS, &c. Carrick in local names 
in Ireland is the Ir. earraig or eraig, a rock, also a castle built on 
or near a rock ; as Carrickfergus, castle of Fergus ; Carrick-on- 
Shannon, Carrick -on-Suir, castle on the Shannon, &c. 

CARRON, a river in Scotland which falls into the Forth, near 
Falkirk ; a corruption of Gael, earunn, contraction of ear-amhainn, 
from ear bending, twisting, tortuous, winding, anihainn a river. 
Chalmers says ear^ earra, and earron, mean winding water, and 



62 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

that there are several winding streams in N. Britain named Carron. 
See Avon. 

CARSHALTON (casehawton). The name of this parish \vas 
anciently written Aulton, i.e. Old Town. About the reign of 
King John it assumed the name of Kersaulton ; it was afterwards 
varied in the records to Kersalton, Carsalton, Cresalton, and 
Kresalton. It has now for nearly two centuries been uniformly 
written Carshalton. (Lysons,) 

CARTHAGE. Some say this city was first called Utica, or 
the ancient, and that when Dido arrived there she called it Carta- 
hadath, or Carthadt, the new city, which the Greeks converted 
into Kaf7%ij^a;y, and the Romans into Carthago. Among the more 
ancient Romans, however, the name of this city (derived from the • 
Carthaginians themselves) was Cataco, as appears from the 
Columna Rostrata of Duilius. {Reea,) The Phoen. kartha. 
Pun. karta, cartha, means a city. 

CARY, or CAREY, a river in Somerset ; qu. W. ^arw rough. 
See Yarrow. 

CASPIAN SEA, an inland sea of W. Asia. Strabo derives 
the name from the Caspii, who inhabited its south coast. 

CASSEL, the name of many places in Germany ; from O. G. 
east ell a castle, from L. castellum, id. ; lit. any fortified place, 
dim. of castrum, a stronghold, fortress, camp ; lit. a large hut, 
from easOf perhaps from Sans. vdaa. Thus, v&sa, uasa, quasa, 
casa, castra, and castrum, castellum, castell, Cassel. See Ches- 
ter, from same root. 

CASSITERIDES (Gr.), « whither the Phoenicians from Gades 
(Cadiz), and the Romans after them, went for tin." The 
Cassiterides are supposed to have been either the Scilly Islands 
or the peninsula of Cornwall* From Gr. KaccirspoQ (mentioned 
in Homer), tin, or perhaps pewter, which some derive from the 
Sans. kdsHra* Bochart says " Jonathan has kaatira ; the Hierol. 
interpres kistara ; the Arabs kasdir / that in some authors kas' 
titerion is used for stannum, and that Buxtorf translates gaateron 
as orichalcum, which is the same as xaa-o'irepoc. (See Herodotus, 
iii. 115; Strabo, iii. 175.) 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY; 63 

CASTIL£» a proyince of Spam» was so named from the 
numerous forts erected hj Alfonso I. for its defence ; from L. 
eastellum a castle. See Chester and Cassel, 

CATALONIA, a large province of Spain, from Sp. Cataluiia, 
formerly Caialania, said to be corrupted from Gothalania, from 
(rothi and Aiauni, two peoples who invaded the eastern parts of 
Spain after the breaking up of the Western Empire. 

CATMOSS, the Yale of, co. Rutland ; from Celt, coet tnaes, 
a wooded plain. {Camden,) 

CAUCASUS. In Persia they call high mountains kqf, and 
some think Caucasus may come from Koh-kaf, i.e. Mount Kaf ; 
but it must be remarked that this people do not know the 
Caucasus except under the name Elbrouz. Pliny says the name 
is of Scythian origin, and that Krau-kasua means " white moun- 
tain." A French writer observes that at all events it is certain 
that the primitive word from which Caucasus has been corrupted, 
expresses in general the idea of a mountain ; that the Armenians 
have continued to call this chain Kaukas or Kavkas ; the 
Georgians lal-Bouz, the Turc. for crini^re de glace, or ledi-ial- 
bouz, les sept criui^res de glace. In Georgia they also frequently 
call it Themi. See Bescherelle, Diet, de Giog.y Paris, 1857. 

CAYENNE (Jca-evT^i a city and province in Guyana or Guiana, 
America, from which its name may have been corrupted. 

CEFN, in local names in Wales, is the W. cefn (cevn) the 
back, upper side, a ridge, cevi/n o der, a ridge of land, a long 
extended mountain ; cevnen, a gentle rising hill. 

CERIGO, an island on the coast of Laconia, in Peloponnesus ; 
corrupted from Gr. Kvdrjpa ( Cythera,) It was especially sacred 
to Venus, who was on that account called Kv^epsio., Kv^rjpyj. 

CERREG, in local names in Wales, is the W. carreg a stone. 

CERRIG Y DRUIDION {kerrig-e-drideon), a vUlage in N. 
Wales. The name in W. means the rock of the Druids. See 

Cerrig. 

CEYLON, an island in the E. Indies, lying off the Coromandel 
coast, and by some considered to be the finest and richest in the 
world ; from Port. Selan^ some say Ceildo, a corruption of Sinhala- 



64 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

dwipa (and so called in the Singhalese annals)^ i.e. the island of 
lions. Sans, sinha, Hind, singh, a lion ; Sans, dwipan an island. 
" In Sans, writings it is called Lvnka, i.e. holy or resplendent^ 
The Arabs named it Serendib, a corruption of the genuine name. 
It has been called Hebenaro^ ' the fertile island ;' Edam, ' the 
insular kingdom ;' and Tenessirim, ' the place of delight' To 
the Greeks and Romans it was known under the name of 

Taprobane and Salice." In Mai. it is now written ^Aj^ silan, 

Sinha, Sinhala, Singala, Singalese, Cingalese. 

CHALLOCK, or CHALK, in Kent, corrupted from A. S. 
eealc'hythey i.e. chalk-hithe. See Chr., 785. 

CHANCERY LANE. "The same street hath since been 
called Chancery Lane, by reason that King Edw. III. annexed 
the House of Converts (between the Old Temple and the New) 
by patent to the office of Custos Rotulorum, or Master of the 
Rolls." (Stow.) " This Chancellor*s Lane, now called Chancery 
Lane." (Sirype,) 

CHANDERI, or CHANDELI, a district in Hindustan, so 
named from Chandel, a tribe of Rajputs who claim to be o( the 
Somabansi, or lunar race ; perhaps from Sans, ehandra the moon, 
Pers. chdnd. Chanderi is also the name of a place on the left 
bank of the river Betwa. See Wilson. 

CHARING CROSS. Here stood formerly the village of 
Charing, and a cross erected by Edward I. to commemorate his 
beloved Queen Eleanor. The cross occupied the last spot on 
which her body rested in its progress to sepulture in Westminster 
Abbey. Some contend that Charing was so called from having 
been the resting place of his Majesty's ch^re reine (dear queen) ! 

CHARLESTON, United States ; " Charles's Town ;" named 
after Charles IL 

CHARMOUTH, Dorset, situated at the mouth of the river 
Char. 

CHARTERHOUSE, London, a corruption of Chartreuse; 
name of a celebrated Carthusian monastery suppressed at the 
Reformation, and which formerly existed on this spot. The 
name is derived from a still more celebrated monastery called 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 05 

CHartreuse^ in the Alps of Dauphinj, where the Carthusian order 
is said to have been first instituted. It was perhaps originally 
founded by a chartre or letters patent, from L. charta paper, 
everything written on paper ; from Gr. %a^c- The It. Certdsa^ 
G. Karthaus, and Carthusian are synonymous. 

CHAR YBDIS, a dangerous whirlpool in the Strait of Messina, 
Sicily, and nearly opposite to Scylla, on the coast of Italy ; (L.) 
from Gr. ^apv^^ic an abyss^ from yacu (obs.) to stand open, 
be empty, gape, and ^oiphco, to engulph or absorb with a noise, 
to suck down ; poi^SoQ the gush, the rush of water (a word formed 
by sound). Bochart derives it from Pun. khor'obdan, *' the hole 
of perdition." 

CHELMSFORD, Essex, named from its situation near the 
ancient ford of the Chelmer. Chelmer's-ford, Chelmesford, 
Chelmsford. 

CHELSEA. In the most ancient records (Chart. Edw. the 
Confessor) the name of this place is written Cealchylle. This is 
not satisfactory to Lysons, because there is neither chalk nor hill 
in the parish. In Domesday it is written Cercehede and Chelched ; 
in deeds in the time of Edward II. Chelchey. The most common 
way of spelling the name for centuries after the Conquest was 
Chelcheth or Chelchith. In the 16th century it began to be 
written Chelsey, and the modern way of spelling the name is only 
about a century old. Skinner derives the name from shelves of 
sand, and «y, or ea, land situate near water ; but he admits that 
it is written in ancient records Cealchyth, in A. S. chalky haven. 
Newcourt derives it from ceald or cele, cold, hyth heath. Norden 
says it was called Chelsea from the nature of the place, whose 
strand is like the chesel (ceosel or cesol) which the sea casteth 
up of sand and pebble-stones, thereof called Cheselsey, briefly 
Chelsea, as is Chelsey in Sussex ; and Lysons says this latter 
etymology is best supported by fact. Others derive the name 
from A. S. ceoles-ige — ceol a ship, small bark, vessel, ig an island. 
Somner says, " insularis olim et navibus accommodata, ut nomen 
significat." See Lysons, Skinner ; Newcourt, Repert. vol. 1, 
p. 583 ; Norden, Spec. Brit. p. 17. 



66 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

CHELTENEL^M, co. Gloucester, the dwelling (A. S. ham) on 
the Chilt ; a rivulet which runs past the town and falls into the 
Severn. 

CHELVINTON. Some derive this name from A. S. cealf 
a calf, tun an enclosure, garden, village, town. 

CHERBOURG {shared boorg), found written Chierisburgh, 
a sea-port in France. The name is said to be a contraction of 
Casaria burffus, ** Caesar's town." See Guillaume de Jumiege, 
liv. 4 ; Hist, des Normands, chap. 7 ; Jan, La Vie de Geoffrey 
de Bel, Comte d'Anjou, and Manage. 

CHERRY, a termination of local names in the East Indies, is 

the Tam. and Mai. chert a town, village, hamlet (Pers. J^ shar 

a city), as Pondicherry, originally Puducheri, a new village or 
town ; Paraicheri, a village of Pariahs. See WiUon. 

CHERSONESE, a tract of land of any indefinite extent, nearly 
surrounded by water, but united to a larger tract by a neck of 
land, or isthmus ; a peninsula. There are many so called among 
the ancients, and five were more celebrated than the rest ; but the 
word is especially applied to the Thracian Chersonese, extending 
along the Hellespont. Jutland is the Cimbric Chersonese ; the 
Crimea, the Tauric Chersonese, i. e. the peninsula inhabited by 
the Tauri, a people of European Sarmatia. From Gr. p^E^crovijo-oc* 
Att. x^ppovyjo-oct from %e/?oc, %£f>a-oc, land, continent, njcoc island, 
peninsula. 

CHERTSEY, from A. S. Ceortes-ig, " Cerot's island." 

CHESHIRE, contraction of Chestershire. See Chester. 

CHESTER, from A. S. ceaster, cester, from L. castrum. 
'^ The names of all places ending in caster, cester, and cheater 
were probably sites of a castrum, i.e. a fortress built by the 
Romans. The Saxon word is burg.*' (Bosworth.) Caatrum, 
says Riddle, " is literally a large hut ; then in military science 
a fort, redoubt, intrenchment ; hence a stronghold, fortress ; 
pi. several intrenchments or redoubts lying in a quadrangular 
form; hence a camp. The Roman army pitched a camp 
after each march ; hence castra with numerals for a day's 
march." Among many names of places ending in Chester, &c,, we 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 67 

have Chichester, Dorchester, Ilchester, Manchester, Winchester, 
Lancaster, Gloucester, Worcester. See Cassel and Bicetre. 

CHEYNE, CHEYNEY [tsha-ne), in local names, as in Cheyne 
Walk, Chelsea ; Cheyney Court, Winchester, are corrupted from 
the Fr. chene an oak. In the Norman times the Bishop's Court 
at Winchester was held under an oak tree. 

CHICHESTER^ formerly Cissa-ceaster, "the fortress of Cissa." 
** Cissa succeeded his father in the government of the South- 
Saxon territory. He fixed the seat of his government on the 
site of Regnum, and gave hoth the origin and name to Cissan- 
ceaster, Chichester." (Horsfield, Sussex.) See Chester. 

CHIDLEY, Devon, " from A. S. cid a contention, ley a lock, 
or lege a field ; i. e. a ground ahout which controversies arise, the 
right of possession thereof being disputable." (^Bailey,) 

CHINA, from Chin, chung-kwo, i. e. the middle nation ; chung 
middle, kwo, kwe, a general name for a state or nation, a kingdom, 
an empire. ** A name," says Morrison, " claimed for Arabia by 
some of the Mohamedan writers in China." This word may have 
come through the Pers. or Arab. The Buddhists write Che-na ; 

the Persians ^x>- chin. Others say China derives its name from 

that of the dynasty of Tsin. The natives sometimes call it 
Tang-shan, *' Hills of Tang," the name of one of their most 
celebrated dynasties. China was known to the ancients under 
the name of Sinse and Seres. 

CHINAB, a river in Hindustan. Chinab, Chenaub, or 
Chunaub is said to be a corruption of its former Sans, name, 
Chandra-hhdgOy " garden of the moon," and to have been so called 
because it proceeds from a small lake of that name ; but that 
the Sans, name was not adopted by the followers of Alexander, 
because it sounded like Sandaro-phagos, i. e. Alexander-eater. 
Chandra-baga, Chandraba, Chandrab, Chanrab, Chanab, Chinab. 

CHIPPING. From A. S. ceapian, to bargain, chaffer, trade, 
comes ceap, a bargain, sale, business, price, cattle, saleable com- 
modities, whence Cheapside, London, also Chepstow, Monmouth ; 
i. e. a place for sale, a market. From ceap comes ceaping buying, 
merchandise, and then chipping ; as Chipping Bamet, Herts ; 

F 2 



68 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Chipping Norton, Oxen ; Chipping Ongar, Essex ; Chipping 
Sodburj, Gloucester; Chipping Warden, Northampton ; Chipping 
Wycorab. From ceaping come Ceapinff-ham, Cyppenhanty and 
Chippenham, Wilts ; Ht. market-abode or place. In like manner 
from Sw. k'Opy to purchase, comes kdping a borough, market. 
This word is found in many names of places in Scandinavia, 
particularly in Sweden ; as Koping, Jonkoping, Lidkoping, Lin- 
koping, Malmkoping, Norrkoping, Nykoping, Soderkoping, &c. 

CHIRBURY, Salop, found written Cj/ric-bj/rig, Cereburih, 
and Cyrebury, " the church city ;" from A. S. circe, circ, cyric, 
a church, and burg. See Bostoorth, also Chr. 915, Ing. 

CHIRK, a village, co. Denbigh, N. Wales ; perhaps a cor- 
ruption of Ceiriog, name of the river on which it stands. " Chirk 
Castle, situated about a mile from this village, was erected upon 
the site of a more ancient fortress called Castell Crogen." 

CHISWICK, (chu/ick). This parish is not found in Domes- 
day, but it is mentioned in various ancient records by the names 
of Ceswyck, Cheswyck, and Cheswick. There is a tradition that 
within the last hundred years a very considerable mart or fair for 
cheese was annually held in the field called the Great Downs, 
nearly opposite the Duke of Devonshire's ; and if so, we here 
possess the most probable derivation of the name of the village, 
which in all the more ancient writings is spelt Cheaewick or Chea- 
wich. (Faulkner, Hist. Brentford, &c.) 

CHIUSI (ke-oo'se), in Tuscany, a corruption of its ancient name, 
Clusium. 

CHIVERTON, Cornwall, in Com. means ** a house in the 
green lay." Some derive it from Chi-uar-ton, ** a house upon 
the hill." Todn, formerly t6n, is " lay ground ;" ton a hill. 

CHRISTIANIA, capital of Norway. It formerly bore a 
different name ; it has its present appellation from Christian IV., 
by whom it was rebuilt. 

CHURNE, or CHURN, a river in Gloucestershire. It was 
called by the Romans Corin. Qu. W. chwyrn rapid, cym pretty ; 
or it may be another orthography of Carron. 

CILLY, a very ancient town situated between Gratz and 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 69 

Laibach, in Austria. It was founded by the Emperor Claudius, 
who called it Celleia, whence its present name has been corrupted. 

CINQUE PORTS (sink), Hastings, Dover, Hythe, Romney, 
Sandwich, are called the Cinque (i.e. the five) Ports ; from Fr, 
cinq fire, from L. quinque, Gr. xevxe, Dor. for irevrt, from 
Sans. i^ancAa. See Port. 

CINTAIL (kin- tale), a parish in Scotland ; from Gael, ceann- 
tail, more correctly ceann antsail, «'the boundary of the sea." 
{Armslronff,) 

CIRCASSIA. '*Pomponius Mela calls the Circassians Sar- 
gaciens ; by the Turks they are called Tcherkes, or Kerkes ; by 
the ancients Zag^ens, and ' Inhabitants of the Mountains ;* 
which agrees with the denomination Peng-dagui, which some 
Oriental geographers give this people; lit. *the five mountains' — 
the number certain for the number uncertain." The Turks write 
Tcherdkaaah for Circassia, also Tcherkeslik. Cher&kiah means 
place of pasturages, a prairie. Other writers say these people are 
called Tscherkess, Tscherkessi, and Tscherkessians by the Rus- 
sians, and that the name is of Tartar origin, compounded of 
tscher a road, keamek to cut off. '' They call themselves Adeches 
or Adekhes, a name denoting a mountain ravine on the sea ; but 
their neighbours, the Nogai Tartars, call them Tcherkesses, 
which well expresses the ferocity of their disposition, being 
derived from tsherk to cut off, kes the head, whence their 
European name." (Malte Brun.) 

CFRENCESTER (locally Mester), co. Gloucester. The 
name is found written Cyren-ceaster and Cyrn-ceaster. It was a 
military station of the Romans, who called it Corinium or Cornn- 
viura, and Corin Castra. Ptolemy writes Corinium ; Richard of 
Cirencester, Corinum ; Antonius, Durocornovium. It takes its 
name from its situation on the river Churne, Churn (Corin), which 
enters the Thames at Cricklade. See Chester and Churne. 

CIVITA VECCHIA (chivitah vek'ke-a) the name of several 
cities, but particularly of one in Italy, and one in Malta, lit. 
*• the old city ;" from It. vecchia old, dvith a city, from L. civitas 
from civis a citizen. 



70 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

CLAPIIAM . This parish, in all probability, received its appel- 
lation from one of its proprietors. Osgod Clappa was the name of 
the Danish lord at whose daughter's marriage-feast in Lambeth 
Hardicanute died. In Domesday, however, this place is called 
Clopeham. (Lt/sons.) 

CLARE, a parish, co. Galway, Ireland, takes its name from 
the river Clare, which runs through it. 

CLA'VERING, a parish in Essex. The name is said to be 
from A. S. cla/ra violets, ing a meadow or pasture. 

CLAWDD OFFA, in Wales. A dike thrown up in the fiftli 
century by OfiTa, King of Mercia, to prevent the mcursions of the 
Welsh, and to form their boundary. The name signifies "Offa's 
dike." (W. clawdd a ditch.) 

CLAYHANGER, or CLAYHONGER, Suffolk, from A. S. 
clteghangre ; so called from its clayey situation. (Chr. 1016.) 

CLERE {kleer). This affix signifies a royal residence or epi- 
scopal palace in the north of Hampshire. Kingsclere was a royal de- 
mesne in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; at Burgclere, the bishops 
of Winchester resided ; and from Highclere William of Wykeham 
dated his will. Or it may be the name of the Cornish saint, 
St. Cleere. {N, ^ Q.) Qu. A. S. cleric^ clerc, clere ; L. clericus. 

CLERKENWELL, found written Clarkenwell, means either 
"Clarke's well," or the "Clerks' well." The pump near Clerk- 
enwell Green bears the following inscription: — " A.D. 1800. 
Willm. Bound, Joseph Bird, Churchwardens. For the better 
accommodation of the neighbourhood, this pump was removed to 
the spot where it now stands. The spring by which it is supplied 
is situate 4 feet eastward, and round it, as history informs us, 
the parish clerks of London in remote ages annually performed 
sacred plays. That custom caused it to be denominated Clerks* 
Well, from which this parish derived its name. The water was 
greatly esteemed by the prior and brethren of the Order of St- 
John of Jerusalem, and the Benedictine nuns in the neighbour- 
hood." 

CLEVELAND, in Yorkshire ; q. d. Cliff Lane, by reason of 
its being steep, and almost impassable vnth clifia and rocks. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 71 

{Bailey.) In like manner Cleves (whence Ann of Cleyes), capital 
of the dnchy of that name in Prussia, was so called from heing 
built upon three little hills ; from L. clitnu a rising ground, height, 
hiU. 

CLIFFORD'S INN, Fleet Street, derives its name from the 
Barons Clifford, ancestors of the Earls of Cumberland, who had a 
residence there many years since. (Herbert) 

CLIST, formerly Clyst, a river in Devonshire ; whence the 
names of places called Bishop Clist, Honiton Clist, and Clist- 
haydon, 

CLOGHER, a bishop's see in Armagh, Ireland, takes its name 
from a small town in the barony of Clogher, co. Tyrone, which is 
said to have been so called from a golden stone (Ir. clock a stone, 
oir golden), formerly consulted there by the Druids for oracular 
answers • 

CLON is a very common prefix of local names in Ireland, as in 
Clontarf, &c. Cluain, cluaine, cluainna, occur less frequently. In 
Ir. eluaine is a plain, lawn, a remote or retired situation. Qu. 

C LOUGH or CLEUGH {kluf)^ in Lancashire, and in some other 
northern counties, means a straight, narrow hollow between high 
steep banks ; from A. S. clough, a clcfl or fissure in the steep as- 
cent or descent of a hill. Cleuch in Scotland, has the hke mean- 
ing ; it sometimes signifies a rugged precipice. 

CLUNBURY, CO. Salop, named from its situation on the river 
Clun. See Burg. 

CLYDE, a river in Scotland. Chalmers derives it from W. 
Cluyd, from Anc. Brit, clt/d, warm, sheltered. 

COBLENTZ was called by the Romans Confluentes, from its 
situation at the confiuence of the Rhine and Moselle. Conflu- 
entes, Confluents, Cofluents, Cobluents, Coblents, Coblentz. 

COCHIN CHINA, that part of Eastern Asia which commonly 
goes by the name of ** India without the Ganges." The present 
name is not, it is said, known to the natives, and was given to it 
by the Portuguese, who, on their arrival, finding it was called 
Koe-chen or Cochin, in order to distinguish it from Cochin on 
the coast of Malabar, added China, calling it, as it were, Cochin 



72 LOCAL ETYMOLOQT. 

of China. Perhaps by Koe-chen is meant Keaouche, by which 
name (sometimes abbreviated to ehe) it was known in the time 
of Han. In the classics it is called Nan-keaou. The natives 
distinguish it by the name Dkug-trong, ** the interior or central 
country," and they call Tonkin, Dkng-ngoki, "the exterior 
country." They also call Cochin China, Nuoc Anam, " kingdom 
of peace of the south ;' from C. Chin, nuoc kingdom, an peace, 
rest, nam the south. Hamilton derives Cochin in Malabar from 
cach'hi a morass. 

COCKERMOUTH, in Cumberland, named from its situation 
near the mouth of the Cocker. It would appear by the map to 
be at some distance from the mouth of this river, but it is pos- 
sible the land may have gained upon the water along this part of 
the coast. '' Its name is derived from its position on the river 
Cocker, at the point of its confluence with the Derwent. The 
Cocker flows from Buttermere Water, and, after passing through 
Crummock Water, divides the town of Cockermonth into two 
equal parts, which communicate with a stone bridge." (P. Cyc) 

COED (ko-icf), in local names in Wales, is the W, coed a 
wood ; as Bettws-y-Coed. 

COIMBATORE, for Kayambatur. See Ore. 

COLCHESTER, formerly Coln-ceaster, **a fortress on the 
river Coin." (A. S. ceaster fortress.) 

COLD HARBOUR, a not unfrequent local name, as Cold 
Harbour Lane, Camberwell. Sir Rich. Colt Hare says, he always 
found the term ** Cold Harbour " in the vicinity of a Roman road. 
From Anc. Brit, col a hill, arhhar an army ; also a military sta- 
tion. Owen (JF, Diet.) gives col-arbhar. But see Gent. Mag. 
Dec. 1844. p. 612. 

COLLEYSTOWN. "Queen Elizabeth granted Castletown, 
otherwise Young Colleystown, &c , in King*s County, Ireland, to 
Robert Colley, Esq., on 3d Feb., 1562, which on his decease 
without issue, were granted to Sir Thomas Moore, ancestor of the 
Earl of Charleville." {Lodge^ vol. iii. p. 58. See also Gent. 
Mag. vol. xi. for Jan. 1839, p. 73.) 

COLLUMPTON (kollum'ton), found written Columpton, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 73 

Columbton, Cullompton, Cullumpton ; a town in Devon, situated 
on the Culm or Columb — a tributary of the Ex — whence its 
name. 

COLMKILL or Ikolmkill, the island lona, one of the 
Hebrides, near Mull ; contracted from Columbkill, i.e. ColumlhE 
cella, {Bosicorth,) 

COLNBROOK (Bucks). Brook may here be a corruption of 
bridge. " Colebrook, so called from the river Cole, because it is 
here parted into four currents, but is joined by four bridges." 
(Bailey.) 

COLNES (koanes), the name of four contiguous parishes in 
Essex, receiving their general appellation from the river Colne, 
which flows through them. EarPs Colne, Engaine (Gain's) Colne, 
Wake's Colne, White Colne. Colne is the name of several rivers 
in England. Qu. W. cul narrow, strait, confined ; culni, nar- 
rowness, &c. 

COLNEY HATCH (kony). See Hatch. 

COLOGNE, on the Rhine, was anciently called Civitas Ubio- 
rum. Agrippina, mother of Nero, who was bom here, sent 
hither a colony of Romans, and gave it her own name, calling it 
Colonia Agrippina, from the former of which it has its present 
name. (G. Koeln, Koln, Coeln, Culn, pron. Aeln,) 

COLUMBIA, a district of the United States, named after 
Columbus. 

COL'YTON, or Culliton, a town in Devon, on the little river 
Coly, a feeder of the Axe. 

COMB, C0:MBE, COOMBE, cumber, in local names in 
England — as in Combe St. Nicholas (Somerset), Ilfracombe, 
Alcomb, Boscomb, Chilcomb, Combhill, Combe St. Nicholas 
(Cumberland) - is the A. S. comb a low place enclosed with hills, 
a valley (Anc. Brit, kum or cuum, W. cwm. Low L. comba and 
cumba terra). Sometimes the name of the owner is annexed, as in 
Comb Basset, Comb Raleigh. Sometimes b is changed into/>, as in 
Compton (q. v.). Charles Nodier, (Conies choisies, " La Combe 
de rhomme mort," Paris, 1856), gives the following note on this 
word: — *' Combe est un mot tr6s Fran9ais, qui signifie une 



i 



74 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

▼all^ 6troite et courte, creus^e entre deux montagnes, et oii 
rindustrie des homines est pairenue k introduire quelque culture. 
II n'y a pas un village dans tout le royaume oil cette expression 
ne soit parfaitement intelligible ; mais on Ta omise dans le Die- 
tionnaire, parce qull n'y a point de combe aux Tuileries, aux 
Champs Ely s6es, et au Luxembourg.' ' Combe may be a French word, 
but, if so, it has been either borrowed from the Saxon or the Celtic. 

COMPTON, from A. S. combe, W. cwm, a dell, tun an enclo- 
sure, village. 

CONDA, in local names in India, may be the Tel. konda a 
hill ; a cluster of a few huts apart from the main village. 

CONSTANCE, a town and lake. See Bregenz. 

CONSTANTINOPLE, "the city of Constantine ;" Gr. 
toXtc a city. 

CONWAY, properly Conwy, a river in N. Wales, called by 
the Romans Cononura. Dr. Pughe translates Conwy "The Dart 
stream ;" others derive it from Cyn-wyy i.e. chief water. From 
Conwy comes Aberconwy, " the efflux of the Conwy," in Caer- 
narvon. The Romans called it Aberconovium. See Aber. 

CONZ (kontz), a village between Treves and Luxemburg, 
near the mouth of the .Saar. It has its name from the Emperor 
Constantine, who is said to have had a summer palace here, traces 
of which are still visible. 

COP, COPE, in local names in England, as in Horcop, Warcop ; 
also Moldcop, Cheshire, means a hillock, mound ; from A. S. cop 
the head. 

COPENHAGEN, from Dan. K&ben-havn, i.e. "the mer- 
chants' haven or port." The Swedes call it Kopenhamn. 

CORDILLERAS {kordil-yait^as.) The Andes or Cordilleras, 
are a chain of mountains in S. America. From Sp. cordillera, a 
chain or ridge of mountains. 

CORDO'VA, a city of Spain. Bochart writes Corduba, which 
he derives from Phcen. chardobaal, meaning " his fear is Baal." 
The Phoenicians doubtless founded Cordova, but they called it 
Kartabah, which may be from karta-Baal, i.e. city of Baal. 
See Carthage. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 75 

CORK, Ireland, formerly Corkan ; from the Ir. carcach a moor, 
a marsh, having been originally built on a low marshy island. 

CORN ANT, in local names in Wales, is the W. eomant a brook, 
rill, small ravine ; from edr a point, nant a hollow formed by water, 
ravine, mountain torrent, brook. 

CORNWALL. It is said that the original British name was 
Cemywy i.e. a horn, or promontory. The name is supposed by Dr. 
Borlase to have been changed, by the intercourse of the natives with 
the Romans, into Cornubia, which it retained until the Saxons im- 
posed the name of Weales on the Britons, driven by them west of 
the Severn and Dee, calling their country in Latin Wallia ; after 
which, finding the Britons had retreated not only into Wales, but 
into the more western extremities of the island, the Latinists 
changed Cornubia into Comwallia — a name not only expressive of 
the many natural promontories of the country, but also implying 
that the inhabitants were Britons of the same nation and descent as 
those of Wales — and from Corn wallia comes Cornwall. Others 
seem to think that Cornwall was named after Cornouailles, a canton 
of France, in Bretagne. Lamartini^re says Cornouailles, in L. Comu 
Gailite, means ''point of France,'* and that it was so called because, 
jutting out into the ocean in the form of a peninsula, it makes a sort 
of "horn of Gaul" (Comu Gallise), as Longuerue expresses it. He 
says that Comu Gallise accords with Cornouailles only, and that 
Cornwall was most probably so called because it has a point which 
juts out and resembles somewhat the canton of Cornouailles. 

COROMANDEL COAST. That part of the eastern coast of 
India which forms the shore of the Bay of Bengal ; originally 
Choramandel, or rather Cholamandal, i.e. the country of the 
Chola, an ancient dynasty of this part of India. (Hind, mandal, 
mandul, a circle, orbit, district, province, country.) 

CORSCOMBE, in W. Corscwm, Qu. W. cors a bog, fen, cwm 
(A. S. comb) a valley. 

CORSICA, an island in the Mediterranean, belonging to France. 
In the time of the Romans, two colonies were founded there ; 
the one by Marius, the other by Sylla. The inhabitants were then 
called Corsi. Bochart says the Carthaginians called this island 



76 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Gorsis, which he derives from Phoen. ninin chorsi, a woody place^ 
hecause this was the most woody of all the islands in that quarter. 
See Bochart, Geog. Sacr. Dion. Perieg., v. 458 ; and Theophr. 
lib. V. c. 9. 

COR'WEN, N. Wales, said to mean " the white choir ;" from 
W. c6r choir, ffwen white, fair. Gorwen means extremely 
white or fair, white topped, for gorwyn ; gor very, gwyn white, 
fair, pleasant. 

COTE, COT, COTT, found as a compound in local names in 
England, as in Northcote, Southcote, Westcote, Balscote (perhaps 
for Helens Cote), Cottington, Cotsmore, Cots wold, is either the 
A. S. cota^ cyta, a cot, cottage, den, cave, or the Brit, coecfa wood. 

COTSWOLD, a district in Gloucestershire. Rudder {Hist, 
Glost. p. 21) derives the name of ''the noble champaign country, 
which runs through the county, and abounds in verdant plains, 
downs, corn-fields, parks, woods," &c., from the Brit. coedK wood, 
and A. S. weold a wood ; others derive Cots wold from A. S. cot a, 
cyta, a cot, cottage, den, cave, and wold a. place without wood. 
The late Michael Jones considered the latter etymology as better 
descriptive of the higher district of the Cotswold division of 
Gloucestershire ; somewhat resembling the South Downs and 
Salisbury Plain, though more enclosed and denuded of wood. 
Cowel translates Coteswold, ''several sheep-cotes and sheep 
feeding on hills ;*' cot land, cotsethland, land held by a cottager, 
whether in soccage or villcnage ; cotellus a small cottage. See 
Cote. 

COTT A, in local names in Hindustan, may be the Hind. (j:j^ 

hot or kota (in some dialects, cote, koth, kotta, and kotiai,) a fort, 
stronghold, a fortified residence of a zamindar, the wall of a fort. 
COURTRAIorCOURTRAY(^oor7ray), in W. Flanders (Flem. 
Kortryk), In the time of the Romans it was called Cortoriacum or 
Corturiacum. Lamartiniere says it is a very ancient town. "II est 
fait mention des soldats ou cavaliers nommez Cortoriacenses, dans la 
notice de Tempire ecrite il y a environ treize cents ans. St. Ouen 
(Jans la vie de St. Eloy) fait mention des peuples Corturiaceuses, 
dont St. Eloy ^toit pasteur, aussi bien que des Flamands et des 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 77 

Gaulois. II est fait mention plusieurs fois dans les capitulaires 
du pays de Courtray, Pagris Curtricisus" The etymology dees 
not appear to be settled. See also Longuerue> Desc. de la France, 
part 2, p. 60. 

COUTANCE (kootawnce), a town in Normandy, said to have 
been built by the Emperor Constantius Chlorus, father of Con- 
stantine the Great, and who called it after his own name. Con- 
stantia ; whence, by corruption, its present name. 

COVENT GARDEN, a corruption of Convent Garden. 

COVENTRY, CO. Warwick, "from A. S. Cofantreo.ixom Cwent, 
the ancient name of a little river which runs past the town, and ree 
or tre a river." (Somner,) Others assert that the name, like 
Covent Garden, is derived from "Convent Garden," from a spacious 
convent, founded, says Leland, by King Canute, and destroyed by 
the traitor Edric in 1016. It is certain that in the reign of Edward 
the Confessor, in 1 044, Earl Leofric, a powerful lord of the large 
territory of Mercia, with his wife, the Lady Godiva, founded at 
Coventry a magnificent Benedictine monastery. (See P* Cyc.) 
Dugdale says tre is a Brit, word having the same import as villa 
in Latin. 

CRACOW {kra'ko), in Poland ; Pol. Krakow, G. Krakau ; 
said to take its name from Cracus, Duke of Poland, by whom it 
was built in 1700. Krak is the name of the Polish Cadmus, who 
slew the dragon in a cave at the rock called Wavel. 

CRAIG, in local names in Wales, is the W. craig (Sco. and Ir. 
id., Gael, creagy Com. karak. Arm. garrecg) a rock. 

CRAY. The Grays, viz., St. Mary's, St. Paul's, Foot's, .and 
North Cray and Crayford, in Kent, take their name from the 
river Cray, which flows near them. As this part of the county 
is said to abound with chalk, the river may have received its name 
from that circumstance ; from Fr. crage or crate, from L. creta 
chalk, lit. Cretan earth. 

CRAYFORD, Kent, found written Creccanford, Crecganford, 
Creacanford, Creganford ; " ford of the river Crec or Craye." 
See Cray. 

CREDITON, anciently written Chridiatone, Cridiaton. Cri- 



78 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

deton, a town in Devon, near the junction of the hrook Yeo with 
the river Greedy, a feeder of the Ex ; whence its name. (A. S. tun 
an enclosure.) The colloquial designation of this place is Kirton. 

CREED LANE, Ludgate Hill. See Paternoster Row. 

CRICKLADE, Wilts, found written Creccagelade, Cregelade, 
Criccelade, Criklade, and Creeklade. Some say this place was 
originally called Greeklade, from a famous school which the Greek 
philosophers instituted there, and that the University of Oxford was 
formed hy an emigration of professors and students from this town. 
Others write Crecceglade, which they derive from A. S. crecca 
a hrook, ladian to empty ; it heing situated near the junction 
with the Thames of two small streams, the Churn and the Key. 
Again, others derive the name from the Brit, cerigwlad, abound- 
ing in stones. Near Cricklade is the source of the Thames. 

CRIMEA. The Crimea derives its name from K/jxag/j/ov, the 
ancient name of a small town in this peninsula. In more modem 
times, Kimmerion or Kimmeris has been designated Eski Crim, 
and Crim Staroi, or Old Crim, and is now called Leukopolis. 
See Cambria. 

CROATIA takes its name from the Croats, a tribe of the 
Wends, from Bohemia, who in a.d. 640 settled here. The ancient 
name of this people was Horwather, Hrowathes, or Chrobates, of 
which the modem name is a corruption. Croatia is called by the 
inhabitants Horwath Orszag ; and by the Turks Khervat Mem- 
leketi. The Germans call the Croats, Croaten and Crabaten. 

CRONSTADT (krdn-stat), from G. krone a crown, stadl a 
towfi, city. 

CROYDON. In Domesday and in records of later date, 
this place is called Croindene, and in A. S. Grogdtene, It is 
also found written Cradiden, Craydiden, Crondon, and Croidon. 
Some derive the name from A. S. crone sheep, dene a valley — a 
valley for sheep. This derivation, says Garrow, appears to be 
established by the situation of the old town, in the opening of 
a rich and beautiful vale, and, as Camden observes, lying 
under the hills ; and this vale, skirting the bottom of Banstead 
Downs, extends some miles up the country, having the hills for- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 79 

merlj covered with woods, on the east side, the west heing open 
to the Downs. Others think the town was named from the quan- 
tity of chalk in its vicinity, hecause in Surrey no soil of this 
description is to he foand nearer London than Croydon, and they 
derive the name from Fr. craye or craie^ chalk, and Sax. dun a 
hill — ** a town near a chalk-hill." In favour of this supposition, 
some refer to the villages of Foot's Cray, St. Mary's Cray, and 
Crayford, in Kent, and not far from Croydon ; all of which have 
been named from the river Cray, which flows near them in a part 
of the county abounding with chalk. 

CRUTCH'ED FRIARS, a place in the City of London, so 
called from a convent of Crouched Friars formerly situated there. 
"From Fr. frhres croises, i.e. friars signed with a cross." 
(Bailey.) Crouch is an O. Eng. word for a cross, from L. 
crux, cis. The festival observed by Roman Catholics on the 1 4th 
of September in honour of the Holy Cross, was called Crouch 
Mass. 

CUFA (koo-/a), a town of Asiatic Turkey, near Bagdad. The 
Cufic characters, which prevailed among the Arabians for about 300 
years, were named from this place, where they are said to have 
been invented ; from Arab. K^/a, which signifies also a round 
heap of red sand, or gravel mixed vrith sand. 

CUMBERLAND, from A. S. cumbraland, «a land of 
valleys ;" comb a valley, land id. Others say Cumberland 
is " the land of the Cumbri," i. e. the Kymbri or Kymri, who 
remained there for a long time after the rest of England was 
conquered. 

CURAgAO or CURAZAO {kura^so), an isle in the Caribbean 
Sea, belonging to the Dutch, who took it from the Spaniards in 
1632. The esteemed liqueur, cura^oa, is so called from being 
made here. The name of this isle may be of native origin, or it 
may have been christened by the Spaniards. The curassow is a 
genus of gallinaceous birds in S. America and Mexico. When 
the Spaniards took possession of this isle» it was possibly the 
haunt of these birds, whose name may have reference to their 
peculiar cry. 



80 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

CWM, in local names in Wales, is the VV. cwm a hollow, a 
shelter, a place between hills, a dingle, or deep valley. 

CYMMER (pi. cymmerau), found in names of places in Wales, 
means the confluence of waters, and is synonymous with the 
Cymric aber and the Gael, inver (q. v.), compounded of cyd with, 
and ber or titer, one of the most ancient names for water, seas, 
lakes. (Arch. Williams,) 

CYPRUS, in the Mediterranean. Some derive this name from 
Gr. xpvitroQ hidden, " this island being often hidden by the waves 
from the eye of the sailor ;" others from Cyrus, who founded here 
the city of Aphrodosia ^ but it was known by the name of Cyprus 
in Homer's time, i.e. 600 years before the birth of Cyrus." 
Festus says the ancients called it JSrosa, " full of brass," because 
it abounded with this metal ; and some say this is why the 
Greeks called it YivirpoQ copper. Kyir^oc* however, seems rather 
to have been named from Cyprus, whence it was brought. The 
Greeks called this metal ;^aAxoc ^viepioq, i. e. Cyprian brass, brass 
of Cyprus. The most probable derivation is that from the name 
of a shrub called by the Greeks KvirpoQ, with which the island 
abounded. With the flower of this shrub the ancient inhabitants 
made a very sweet oil, greatly recommended by Pliny, and the 
shrub itself is now used by the Arabs and Turks to dye the 
nails, &c., being called by the former hanna, and by the latter 
kanna. See also Ptol. lib. ii. c. 7, lib. v. c. 31, and Cellar. Geog. 
Ant. t. 2. 

CZERNAWODA (shemavo'da), on the Danube. This name 
means "black water," from lUyr. cem black, voda (Pol. tvodoy 
Russ. voda) water. Voda may come from the root of Dur 
(q. v.). 



D. 



DAGH, in local names in Turkey, as in Maden Dagh, Emineh 
Dagh, i.e. the Hsemus or Balkan mountains, is the Turc. 
ilL tdffh, a mountain. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 81 

DALECARLIA, or the Dales, in Sweden, consists ehieflj of 
the two great river basins, and numerous small branches of the 
Yesterdal and Osterdal (W. and £. Dal) rivers, which unite near 
Fahlun and there form the Dal. The word Dalecarlia is not 
known in Scandinavia. The Swedes call it Dalene (ddhHena), *' the 
valleys ;" the men call themselves DahlkuU, the women DahlkuUa. 
The Sw. kull means brood, hatch (Sans, kula, family, race, tribe). 

DALMATIA, a province of Austria, on the Gulf of Venice, 
Calmet translates Dalmatia '' deceitful lamps," from Gr. $a\OQ a 
lamp, fj^raia vain, but does not give any reason. Strabo 
(lib. vii. 6), states that the Dalmatians were in the habit of making 
a division of their fields every eighth year ; hence, says Dr. 
Webster, perhaps the name ; from deal and madh. He probably 
refers to the Gael, dealaich, to separate, part, and madh (now 
magh) a plain. Others derive the name from the l)almatine, a 
small district between Sebenico and Scordona. (P. Cyc.) Ac- 
cording to Strabo and Appian, Dalmatia was named after the 
Dalmates, who inhabited the city of Delminium or Delmium. It 
is often named Delmatia upon ancient medals and marbles, and 
by Latin writers. Greek authors, with the exception of Poly bins, 
call it Dalmatia. 

DAMASCUS, a city in Syria ; L. id., Gr. Aajxacrxoc. Bryant 
says Damasec means "the city of the prince." In Arab, shaykh is a 
prince, a chief; the Pers. dam signifies breath, air, scent, pleasure, 

society, hot, &c.; but in Arab. Damascus is written ^_l^j dam- 

shak. The Arab, damis is a soft sandy place ; damash, heat, 
thirst ; daimas, a place under ground, a cave, cavern. Calmet 
writes it in Heb* Dotneschech, and gives several very improbable 
etymologies, not worth repeating. This city is now locally called 
Sh&m or rather Ash'sh&m, or Ash'sh&mah. Dr. Herbelot says some 
Eastern geographers derive iS'A^m from awart, because the country is 
studded over with a number of small hillocks, resembling those 
excrescences. Richardson says that black moles on the face have 
ever been considered in the East as extremely beautiful, and that 
circumstances fully as whimsical have often given names to places. 
The Arab, shdm is a black spot. 



82 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 

DANUBE ; G. Donau, Hung. Duna, Turc Tunah, L. Danv 
bius, Bailey says the Romans may have called this river Danubtus 
"from Teut. dannen, firs, those trees heing planted along its 
banks ;" which is absurd. Webster thinks the Celt, dan, dian, bold, 
strong, vehement, impetuous, may be the root of both Danube and 
Don, Armstrong gives the Gael, don water (Arm. id.), " hence the 
Celtic name for the Danube, Donau ; or Dona may be don-ato the 
^eep water, from Arm. don (Gael, domhainn), and au, amh, or 
abh, water ; mh and Ih being silent in these words." See Don. 

DARIEL, a pass in the valley of the Terek, on the road to Tiflis. 
The name is said to be derived from two Tartar words, signifying 
"narrow way." Qu. Turc. ddr narrow, j/dl way. 

DARTFORD, Kent, « the ford of the river Darwent, Darent, or 
Dart." See Dartmouth. 

DARTMOOR, co. Devon, " the moor in which the river Dart 
rises." 

DARTMOUTH, Kent, from A. S. Darenta-muth, Derta- 
muthan, mouth of the river Daeranta, Deorwent, Derwent, Darwent, 
Darent, or Dart. See Derwent. 

DAUPHINY, an ancient province of France. Dauphiny was 
originally part of the country of the AUobroges, who were subdued 
by the Romans about 100 years B. C. Upon the declension of 
the Roman empire it fell under the dominion of the Goths, and 
other barbarous nations, but in the reign of Rodolph the Slothful, 
the counts of Albon made themselves masters of it, and their suc- 
cessors reigned there under the title of Dauphins of Yienne. In 
1343, Humbert, Dauphin of Yienne, transferred his dominions to 
Charles, Duke of Normandy, grandson to Philip de Yalois, upon 
condition that the eldest son of the king of France should always 
bear the title and arms of Dauphin of Yienne. " The title of Dau- 
phin is said to have originated in the circumstance of one of the 
counts of Albon, who reigned about the 9th century, having 
caused a dolphin to be painted on his shield, as an emblem of the 
mildness of his reign» these animals being reputed by the an- 
cients as friendly to man ; and about the middle of the 12th cen- 
tury it became a name of dignity, and was annexed to the pro- 



LOCAL KTYMOLOGT. 83 

Tioce ** The Dauphin is called in Latin Delphinus, and his crown 
is composed of four dolphins. The Delphin classics were com-* 
piled for the use of the Dauphin, hy command of Louis XIV. 
From Lat. defphinus, Gr, h\<\>iy. Qu. Arab, and Pers. dalfin, 
del/tn, dtdfin, ** The dolphins, according to old poets, are ever 
mttentive to the saving of man when in danger of drowning. The 
Arabians name the dolphins also, as well as the syrens, bandt u'l 
bahr, * the daughters of the sea,' whom the Persians likewise 
call malak'% daryd, * the queens of the ocean.* '* {Richardson,) 

DAURIA {dcun/re-a). The portion of Siberia lying east of the 
basin of Selenga, and drained by the river Shilka and its two 
principal branches, the Ingoda and Onon, is called Da-vria, which 
is said to signify "boundary-country," or "border." (P. Cyc.) 

DEAD SEA, so called, as some assert, because no living object 
is found in it. Others say it derives its name from the dreary, 
desolate, and death-hke character of the scenery in the vicinity. 
It is known in Scripture under the names of the Salt Sea, the Sea 
of the Plain, and the East Sea. " The Greeks called it Asphaltites, 
from the sulphurous and bituminous matter which it casts upon 
its shores, and with which its waters are deeply impregnated." 

DECCAN, a term formerly applied to the whole of Hindustan, 
south of the Nerbuddah, but latterly limited to the country be- 
tween that river and the Kistnah ; from Pers. ^^J dakhin, duk- 

kin or dakkan, corrupted from Sans, dakshina, the south. 

DEE, the name of rivers in Scotland, and of a river in Wales. 
Some say that Dee (Deva), means impulse, action, separation, and 
was obviously applied to these rivers for their quality of swiftness ; 
and that both the Dees in N. Britain, as mountain streams, are 
rapid, but that the name may also be derived from Brit, du black 
(pron. dee), which agrees with the dark colour of their waters. 

DELFT. Lamartini^re writes Delpht, which, he says, means a 

canal ; and that this town was built upon the banks of the ancient 

canal which joined the Meuse to the Rhine, which some assert to 

be the same with the ditch of Corbulon, whereof Tacitus (Annals, 

lib. xi.) makes mention. In Low Lat. it is called Delphi, Del- 

phium and Delfum. Qu. D. delven to dig. 

c. 2 



84 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

DELHI, Hindustan. This citj is said to be the Indraprast'ha 
or Indraput of Hindu history. The modern town was founded in 
1631, by Shah Jehan, one of the most powerful of the Mongol 
emperors, and named after him, by the Persians, Shah- Jehan-pur, 
or Shah- Jehan- abad. Its present name is found written Deli, 

Delli, and Dehli. The natives call it ^^ dilli or dihU (Dilwali 

an inhabitant of Dill f). Elliott thinks the name maybe derived from 

^ J dahal, a quicksand or quagmire, '' the ground on which 

the city was built being so loose and unsound that tent-pins could 
not be fixed in it." Dahal comes from dahalna, to shake, tremble, 

fear. The Hind. (Sans.) ,^^*^ dihli is a threshold. 

DEN, DEN A, DENNA, DENES. Den, a termination of local 
names in England, especially in the woody parts of Kent, as 
Tenterden, Biddenden, denotes a situation in a plain or valley, or 
near woods ; from A. S. den^ dene, denn, a plain, vale, dale, valley. 
Den was also formerly used to signify liberty for ships or ves- 
sels to run aground or come on shore. Edward I. granted this 
privilege to the barons of the Cinque Ports. Dena, denna, is a 
little portion of woody ground, commonly called a coppice. Cowel 
translates dena terra " a hollow place between two hills." At 
Yarmouth, an extensive sandy tract of ground at the mouth of the 
river Yare, extending along the sea-coast, is called the Denes. 

DENMARK. Some derive this name from Dan, a prince 
whom the traditions assert to be its founder, b.c. 1100, and 
Tent, tnarck a plain. Others, with more reason, say Denmark is 
the march or boundary of the Danes. 

DEPTFORD, Kent, formerly Depeford, i.e. deep ford. 
" This town in auncient writings is called West-Grenwiche, for 
difference of the other, which in such like is written East- 
Grenwiche, and now commonly Grenewiche." (Lambarde,) 

DERBEND, a strong fortress on the Caspian Sea, formerly 
the boundary of the Persian and Turkish empires in that quarter. 
It now belongs to Russia. " In its walls are two large gates, 
through which the road passes, and which may be shut at plea- 
sure ; hence the name of the town, i.e. * the shut-up gates,' from 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 85 

Pers. juu iJ dar-band, the bar of a door, a barrier. The Arabs 

call it B&bu'l abwdb, ' the gate of gates.*" 

DERBEND, a British miliUiy post, on the N.W. frontier of 
the Punjab. It is situated on the left bank of the Indus, where 
the stream, previously straitened in its passage through the 
mountains, expands on entering into the plain ; hence probably 
the name of Derbend, which signifies the place of a dam or strait. 
(Thornton,) 

DERBY, found written Deoraby, Deorby, Dereby, and Derebi. 
In the time of the Saxons, it was called Northworthige. Accord- 
ing to some, the name Deoraby was given to it by the Danes, by 
whom it was captured ; and they derive it from A. S. deor a wild 
beast, and Dan. bt/ a habitation. Others say it occupies the site 
of the Roman station Derventio, which is probably a corruption 
of Derwent (the river), in the vale of which it is situated. See 
Dartmouth and Derwent. 

DERE (deer^ee), in local names in Turkey, is the Turc. 

3fjj dereh, a valley ; as Buyukdere, i.e. the great valley. 

DERRY, Ireland. Some derive this name from Ir. darech, 
from dair, an oak ; others say it is corrupted from durtheach, a 
place of pilgrimage. 

DERWENT, the name of several rivers in England ; corrupted 
from duorgwent, from W. rfirr, water, stream, gwent, a fair or 
open region ; or dwrgwent may mean bright or clear water, fair 
stream ; from dvor and gwen, gwyn. Dart (the river) is a con- 
traction of Darent, Darwent, or Derwent. 

DEVIZES, Wilts, was called in ancient records, Divisse, De 
Vies, Divisis, &c. ; probably from a supposition that it had been 
divided between the king and the bishops of Salisbury. Leland 
calls it the Vies. The first charter of incorporation was by the 
Empress Matilda, granting to her burgesses " De Divisis " free- 
dom of toll throughout all England and the ports of the sea. 
(P. Cyc.) 

DEVLI (dev'le), situated between Kaisariyeh and Karaman, 
in Asiatic Turkey. It is supposed to stand on the site of 



86 LOCAIi ETYMOLOGY. 

Derbe, according to Hierocles, called Delbia, whence its present 
name. 

DEVONSHIRE, found written in A. S. Defenascire, Defan- 
scire, Defnascyre, Deuenesire, Dauenescyre, Devenascyre, Devna- 
scyre, Devenschyre ; the people being called Defenas, Denas. 
The earliest ascertained inhabitants were the Damnonii» Dum- 
nonii, or Damnunnii (the AoufcyoxiM of Ptolemy). The Cornish 
Britons called the country Dunan, the Welsh Deaffneynt which 
Camden translates " deep valleys." The W. dwfn. is deep, 
nant (pi. neinty nentydd) a hollow formed by water, a rayine, 
mountain torrent, brook. Deuffneynt, Defenant-scire, Defenascire, 
Devenschyre, Devonshire. 

DHUN, aspirated form of the Gael. Dun (q. v.). 

DIARBEKR, on the Tigris, properly Diy4r-bakr, " the tents 

or dwellings of Bakr ;" from Arab, .b j diydr, pi. ofdar a house, 
dwelling, habitation, city, tribe, camp ;Sj bakr, name of an Ara- 
bian tribe. 

DIEPPE (de-ep'), a seaport in Normandy. Bochart derives 
this name from Eng. deep, and says that Dieppedale, situated in 
a valley below the town of Rouan (Rouen), is from Eng. deep dale. 

DIH (dee), in names of places in Hindustan, is sometimes 

the Pers. ^ j dih, deh, a village ; comprehending, says Wilson, 

not only the actual village, but the lands belonging to it. 

DIN'AS, DIN, in local names in Wales, is the W. dinas, din, 
a city. But see Dun, Dunum. 

DISS, Norfolk. Some derive this name from A. S. diee^ diss, 
standing water, pool, ditch. The A. S. die is a dike, mound, 
bank. Somner says, " a ditch, trench, moat." 

DNIEPER (ne-per), a river in Russia. Some derive Dnieper 
from doti'ieper, the upper river ; and Dniester from don-iester, 
the lower river. See Don. 

DNIESTER (nees'ter), a river in Russia. See Dnieper. 

DO'AB, the country lying between the Ganges and Jamuna ; 
also the districts between the rivers of the Punjab, as the Jalan- 
dhara-Doab, between the Satlaj, and the Beah, &c. ; lit. a tract 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 87 

of land Ijing between two rivers, which, after running for some 
distance, unite; from Hind. i^\jj do-db or dtl-Ab, from du two, 
and db water, by metonymy a river. (Wilson.) 

DOBRUTSCHA {dobroot'shd), part of Bulgaria, lying between 
the Danube and the Black Sea ; from Turc. Dobridjk^ also 
Dobrhin, by some derived from the name of a Tartar race by 
which it was peopled (Geog. Univ. Brux. 1839.) The name is 
probably of Slavonic origin. Dobra in Slav, means "good," 
whence Dobra (Agathopolis), a town in Poland, and Dobra in Hun- 
gary and Transylvania ; Dobre in Poland, Dobra a river rising in 
Illyria, Dobra Venedik, a town of Dalmatia, Dobra vitz a burg in 
Moravia, Dobrawitz and Dobra Woda, two burgs in Bohemia, 
and Dobraschka or Dobruzka, a town in the same kingdom ; 
also Debrecziu or Debreczyn, a town in Hungary; perhaps 
from dobroczyriy a good trade, commerce, "eine gute hand- 
lung." 

DODABALLA, or DODA BALLAPORE, a town in Mysore, 
India. "The name is said to signify Ballapore the Great, to dis- 
tinguish it from Chika Ballapore, or Ballapore the Less," about 
14 miles N.E. of it. Dodda appears to be Karn&ta. The Sans. 
bala means strength. See Poor 

DOLBADARN (dofbadem), near Llanberis, N. Wales; named 
after a British saint. 

DOMINICA, one of the W. India Islands, so named from having 
been discovered by Columbus on a Sunday. (Sp. dominica 
Sunday.) 

DON, the name of several rivers ; viz., in Russia, France, 
England, and Scotland. Some derive the name from Celt, don 
water ; others from dhu or dhun, dark ; and they say that the 
Don or Doun in Scotland, from running through a soft deep 
bog near its head, receives a black, mossy tinge, which it retains 
during the whole of its course. The Don in Russia was called by 
the Greeks and Latins Tanais. 

DONCASTER is said to have been a Roman station, and, 
according to some authors, was the identical spot where the 
Maxima Cccsaricnj^is commenced. In some itineraries it is 



88 LOCAL ETYMOLOCnr. 

denominated Dano and Danuni. Nennius and the Notitia call it 
Caer Daun ; the Saxons, Dona-cercen and Doneeaster ; the Scots, 
Donecastle ; and in the first charter, granted by Richard I., it is 
styled Daneceastre. It was probably named from its situation on 
the river Don or Dun. (Don and ceasier.) See Chester. 

DORCHESTER, in Cornwall, signifies '<a fortress by the 
water." (Com.) For Dorchester, co. Dorset, see Dorset- 
shire. 

DORDOGNE {dordoan), a department in the S. of France, 
named from its principal river, the Dordogne, which is said to 
derive its name from two mountain torrents, the Dor and the 
Dogne, which, springing from the gorges of the Mont d*Or, in 
Pny-de-Ddme, unite near the village of ^Bains, and form the 
Dordogne. Others discard this derivation, saying that this river 
has only one source. Ausonius gives the name of Duranius both 
to the mountain (le Mont d'Or) and to the river, Gregory of 
Tours calls the river Dorononia ; Eguihard writes Domonia, and 
Aimon, Dordonia. See also Piganiol, Descr. de la France, t. 5> 
p. 308 ; and Lamartiniere. 

DORDRECHT (dorfrekt), by contraction, Dort, in Westphalia, 
Ancient writers call it Thur and Dur, which they derive from the 
name of the founder. Others say Dort is the name of a river — ^now 
covered with the waters of the sea — which has inundated all the 
neighbouring country, and that this river fell into the Merwe, where 
the Meuse joins the Rhine ; and that as evidence thereof, there 
is still a place called Dortsmunde, i.e. "mouth of the Dort.'* 
Brecht or treeht^ like the Fr. trajet, is corrupted from L. 
trajectus a ford, lit. a passing over ; so that the name means 
** Ford of the Dort." Others say that in L. Dortmunde was 
called Tremonia or Trotmonia. 

DORNOCH, a town and parish, co. Sutherland, is said to be 
from Gael, dorn-eich, a horse's foot or hoof. The writer in the 
Statistical Account of Scotland relates a tradition, which, he 
says, is countenanced by the horse-shoe still retained in the arms 
of the burgh* 

DORSETSHIRE. This part of England, in the earliest 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 89 

period^ is said to have been inhabited by a people whom Ptolemy 
calls Aouporpiy6s$ Durotriges, which name Camden derives from 
Anc. Brit, dwr water^ trig an inhabitant, i.e. dwellers by the 
water-side. According to Menevensis, these people were called 
by the Britons Dwr Gwyer, and by the Saxons Dorssettas, Dor- 
settan, whence Dorset. Dor in Dorssettas, is the Anc. Brit. 
dwr water, and satas at the end of words, denotes dwellers, inha- 
bitants ; from A.S. sat, set, a sitting, station, camp, from sit tan 
to sit. Dorchester was called bv the Saxons Domceaster, i.e. the 
ceaster or fortress of the Dornii, Durnii, or Durotriges. Ptolemy 
calls Dorchester, Dunium, *' the town of the Durotriges." Some 
copies, however, read Durnium. 

DORTMUND {dortfmoond), a town in Westphalia. See 
Dordrecht. 

DOURO (doo'ro), a river in the Peninsula. From Port. Douro, 
Sp. Duero ; perhaps from Basq. urd, water, or Gael, dour. It 
is also found written in Sp Douero, and in O. Fr. Doure and 
Douere, See Dur. 

DOVER, called in Domesday Dovere ; by the Saxons Dwyr, 
Dofra, and Dofris ; and by the Romans Dubris. Lambarde and 
Camden derive the name from Anc. Brit, dwfyrrha, a steep 
place ; others from dwfr water, there being a small stream in the 
valley, at the extremity of which Dover stands. In like manner, 
Caudover, Hants, is said to be from cain-dw/r, clear water. 

DRESDEN (drezcPn). Some derive this name from the Serb- 
Wendish drotzdzim, to be insolent, to brave ; or from trasi a ferry ; 
and Dresden is therefore supposed to mean either a fortress or a 
ferry-place. In ancient documents the name is found written, 
Dresnem, Drasen, Dresdiu, Drezdzu, and Drazdonach. But see 
Allg, Encyhm Von Ersch, &c. 

DREUX (dreu), a town in France, Eure-et-Loire. It was 
known to the Romans by the name of Durocasses, which was 
subsequently contracted into Drocee and Dreux. 

DROGHEDA (dro'heda), called by old writers Tredagh, a city 
CO. Louth, Ireland. The name in Irish means "bridge of the 
ford.'' 



90 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

DROITWICH, CO. Worcester, is mentioned in Domesday, on 
account of the tax then derived from its salt springs. This tax 
is said to have heen originally imposed on the Britons hy the 
Romans, who made salt a part of their soldier* s salarium, or salary. 
A charter was granted to this borough by King John. From 
Fr. droitt a fee, a privilege, a right ; and wichf from A. S. wic a 
village, &c. 

DRONTHEIM (dront'hime), Norw. Throndhjem, formerly 
the capital of Norway. It was also the royal residence and seat 
of the government. From Dan. throne throne, hjem home. 

DROOG, in names of places in Hindustan, is the Hind. (Sans.) 

(^fij durga, vernacularly durg, doorg, a fort, hill fort. 

DROTNINGHOLM (home), an island of the Malar Lake, 
near Stockholm. The name means "queen's isle," from Sw. 
drottning queen, holme islaud. 

DRURY LANE, London ; " so called," says Stow, " for that 
there is a house belonging to the family of the Druries." 

DSHURUK-SU {tshoorookioo), a rivulet which runs through 
the town of Baktscbiserai, in the Crimea. In the language of the 
country, it signifies " fetid water." 

DUBLIN. Some derive the name of this city from Ir. dubh' 
linn, the "black pool," from du, dubh, black, linn, a pond, pool, 
any standing water ; " hence," says Chalmers, " Dublin and 
many other names of places in Ireland." The Irish used to call it 
Bally-ath-cliath, ** the town on the ford of the hurdles." It is 
called in ancient records Difeliu, Dyflen, and Dyflin ; and a town 
is supposed to have stood on the site of the present city, and is 
mentioned by Ptolemy under "Eblana," about a.d. 140. 

DU'LEEK, CO. Meath, where the first ecclesiastical stone 
building is said to have been erected ; from Ir. daimhliag, a 
church built of stone ; daimh a church. Hag a stone. 

DUMBARTON, or DUNBARTON, on the Frith of Clyde, 
Scotland. Some derive this name from the same root as Dun- 
bar ; others say it is a corruption of Dun-Briton, " the fort of 
the Britons." It was also formerly called Alclud or Alcluid. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 91 

la Acts of Parliament, the name is more frequently Dunbretane, 
Dunbertane, Dunbartan. 

DUMFRIES' (freez), a town in Scotland, from Gael, dun a 
fortified bill, preas shrubs or brushwood. 

DUN, DUNUM. Dun, in names of places in Great Britain, is 
the Anc. Brit, dun a height, Gael dun, duin, a fort, fortress, town, 
fortified hill, a hill ; W. dinas^ din, Com. Arm. and A* S. dun 
and tun. The Basq. has dun an eminence. Plat, diine, O. G. 
dun a city, D. duin, O. Dan. dyneme. Fries, dune, Dunum, 
dinium, in many names of towns in Old Gaul and in Britain, is 
the L. form of the Celt, dun, din ; thus, Etrodunum (Amtrun), 
Noviodunum (Noyon), Augustodunum (Autun), Melodunum 
(Melun), Lugdunum (Lyons), according to Plutarch "raven hill." 
Carrodunum (Cracow), &c., &c.; all situated on rising grounds. 
Bochart derives the Celt, din, dinas, from Arab, medina, the 
primary meaning of which is " a city." Others say the Celt, tin, 
din, tun, dun, are from dunadh, to shut up, to hedge or enclose, 
and the A. S. tun, from tynan to enclose. Tun means lit. an en- 
closure, and dun a hill, but perhaps the original meaning of both 
was an entrenchment, lit. that which surrounds ; and din, dinas^ 
dun, tun, tune, ton, town, are doubtless only different orthographies 
of the same word. Fosbroke says the ancient din or dinas, as the 
words import, were the alarm-posts in which the inhabitants of a 
district assembled in time of invasion ; an event that rendered the 
construction of a proper and secure receptacle for that purpose 
absolutely requisite. See also Tun. 

DUNA, or DWINA, a river in Russia. Some derive it from 
the same root as Don. 

DUN'BAR or DUMBAR, Firth of Forth, Scotland ; "a fort or 
stronghold on a summit or height ;" from dun (q. v.) and bar. 
See Bhar. 

DUNBLANE', a town in Scotland. The name is said to be 
corrupted from Dumblathan, from Gael, dun-bhlath-beinn ; dun 
a hill, blath, blaith, blossom, flower, bloom, fruit (blhth, warm, 
pleasant), beinn a mountain, a hill. Dunblane is supposed to be 
the kXavvx of Ptolemv. 



92 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

DUNDALK (dundawk'), a town, co. Louth, Ireland. Qa. 
Ir. dun a fortified town, hUl, fortress, city ; dale fire. Allard 
writes Dundalke, and it is supposed to be the Dundalgan of the 
Irish Ossianic poems, and to have been the residence of the hero 
CuchuUin. 

DUNDEE, on the Firth of Tay, in Scotland. In the annals of 
Boethius, it is called Alectum. The ancient Gael, name, still 
used by the Highlanders, is ail-lec, signifying " beautiful." The 
Latin writers call it Taodunum. In several ancient records it is 
styled Dond6, Dondie, and Donum Dei, and found written Dun- 
deagh. The name is said to be contracted from the Gael. Dhun- 
tatha*'hi\\onheTfijr 

DUNFERMLINE, a parish in Fifeshire, said to be from Celt. 
dun, a heap, hill, tower, castle ; /aire a walk or guard ; linne a 
pool, pond, waterfall; or loin a little stream or riyulet; **the fort 
or castle which commands the pool or stream,*' or shortly, *' the 
watch tower of or upon the stream." Others say Dun-fiar-linne, 
'Uhe castle upon the crooked or curved pool or winding stream" 
(fiar, crooked^ winding). The name is locally pronounced dumfer' 
line and dumfarline. 

DUNKELD, found written Dunkelden, situated on the left bank 
of the Tay, in Scotland. Some derive Dunkeld from Gael, dun^ 
kaled'in, "the rough, mountainous country" (dun Rhi\\,kaledhMd, 
inn country), from '^dun-kaledin 'the hill or stronghold of Kaledin,' 
not farre from Calidon Castell, otherwise called Dunkeld." Dr. 
Buchanan derives Dunkeld from Gael, dunehalden *' the hill of the 
hazels ;" upon which Dr. Macpherson remarks that Dunkeld is 
surrounded on all sides by hills, and that as hazel-trees grow on 
almost every hill in Scotland, dunehalden might apply to every 
place in that country where there was a hill covered with hazel- 
trees ; that there is no such word as calden (chalden) in the Gaelic, 
that the Gael, for a hazel-tree is calltuinn ; and that, therefore, 
according to Dr. Buchanan, the proper derivation should have 
been dun-challtuinn and not dun-ehalden, 

DUNKIRK owes its origin and name to a chapel built upon 
the dunes or sandhills ; from Flem. dun, tmdkerk a church. 
DUNMOW, Essex ; in records found written Dunmawe, Dun- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 93 

maw, Dunmage, Dunmawge, Dunmore, and in Domesday Dom- 
maw ; from Celt, dun a hill, magu9 a town ; or from A. S. dun 
a hill ; mow a heap ; '' this place heing situated on a gravelly 
hill of considerable height." Bailey says, "from Sax. dunan 
a bill, mawan to mow, it being a fruitful] hill that yields a great 
crop to the mowers ! " 

DUNSTABLE, formerly Dunstaple, co. Bedford. Monkish 
legends say that this town took its name from Dun or Dimning, 
a noted robber in the reign of Henry L, but it was most probably 
called Dunstaple, from its market or staple on the downs. Buna or 
dunum^ a hill or down, frequently occurs in the chronicles of Dun- 
staple, in the description of lands in this neighbourhood as either 
in/ra or super dunum, 

DUR, DURUM. Dur, in local names is the Gael, duvy duir, 
W. dwr, Ir. dur, Arm. dour and douar. Com. dour, water, from Gr. 
iSwp, vSaros, id., from voa to make wet, rain ; or from Sans, uda, 
und, whence L. udo, also unda, wave ; Slav, voda ; Pol. woda, 
water. Durum, in ancient names of places situated by the seaside 
or near rivers, is the L. form of the Celtic word. Thus, Batavo- 
durum (Holland); Boidurum, and Serviodurum, both on tbe 
Danube ; Lactodurum, i.e. Bedford ; Durocortorum, chief town 
of the Rhenii,-in Gallia Belgica, now Rheims. It is also found 
in names of rivers, as the Durius or Douro in Spain ; Dur, 
the Dingle river, in Ireland; the Adour (L. Atur, Aturus) 
in France ; tbe Adur, in England, &c. Armstrong gives also 
names of places in Euboea and Macedon. 

DUB AZZO {duradzo), in A Ibania, the ancient Dyrrhachium. See 
Dur, Durum. 

DURHAM, found written Dunholm, Dunhelm, and Durem ; 
from A.S. cfunahill, holm water, an island ; or from deor awild beast, 
hamdi home, dwelling. (Bosworth.) The neighbourhood may have 
been anciently infested with wild boars. Others say the county of 
Durham, and parts of the adjacent counties, were anciently called by 
the Saxons Deira or Deora, and by the British Dewyr, from being 
inhabited by a tribe called the Deiri, and that from deora comes 
first Deor-ham, and then Durham. 

DUSSELDORF, a town in Rhenish Prussia. It is situated 



94 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

at the junction of the small river Dussel with the Rhine ; whence 
its name. (G. dorfK village.) 

DYFFRYN, in local names in Wales, is the W. d]fffryn, 
a valley, vale. 

DY'SART, a parish in Fifeshire. The name is said to he of 
Gaelic origin, and to signify *' the temple of the Most High." 
Qu. Gael. Dia God, ard high, lofty, exalted, an eminence, a hill. 



E. 



EARL'S COLNE (Jcone)^ Essex, so called from its ancient 
proprietors, the De Veres, earls of Oxford. It was also formerly 
called Colne Monachoram, from the priory founded here, and 
Colne St. Andrew, from the saint to which that institution and 
the church were dedicated ; and being the largest of these 
parishes (the Colnes), it has been called the Great Colne. In 
Domesday it is written Coles. (Wright, Hist. Essex.) See 
Colnes. 

EBROy a river in Spain, from Basq. ibai-ero, a foamy river, or 
urhero, a warm river. See Iberia. 

EDEN, a river in Kent, also another in Westmoreland. 
Chalmers derives it from Anc. Brit, eddain, a gliding stream ; and 
says that the Ituna of Ptolemy and Richard is the Solway, and 
has its name from the said root. 

EDINBURGH. The earliest mention of Edinburgh (Edin) 
has been detected by Mr. David Macpherson, in the Ann ales 
Ultonienses, a MS. in the British Museum, under a.d. 637. 
In 960 Edintoun is mentioned in an old MS. quoted by Camden, 
as being evacuated by the Saxons, and abandoned to Indulf, king of 
the Scots. In a charter of Alexander I. it is called Edenesburg ; 
in one of David I. Edwynesburg ; in the Chron. of Melrose 
Edenburc and Edinburgh ; by Simon of Durham, Edwinesburch ; 
in the Chron. of Lanercost, Edwynesburgh ; by Hemingford, 
Edensburg ; in the Polychronicon of Higden, Edenburg ; by 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 95 

Knighton, Edynsborg and Edenesburgh ; by tbe prior of Loch- 
leven, Edjnburch, Edjnbrowch, Maydyn Castle, and the Sorrowful 
Hill. It is called by the Highlanders Dun Edin, and by the 
Welsh Myned Agned and Caer Agned, " maiden castle," which 
some think may in course of time have been softened into Aned, 
and then inverted into Eden — a conjecture which was first suggested 
by the Edinburgh Reviewers, and appears in some degree sup- 
ported by the L. Aneda, Others derive its name from Edwin, 
a Saxon monarch ; but the most probable etymology is from the 
Gael, edin, the steep face of a rock, a compound which occurs 
in Edenbelly, Edinmore, and other local appellations. When the 
Saxons acquired possession of the fortress. Dun Edin of course 
became Edinburgh, the former being still retained by the High- 
landers. (Rees.) The word Edin is not found in Gaelic. 
Armstrong gives eudann, a face, brow, forehead, front; and 
Eudainn, Edinburgh, lit. Edinton. The writer in the Statistical 
Account of Scotland, says, '* the most ancient name given to 
Edinburgh Castle, according to Boethius, is Caatelh Myned Jgned, 
'the fortress of the hill of Agnes;' and the hill itself, Mynyd 
Agned cothre gonion, 'the hill Agned, nigh the fortress,' 
Simon of Durham, writing in the year 854, mentions this fortress 
under tbe name of Edwinesburch, or the castle of Edwin ; and 
it was probably so called after Edwin, prince of Northumber- 
land, who flourished in 626, about which period the fortress was 
perhaps built. King David I., in his charter of foundation of 
the Abbey of Holyrood (1128), recognises Edinburgh as Burgo 
meo de Edmneaburg.** 

EDMONTON, near London ; q. d. Edmund's Town, probably 
King Edmund's. (^Bailey.) 

EGLWYS, in local names in Wales, is the W. eglwys, a church. 

EGYPT, from L. uEgyptus, from Gr. Aiyviftog, The Greek 
name is said to have arisen from the Egyptians worshipping the he- 
goat, or from the country abounding in fat goats ; or from AiyvifroQ^ 
the name of the river Nile, which may have been applied to the 
region through which it flowed (see Horn, Od, xiv. ver. 758) ; or 
the name may indicate the excessive heat of the climate, or the 



96 LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 

▼icinity of water or of a river. (Airo ktyvtrw rov Nf iAou, 6 yap 
N£tA.oc itporepov Aiyvifroc BxaXsiro — vj ouyitforoQ (xa* ouynetoc) fcapa, 
roK rpayov, iv ouyviftioi cs/Souciv, s^ouperoac ^e I'ouc MfvJijcriouc — 
H ha ro aiyat ifiovac s^siv — H fyyinroroc xai aiyvieroQ, wq 
^/yitflvffa rw itorw ij rcy itorafiaj, &c.f &c.) Mrs. Hamilton Gray 
(Hist. Etrur.) says, Egypt took its name from Egyptas (other- 
wise Rameses II., Sesostris, or Sethos), so called from his com- 
paratiyely fair complexion ; and that pypt in the Coptic signifies 
a fair person. There is, however, no such a word as gypt in 
either of the Egyptian dialects. Wilkinson (Egypt, vol. 1, p. 8), 
quoting Manetho, says Egypt took its name from Sethosis, also 
called Egyptas, brother of Annais. It is more than probable 
that Aiyuieroc is a corruption of Coptus, the chief city of the 
Thebaid. Tattam says Coptus is written kaphitSa on ancient 
coins of Trajan and Hadrian. Macriny derives Coptus from an 
ancient king named Kobt. Others say Coptus, or rather 
Coptos, is from gupta, guarded, fortified ; but there is no such 
word as gupta in the Egyptian. The Sans, has gupta, hidden, 
concealed, preserved. In Egypt AiyvieroQ is not used. The 
natives call their country Xtj/^i. "Nee alio nomine ^gyptus 
appellatur in sacris Uteris et aliis libris JSgyptiacb." (SchoiU.) 
See also Asiat. Res. Ill, 304, 335; Gaisford, Ety. mag. ; and 
voc. Nile. 

EHRENBRElTSTEIN(aren6n^A/'«/t«<?). Old German writers 
on the Rhine state that this fortress was at first named Irmstein, 
and then Hermannstein, after Hermann Hillin, archbishop of 
Treves, who rebuilt it in 1153, but that in 1160, the works being 
completed on a more extensive scale, the archbishop, on account 
of their noble breadth and spaciousness, gave them the name of 
Ehrenbreitstein, " the broad stone of honour." The Rheinischer 
Antiquarius, however, says that Archbishop Hillin called it 
at first Ehrenbreitstein, and subsequently Hermannstein, after his 
own name. There seems still some doubt about the name, for 
the same old authority states that the castle was also called 
Erenherti Saamm, which he gives as the L. for Ehrenbreitstein. 
(N. ^ Q.) The word ehren, in names of such fortresses as 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 97 

Ehrenbreitstein, is not ancommon. There is the Ehrenberger 
Klause near Reutte, in N. Tyrol. 

EISENACH {{zenak)^ a town in Saxe- Weimar. The name is 
found written Eisennach and Tsennach. and in L. Isenacum. 
** From eisen (O. G. eysen) iron, ach water (a brook), on account 
of the mines of iron in the neighbourhood, and of the water 
which facilitates the means of purifying and preparing it ;" but 
more probably named from a brook whose waters were impreg- 
nated with iron. Others think the name may come from the idol 
Isis — worshipped by the ancient Germans — from whom the 
Pagan traditions say that one of their kings, "Suevus," had 
learnt the art of preparing and forging iron ; in memory of which 
this metal has been named in their language eysen or ysen — 
words not very different from the name Isis ! See Zeiler, 
Thuring. 

ELBE (elb), a river in Germany, found written Elb ; in Bohem. 
Labe ; in Low L. Albia, Fabritius derives Elbe from Teut. eilf 
{elf) eleven, from its eleven sources ; others from L. AlbU, its 
name at the time of Augustus. (See Strabo, lib. vii.) But Albis 
is doubtless merely the L. form of its original name. 

ELBING, a town in Poland, situated on a river of the same 
name. The Sax. ing is a pasture, meadow ; and the river may 
have been anciently called the Elb, whence Elbing, " the meadow 
or pasture through which the Elb flows." The Elbe itself rises 
in Silesia. See Elbe. 

ELBINGERODE {—gheroad'), found, written Eilmgeroda, 
Elbigeroda, Elveringeroda, Eilingerode, Eilgerode, and Eiligerode; 
a town in the Hartz, said to be named from Count Eiligem or 
llgem von Hohnstein. See Rode. 

ELGIN (elghyn), a town and parish in Scotland, anciently Elgyn 
orHelgyn; said to take its name from Helgy, general of the army of 
Sigurd, the Norwegian Earl of Orkney, who conquered Caithness, 
Ross, and Moray, about the beginning of the tenth century. It is 
related that this general built a town in the southern part of 
Moray, which was most probably Elgin, that town being situated 
about eight miles S. E. of Burghead, where the Norwegians 

II 



98 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

had a small fort and harbour for their shipping. See Stat. Ace. 
Scot., also Rerum Oread, and Hist, it Thorn. Torfeo. 

ELSINORE, more correctly Helsing-dr, a town in Denmark, 
opposite to Helsing-borgy in Sweden. The Danes call the Sound at 
EUinore Ore-Sund ; the Sw. &r is grayed a grayelly place. See 
Helsingfors. 

ELY, ELFy in Norway and Sweden, is the Dan. elv, Sw. elf, a 
river ; as the Alien Elv, the Namsen Elv, the Dal Elr, &c 

ELY, CO. Cambridge, probably from Gr. s\oc a marsh, or W. 
helig a willow, ** because it, as other fenny places do, aboundeth 
with willows." (Bailey,) Lambarde says, ** Elye {JnguiUaria 
Insula, Lei.; Elu, Polyd.; Elge,] Bedae ; et Eliffaa,\Saxon), an 
isle standinge in that parte of the realme which was some time 
East Angle, which toke the name, as Beda and Leland say, of ELes ; 
as Grafton and suche, harping much upon the stringe of men's 
names, affirme of HeUus, a kinge of England, and as Polydore 
reasonabUe (thoughe peradventure beside trouthe) conjecturethe, 
of sXa, which is a fenne or marishe in Greke." 

EMDEN or EMBDEN (em'cTn), a town m Hanover, named 
from its situation on the river Ems. The town called by authors 
of the middle ages Emetha or Embda, and anciently Amisia, was on 
the left or Of^site bank, and has been distinguished as Webster 
Emden. The river Ems is found written Emesa, Emese, Amasis, 
Amasus, and Amasia. 

EMMERICH (em'tnerik), a town on the Rhine, in Prussia, in 
L. found written Emmericum, Embricum, Emerica, Embrica, and 
Embrici Villa ; said to derive its name from Count Embric or 
Emeric. See Alting Qerm,, Inf. Notit., part 2, 48. 

ENGAINE COLNE (kone), Essex, sometimes for brevity 
called Gain's Colne, and in Domesday, Little Colne, takes its 
name from the Engaine family, its ancient lords. 

ENGLAND, from A.S. Engla-land, land of the Engles or An- 
gles, a German tribe who came over from Anglen, in Sleswick, 
and settled in Britain. In O. Sax. eng, ing, is a meadow or 
plain, a level country (Groth. winga). 

ENNISKILLEN, co. Fermanagh, Ireland. See In, Inn. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 99 

EPERIES9 {apa'reez)i in Hungaryy from Hong, eperjes, from 
eper a strawberry^ with which fruit it probably does, or did, abound. 
In L. it is accordingly called Fragopolis and Eperesinum, and in 
the Slovak dialect, Pressova. 

EPIRUS, a district of Greece, extending along the Adriatic Sea; 
from Gr. Hirfifoc, the main land, continent; a priv., *fii/?ac, 
end, boundary, extremity. 

EPPING, Essex, found written Eppinges, is supposed to take 
its name from a manor, identical, some think, with Tippendene, 
mentioned in the Confessor's charter. Wright says this may be 
best ascertained by reference to the land -metes (boundaries), 
which he accordingly gives. See also Morant, Hist. Essex. 

EPSOM, anciently Ebbs-hame, i. e. Ebba's home, or place, so 
called, it is said, from Ebba^ a queen of this county. The name 
was afterwards changed to Ebbisham, or Ebsham. Toland, who 
lived at Woodcote in the reign of Queen Anne, says that Ebba 
was wife of the first Christian king. Camden states her to have 
been of royal blood, and daughter of Ethelfred, and that about 
the year 630, she had such a character for sanctity that she was 
canonized, and had several churches dedicated to her. 

EREBUS, the infernal regions ; Lat. Erebtu, Gr. EpeffoQ, a 
region below the earth, not so low as Hades ; lit. darkness, place 
of darkness, from or allied to Heb. y)^, oreb, night. Tzetzes says, 
it is rightly observed that darkness was over all, till the sky was 
illumined by the sun and the stars ; Chaos therefore brought forth 
Darkness and Night; and, says Le Clerc, before anything 
appeared, all was hereb or erbo, darkness or night. 

ERIVAN, a town in Georgia, formerly belonging to Armenia. 
A writer in the Asiatic Journal says erevan is an Armenian word 
signifying " discovered," or " they appear," as from this quarter 
Noah saw the highest part of Ararat ascending above the waters 
of the deluge, in accordance vrith Genesis viii. 5. 

ERN, ERNE, in local names, is the A. S. <snt, em^ (Dan. ante. 
Fries, eame^ Ice. ar, am), a place, secret place, habitation, 
house, cottage ; thus, Ame, Mintern, and Pimpem, Dorset ; 
Chiltem and Pottem, Wilts ; Crewkeme, Somerset. Cowel says 

H 2 



100 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

''^m means a melancholy situation^ from Sax. em, locus secretns." 
It may be sometimes the Brit, ame, a division, peninsula. 

ERROL, a parish in Scotland. In old records it is found written 
ArroU and Erroll. Its most ancient name was ArroU, said to be 
derived from Gael. ear-uiU eastern landmark {ear, east, eastward), 
" a designation this place might very naturally receive from persons 
entering this part of Scotland by sailing up the estuary of the Tay.*' 

ERZEROUM (erzroom), Asiatic Turkey ; Qu. Arab ^j\ carz, 
earth, country, region ; ^. . rvum^ a word used by the Arabs 

and others to designate both the Romans and the Greeks. This 
name is found written Erserum and Arzroum. 

ERZGEBERGE {arytzgabeet'ga), in Saxony; a chain of moun- 
tains abounding in mines of gold, silver, copper, &c.; from err, 
ore, brass, geberge a chain of mountains. 

ESCURIAL {etkodreal), Madrid, said to be the most costly 
palace in Spain. The Sp. eseori&l is a place where a mine of 
metal has been exhausted, a place where the escdria or dross of 
metals is thrown away. Xoftov, corium, ex'Coriare, escori&r, es- 
c6ria, escori&l, Escurial. 

ESK, a river in Scotland. See Isca. 

ESSEX. See Middlesex. 

ETHIOPIA^ from L. jEthiapia, from Gr. AiSioitia, the country 
inhabited by the Aithopes, or Ethiopians, from AiQio^, oitOQ, an 
Ethiopian, lit. burnt in the face ; from ouSta to bum, ar^ the 
countenance, face. " Ethiopia received its name from the colour 
of its inhabitants, and meant * the land of the sun-burnt coun- 
tenances."* (JFarburton.) "The ancients gave the name of 
Ethiopia to every country whose inhabitants were black." ( ^r^A^.) 

ETNA, Mount, (It.) from L. JStna, found written -fflthna, and 
Ethna. Bochart says from Phoen. win« attuna a frimace, 
chimney, or from tetuna obscurity. 

ETON, Bucks, named from its low watery character; from 
A. S. «, ea, water, and tan, tun, town, dwelling. (BonaortA.) 

ETTRICK, a parish in Scotland, takes its name from the river 
which runs through it. In a charter of Alexander II. to the 
monks of Kelso, Ettrick is frequently called Ettric and Ethyric. 



LOCAL BTYMOLOOY. 101 

The name, says a late writer, is of doubtful origin. In the lan- 
guage of the British aborigines, ed signified a current, and terrig 
mud, both names characteristic of this river when its waters are 
raised and agitated by the mountain torrents. Mr. James Hogg 
says, in old deeds and charters it is first found written Alterick, 
then Atterick, and finally Etterick; Alterick signifying 'Uhe rising 
stream," or "stream of the rapid ascent." The Gael, eitre 
is a trench or furrow, eitrieh a blustering noise, and eitridh a 
ditch. 

£U, a town near Dieppe, in Normandy. The name is cor- 
rupted from Auga, Augum, Aucum, Oca, or Alga, which this place 
was called by the Romans. Huet says it is situated in the middle of 
prairies, and he derives auga, &c., from G. aw, awe, a meadow. 
By some English authors the name was formerly vrritten Ou, 

EUPHRATES, a river in Asia ; from Gr. Ev^^aTTjg, possibly 
from sv^paiyw to gladden, in allusion to the beneficial effects of 
its inundations. Its water is of a very pleasant taste ; hence 

its Arab, name, cijlJ Jnrdt, sweet water. In Heb. it is vrritten 

nhi} phrath ; also MI&M. 

EUROPE. Some derive this name from Gr. evpvQ broad, and 
url/ countenance — " broad-faced." Lemon thinks it is "a con- 
traction of ' terra Euro opposita,' i.e. a region opposite to the 
East, which Europe properly signifies." Others say Europe was 
named from Europa (Evpujitrj) daughter, of Agenor. 



«i 



toa tectuB orbis nomina dacet."-^(£ror.) 



See Horace, Carm. lib. iii., ode 27, Hnes 57 and 75, and notes 
by Dacier ; also Plin. lib. ii. cap. 90. Bochart says Europe was 
called by the Carthaginians m&h 1in ur-aj^a (say hhur-appa) Le. 
white countenance, because the Europeans surpass the Africans in 
the whiteness of the face ; on which account it was also called 
" sister of Cadmus," as though a virgin with a white face. 

EUXINE, the ancient name for the Black Sea. Its most 
ancient name was A^ctvoc, inhospitable, which was afterwards 
changed to Ev^eiyos, hospitable. 



102 LOCAL BTYMOLOGY. 

EVESHAM (efsam), co. Worcester, formerly Eversham, named 
after one Eaves Egwins» a shepherd, afterwards bishop of Wor- 
cester. It was andentlj called Eathome and Heathfield. 
(Bailey.) Eoves-ham, Eversham, Evesham. 

EVREUX (ei/reu), a town in Normandy. In the fourth cen- 
tury it was named Civitas Eburovicorum or Ebroicorum, after- 
wards Ebroicse, and subsequently corrupted into Evreux. See 
York. 

EXETER, in A. S. Eaxan- Exan- and Exe-eeaster. See Isca. 

EXMOUTH, in A. S. Eaxan-muth. See Isca. 



F. 



FALAISE, ( — aze) a town in Normandy, has its name from the 
falaises or rocks upon which it is built, or with which it is surround- 
ed. Manage tells us that in Normandy and Picardy, the hills which 
run along the sea-shore, and also the little heaps of snow formed 
by the wind, are csXied falaises, and that in Touraine, and par- 
ticularly at Amboise, fine sand is called by this name. The 
Norm. has/a/at>^, lit. a bank or hill by the sea-side ; falese, 
falise, sands, rocks, cliffs ; from O. G. fals, a rock. Mod. G. 
/els,/elsen» Coke (Litt., fol. 6, b), ffies/alesta and falazia, Fr. 
falaize, a bank, hiU, or down by the sea-side ; Cowel (Law 
Dict,),/alesia, a great rock. See also Tumeb^, liv. xxi., ch. 23 ; 
Had. de Valois, Not. Gall. ; Lipseius, Gloss. Allem. Let. 44 ; 
Bourgueville, Antiq. Norm. ; Jos. Seal, sur liv. iii. de Varron, 
de Rus. 

FALKIRK, CO. Stirling, Scothmd, a place of some note in the 
eleventh century. Some derive this name from L. vallum, a 
trench, bulwark, rampart with palisades, and Sax. cire a church, 
because the church stands on or near the line of the ancient wall 
of Antoninus. The town is supposed to have been at one time 
denominated Ecclesbrae, or " the church on the brow," as descrip- 
tive of its situation. In the Gael, it is called EglaU bhris. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 103 

" the fallen church," and sometimes Eglais bhrec, " the spotted 
church." The latter name has been translated Fario SaeeUo, 
and as such appears m charters of a comparatively recent date, 
and is supposed to have arisen either from the colour of the stones 
used in the buildings or from the difiPerent kinds of architecture of 
which it was composed. {Stat Aee, Scot.) 

FALMOUTH, in ComwaU; "mouth of the Fal." Pryce 
translates the Com. /a/, a prince, ''the prince's river." 

FAMENNE (Jamen'), a fertile district near Namur, in Bel- 
gium, Lamarche being its capital. It was named from its ancient 
inhabitants, the Phaemanni, mentioned by Csesar. 

FARNHAM, Surrey, found written Feornham and Feamham ; 
from A. %.feam fern, ham a habitation. 

FARRINGDON, or FARNDON, Berks, found written Feam- 
don and Feam-dun ; from A. S. feam fern, dun a hill. 

FARRINGDON STREET. " Farringdon Ward, both within 
and without, take their name from William Faringdon, a gold- 
smith, who was alderman of these wards, and one of the sheriffs 
of London in 1 28 1 ." {Stow.) 

FAYAL, the most western island of the Azores, in the 
Atlantic, received its name from the number of beech-trees 
growing in it. Yxom fay a a beech-tree, from L./affU8, from 6r. 
<h7oc, id. 

FENCHURCH STREET "took that name of k fenny or 
moorish ground, so made by means of this borne (Langboum) 
which passed through it ; and, therefore, until this day, in the 
Guildhall of this city, that ward is called by the name of Lang- 
bourne or Fennieabout ; yet others be of opinion that it took 
that name of fcenum^ that is, hay, sold here, as Grass Street 
(Gracechurch Street) took the name of grass or herbs there sold." 
(Stow, p. 76.) 

FERNER. The Tyrolese word for ''glacier," as the Hoch 
Joch Femer. The Styrian word is kits ; in G. it is gleUcher 
(glacies). 

FEROE, or FAROE ISLES (ferro), in the Northern Ocean, 
from Dan. faar sheep, for which they were originally famous. 



104 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

FETTER LANE. "Then is Fewter Lane, which stretcheth 
south into Fleet Street, by the east end of St. Dunstan's Church, 
and is so called o^ fewters (or idle people) Ijing there, as in a 
way leading to gardens ; but the same is now of latter years on 
both sides built through with many fair houses.'* (Stow, p. 145.) 
" Feuterer, fetoterer^ a dog-keeper, he who lets them loose in a 
chase." (Bailey.) 

FIDLER'S REACH, near Greenhithe, on the Thames, is said 
to take its name from the circumstance of three fiddlers having 
been drowned there. {Coffhlan.) Among seamen, a reach is the 
distance between two points on the banks of a riyer, in which the 
current flows in a straight course. 

FIELD. The fields in Norway are the vast plateaux of the 
different ranges of mountains; as the Fille Field, the Doyre 
Field (Dan.). 

FINISTERRE (JinUtair^, in France, also Finistierra in the 
Peninsula, from L. Jims terrce, equivalent to Land's End in 
English, Pentire (pen-tir) in Wales and Cornwall, and Kintire 
(ceann-tlre) in Scotland. 

FINLAND, " the land of the Finns." The first mention of 
this people as Finns occurs in Tacitus, who says the Fenni ought 
to be ranked among the Germans. Ptolemy calls them the 
Phinni. They are supposed to be of Asiatic origin. Finnmark 
means the march or boundary of the Fina. 

FINSBURY. *' This tract [Moorfields] was in the manor of 
Finsbury, or rather Fensbury, and in the days of the historian 
Fitz Stephen was an arrant fen." {Pennant.) See Burg. 

FIORD in local names in Norway and Sweden, as the 
Hardanger Fiord, the Sogne Fiord, means a creek, bay, or 
inlet formed by an arm of the sea; from Dan. yford, Sw./jdrd. 
See Firth. 

FIRTH, in local names in the north of Britain, as the Firth 

of Forth, Firth of Clyde, is a narrow passage of the sea, a strait, 

the opening of a river into the sea, an estuary, a bay ; from A. S. 

firth^fyrth (Gael, and Sco.yfrM, It. frith, D^n./lord, bay, gulf, 

Sw, jSard, Ice. fwrd^er), from L. /return, a sea or the waves of 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 105 

a sea ; lit. the water that beats ap the shore, especially straits ; 
a strait, a channel, sound, from Gr. pBw to flow. Macpherson 
renders Firth of Forth " firth of the wood," adding that Islandic 
writers translate it Mirknafiord ; but this, says Jamieson, would 
seem rather to mean " the dark firth." 

FLAMBOROUGH HEAD, co. York, a high cliff or head- 
land, on which beacon fires were formerly kindled. It is still the 
site of a modem lighthouse. From A. S. Fleamburg\ from 
flam a flame, burg a hill, tower, city. '' For mariners give it 
the figure of a blazing star, or else from Flamburgh, in Denmark, 
in imitation of which our Danish ancestors built it, and gave it 
the same name." {Bailey,) 

FLANDERS. (Fr. Flandre, D. Flaander ; and Vlaaming a 
Fleming.) Some derive Fleming " from Sax. flyming^ or flyma, 
an exile or banished man, because the Flemings were often forced 
to change their habitations, and go into neighbouring countries, on 
account of the inundations of the sea." Flanders may be the 
country of the Flemingers. Thus, Flemingers, Fleminders, Fla- 
minders, Flaminders-land, Flanders. 

FLEET, in local names in England, is the A. ^.fleot (Plat. 
fleet a small river, G. flethe a channel), a place where vessels 
float, a bay, gulf, arm of the sea, the mouth of a river ; from 
fleot-an^ to float, swim ; perhaps indirectly from Sans, p/w, to 
swim. Hence, Northfleet, Southfleet, Kent; Purfleet, Essex; 
Fleet Street, Fleet Ditch, &c. 

FLEKKEFIORD {Jkkkafeortf), a town in Norway. The 
Dan. fl^kke is a borough, hamlet, little town. See Runham 

and Fiord. 

FLINT, the co. town of Flintshire, N. Wales. Pennant re- 
marks that this town had an early origin, and although not men- 
tioned in Domesday, that the name is Saxon, and that the spot 
was so called anterior to the Conquest ; but as the country pro- 
duces none of those accompaniments of chalky strate denominated 
flints, he is at a loss for the derivation. Upon which a later 
writer observes that when Flint was made one of the four N. 



106 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Wallian counties, in the time of £dw. I., the statutes were pro- 
mulgated in barharous Latin, and the county was in some in- 
stances called Comitatus de Flint, which was probably a transla- 
tion, or various mode of expressing in writing Comitatus de Silid, 
or the silicious territory ; chert, which the ancients designated 
both by the name of silex as well as petrosilex, being a pre- 
dominant feature in the geology of this district. He suggests 
also that it may be the Brit, jfflwyn, a shred, a severed part ; a 
name the independent Britons would naturally give it, after the 
inhabitants had submitted to the Roman yoke ; which from his- 
toric documents they appear to have done long prior to the other 
subdued parts of Cambria. 

FLORENCE ; It. Firenze, formerly Fiorema, L. Florentia. 
According to some authors, this city derives its name from 
Florino, who built it, and died here. Others say from Jiuentia, it 
being situated near the river Amo ; and they add the testimony 
of Pliny. Others, again, from Jlorentia or JhrenHa, from It. fiore 
a flower, because in this place and in the neighbourhood grew 
many flowers, ** fiori e gigli [flowers and lilies], si come fosse in 
fior edificata, cio^ con molte delizie." Borghini and Manage 
agree with the latter etymology. In this city is the celebrated 
Academia della Crdsca, which was instituted for purifying and 
perfecting the Tuscan language ; ** to refine it, and, as it were, to 
separate it from the emsca or bran." ''£ Ai cosi detta dal 
cemere che fa della farina delle Scritture, il piii bel fior cogliendone, 
e la crusca ribbuttando. {Voeab. della Crusca.) It has for its 
device a sieve, and for its motto, "U pih bel fior ne cofflie," 
*' It gathers the finest flower thereof." " In the hall or apartment 
where the academy meets, everything bears allusion to the name 
and device. The seats are in form of a baker's basket ; their 
backs like a corn-shovel, the cushions of gray satin in form of 
sacks or wallets ; and the branches, where the lights are placed, 
likewise resemble sacks." (Maeanis.) Manage, alluding to the 
device and motto, says, '* Mais, comme les denominations se sont 
ordinairement ^ potiori^ il semble qu'elle devoit plustost se faire 
appeler TAcad^mie de la Fleur que TAcad^mie du iSfcm." He 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 107 

derives the It. crusca from O. G. griesz, or Flem. gruU, Thus, 
gnna, gruiscnsy gruisca, gmsca, Crusca. 

FLORIDAS ; the E. and W. Floridas in N. America. Florida 
was named hj the Spaniards who discovered it on the Jour de 
Pdques-fleuries, or Dimanche des Kameaux. (Lamartinih'e.) 
The Sp. florida signifies fxdl of flowers, from fl6r a flower, from 
L. JhSf JlorU. 

FONTAINEBLEAU. According to some, from foniaine and 
bleue, i.e. " blue fountain ;" but bleau is more probably a cor- 
ruption of belle eau, from the great number of fine springs 
running through the place. See Du Chesne, Antiq. Melun. 

FONTARABIA, in Sp. Fuente Rabia, a very ancient town in 
Guipuzcoa, in the Basque provinces of Spain. It is called in L. 
Fans Rapidue, "the rapid fountain/' from which its name is said 
to have been corrupted. 

FORD, a common termination of local names in England, as 
Stratford, Ilford, Bradford, Twyford, Longford, Redford, Har- 
ford, Blandford, Oxford, MUford, is the A. S. ford^fyrdan (G. 
fikrt^ ^.fordd)^ a passage over a stream, from faran to go, or 
pass. According to others, the Anc. Brit, fordd means a roaU 
or passage, whether over a stream or dry land, and the A. S. 
word is the Brit, word taken in a narrower sense. 

FORMOSA, an island in China, in the Eastern Sea, called by 
the natives Tdi-wan. The Portuguese named it Forwiosa ilhOf 
" beautiful island." 

FOS, in local names in Norway, as in Yoring-fos, near Vosse- 
vangen, the Sarp-fos, near Fredrikshald, is the Dan./o«, a water- 
fall, cataract, fall of a river (Sw./or« a stream, waterfall, /orsa to 
gush, rush.) 

FRAMPTON, CO. Dorset, so named from its situation on the 
river Frome, and A. S. iun, an enclosure, town, &c. 

FRANCE was named from the Franks, a powerful German 
tribe, by whom it was conquered ; and, accordingly, the Germans 
call it Frankreichf i.e. kingdom of the Franks. The G, frank, 
O. G. /ranck, vranck, means free, enjoying liberty. Thierry 
says, to express the term " civil liberty" in the tenth century. 



108 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

there were no words iu the language then spoken in France but 
frankUe or francise, according to the different dialects, and that 
frank signified both free, powerful, and rich. Ducange enlarges 
on the words francus^ /ranchisia, /rancia, &c., all implying 
a state and character of freedom, liberty, and privilege ; 
immunity. An old German writer derives /raneus, /ranciscus 
(liber, libertus), from O. G. fry (A. S. /ret) free, and ank (as 
though Fryank) from ancke a youth. Frank, Fraud, Francia, 
France. See also Leibnitz, Recr. sur THist. tom. ii., p. 287 ; 
Le P. Daniel, Hist, de France, " Clovis ;" Longuerue, Descr. de 
France, part 1, D^c. pr61im. ; Thierry, Conq. de TAngl. 
vol. i. 177. 

FRAW, a river in Wales, which gives name to the town of 
Aberjraw ; from W. ffrau, a flux, stream, torrent {ffrwd^ a 
stream, current.) 

FREDERIKSHALD {—ks-hald), a town in Norway, on the road 
between Christiania and Stockholm. ** The old appellation of this 
town was Halden, to which Frederick III., in 1 665, added his own 
name iu commemoration of its gallant defence against the Swedes." 

FREIBURG {fryhurg), the name of several places in con- 
tinental Europe, but especially of one in Switzerland, another iu 
the Breisgau, Germany, and a third in Silesia. From G. frei 
free, lurg a town. 

FRIESLAND, or VRIESLAND, the most northerly province 
of Holland. Some derive the name from fresen^ to shake or 
tremble, " in allusion to the nature of the country, the soil of 
which is an unstable or shaking moor ;*' but Friesland is rather 
''the land of the Frisii." Tacitus, Pliny, and other Latin 
authors, caU the inhabitants by this name ; by the Greeks they 
are designated Phreisii and Phrisii, and the name is found writ- 
ten Phresii, Frisei, Fresones, Fresiones, Friseones, Frisiones, 
Frisones, Phresones, Phresiones, Frigiones, and Fresonici. Some 
authors interpret Frisii or Phreisii ** free men," this people having 
defended and preserved their liberty longer than the other Grer- 
man tribes. Others refer the name to the mud with which the 
sea has, by frequent inundations, covered this part of the coast ; 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 109 

others, arguing from the word Frigiones, to the extremely cold 
climate. *' Some, indeed, have asserted that the Frisii derived 
their name from the Phrygians, or from Prison, their founder. 
They do not, however, appear to have settled as to whether he 
was of Indian, Greek, or Trojan extraction." {Lamartinikre.) 

PRITH, sometimes found in local names in England, means a 
forest, a woody place ; said to he from A. S. frith peace. 
** Frith, a wood, from the Sax. frith, pax (peace) ; for the Eng- 
lish Saxons held several woods to he sacred, and made them sanc- 
tuaries." (Cowel.) The Gael, has frith, frithe, forest, heath, 
moor, deer-park ; 'W./rtM,yhY, forest; Yr. friche uncultivated 
land. The A. S. has also frith-geard an asylum (Goth, frid- 
giard, an enclosure). Jamieson writes ^rM,^rM, and thinks it 
may come from A. S. frith-ian, to protect, and not from friths 
peace. 

FRIULI (JreooVe), G. Frioul, a district in the Venetian terri- 
tory, of which Udine was formerly the capital. Friuli is a cor- 
ruption of *^ Forum Julii," the ancient name of Cividale, which 
lies £. of Udine. 

PROME (froom), co. Somerset, named from the river on which 
it stands. Qu. W. ffrom, fuming, violent. 

FROMONT {fromong'), sometimes caUed Bramont, on the 
frontiers of Alsace ; a corruption of Pharamond. 

FULDA, a town in Saxony, on a river of the same name. 

PULHAM. The earliest mention of this place occurs in a 
grant of the manor hy Tyrhtilns, Bishop of Hereford, to Erken- 
wald. Bishop of London, and his successors, about the year 691, 
in which it is called Pulanham. Camden calls it Pulham, which 
he derives from Sax. Jvllonham (volucrum domus), the habitation 
of birds, or place of fowls, with which Norden agrees, and adds, 
" it may also be taken for volucrum amnis, or the river of fowl, 
for ham in many places is for amnis, a river; but it is most 
probable it should be of land fowl, which usually haunt groves 
and clusters of trees, whereof in this place it seemeth hath been 
plenty." Somner and Lye caU it FuUanham, or Foulham ; " sup- 
posed from the dirtiness of the place." The first definition has. 



110 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

however, been generally adopted (A. S. fugel^ fugl^ and ham). 
See also Faolkner's Folham ; Wharton, de Episc. p. 18 ; Camden, 
Brit. p. 367 ; and Norden, Spec. Brit. p. 20. 

FURNIYAL'S INN, Holbom, derives its name from its original 
occupants, the Lords Fnmival. 

FURRUCKABAD, Hindustan, capital of a small district of 
the same name in the Doab. The name is said to signify *' the 
happy abode." The Pers. farrukh means happy, fortunate, 
beautiful ; the Arab, farakh being secure, exempt from fear or 
danger. See Abad. 

FUSSEN, a small town in Bavaria, situated at the foot of the 
Alps, at the entrance or jfour^, as it were, of a narrow defile or 
gorge, anciently called Fauces Julise, whence Fussen. Some say 
it was named in L. Fucena, from the monastery formerly called 
Faucense Monasterium, at the foot of the mountain. 



G. 



6AD*S HILL, about four miles from Gravesend. " The name 
of tbis spot, like that of Shooter's Hill, in the same Hue, was de- 
rived from the depredations of highwaymen and foot-pads; 
simply but significantly denoting both a vagabond and a weapon. 
Gad's Hill had long been infested with robbers, when it acquired 
an enduring notoriety from being selected by Shakespeare for the 
scene of a dramatic incident, probably suggested by frequent 
depredations there in his time." (Cruden, Hist. Gravesend.) 
" Gad, to vagabondize" (Cot^ave); **gad, a club, wedge, &c." 
{Ash.) Bailey says, " A gad of steel is a small bar to be heated 
in the fire, in order to quench in Uquor." The A. S. gad is a 
goad and a wedge, Ir. gadh a dart, gad a stealing, gadaim to steal. 
See 2 and 8 Edw. III., ch. 27. 

GAIN'S COLNE (Jcone), Essex. See Engain Colnk. 

GAINSBORUGH, co. Lincoln ; in A. S. Gegnes-burh and 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. Ill 

OeneM' Oene- and Oetiers^buruhf which some derive from genes a 
sanctuary, buruh a town ; '^a town of refnge" (the A, S. genear, 
gener, is a refuge, protection ; gevuB* sayed). Others think this 
town owes its origin as well as its name to the Ganii, a Saxon 
tribe, whose chiefs had their residence there in the eighth century, 
whence it was called the Burgh of the Granii, or Ganiiburgh. 
Wharton supposes that the original name of the place was Danes- 
borough from the neighbourhood having been at one time occu- 
pied as a station by the Danes ; but as this place was known as 
Gainsburgh nearly two centuries before the arrival of that people 
in this neighbourhood, there does not appear to be any ground for 
this supposition. See Stark, Hist. Gainsburgh. 

GALATIA, a district of Asia formerly so called. The Gktuls 
having invaded Asia Minor in small bodies and conquered this 
country, they settled in it ; and the Greeks named it roxar/o, 
and its inhabitants FaXaroi, while the inhabitants of Gktul were 
designated FoAcirou 'Eoitepioi. See Gaul. 

GALICIA, a province of Spain, lying between the Bay of 
Biscay and Portugal. Larramendi derives the name from Basq. 
galacia, seed of wheat grown, or galecea, moist wheat (trigo 
htimedo), or gali iza, galeiza, a hunt between crops or com fields. 
Others say from Gr. FaAarta, a word formed from the root of 
" Gaul.'' (See Thierry, Hist, des Gaulois.) 

GALILEE, a region in the tribe of Naphtali, inhabited by Gen- 
tiles, i. e. Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Arabians, anciently caUed 
Galilee of the Nations. Gr. TaXiXcua, Heb. tM^, from galfyl 
a circuit, circle, region ; " the circuit [Galilee] of the Gentiles ;" 
lit. rolling, turning. Calmet translates it " my wheel," " my fron- 
tier ;** from galal, a wheel, revolution, frontier. 

GALLIPOLI, situated at the mouth of the Propontis ; the 
Calipolis of the ancients ; from Gr. xaAoc beautiful, oroAic a city. 
The modem name of the Hellespont is Sea of Gallipoli; in 
Turc. Galiboli Denghizzi, 

GALLOWAY, Scotland, (L. GaUovidia) . Thierry says Galloway 
means *' the country of the foreigners," and Gal is the Highland 
name for Lowlanders and English. Others derive both Galloway 



112 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 

and Galway from the Celt, gal^ west, westward. De Borgo asserts 
that Oaillimh^ the name of the town in Ireland, is the same as locus 
Jnfflorum, i. e. the residence of the English. VaUancey says that 
galmhaith is an Irish compound, meaning a rocky, barren country, 
and he translates it 6al¥ray. In another place he says Port-na-GaU 
is GaUorum partus, and Gall-amhan is amnis (rallorum ; and, 
referring the name of Gral way to a company of merchants that settled 
there, he says gael signifies a merchant, from gaelis, traffic or com- 
merce, and ibh in Ir, means tribes or families, whence gailihh, 
tribes of merchants. According to Hardiman (Hist, Galwag), the 
town and river were called afler the surrounding district itself, 
which was originally named from the Grael, or merchants by whom 
it was inhabited. In the annals of Roscommon the name of the 
river is nearly similar in orthography and entirely in pronunciation 
to Gailibh (pron. gallive). In all the most ancient docimients, 
tiU the year 1400, the name was invariably written Galvy, which 
in time became changed into Ghd-iva, and Gal-via, the literal 
translation of which, Galway, first occurs about 1440. From a 
very early period until after the invasion of Hen. II., the territory 
on which the town stands was called Clan-fir^ael, L e. the land 
or habitation of the Gktel or merchants. 

GALWAY (jsfttwlu)ay),m Ireland. See Galloway. 

GANGES, a river in Hindustan. The Hind. i,^J^guHg is a 

river, whence, says Gilchrist, " perhaps by way of pre-eminence, 
Gunga, the river Ganges." ''The Granges in the language of 
Indostan is called Pudda or Padda, i. e. the foot, because, as some 
Brahmins affirm, it flows from the foot of the god Yeeshnu. 
It is also called Burra-Gronga, or the Great River, whence its 
European name is derived." {Plagfair) In Sans, gang is a river, 
stream; Gangd, the river Gkmges. Monier Williams derives 
Gangd from gmn, to go, i. e., that which goes or flows on the 
earth. 

GAR'GARUS, a mountain in Asia Minor, near Beyramitch, 
from the summit of which mav be obtained a most extensive and 
magnificent view, embracing Constantinople, the Sea of Marmora, 
the Hellespont, the Isles of Athos, Lemnos, Tenedos, the Gulf of 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 113 

Smyrna, and a large part of Asia Minor. Mount Gkrgarus^ 
Gargara, or Gargaron is, properly speaking, one of the peaks of 
Mount Ida. The name may be derived from Gr. yapyoLpewvt 
Heb. ^T\^i gar gar i the throat. 

GARIEP, or GAREEP, a river in Africa, means << great 
river.** 

GARONNE {garon)^ a river in France, which, after receiving 
the waters of the Dordogne, is called the Gironde. Camden derives 
the name from Anc. Brit, garw, rapid ; Menage from G. geronnen, 
from rinnetit to run, to flow ; '* tant k cause de son cours ordinaire, 
que du flux et reflux de la mer." Armstrong, in one place, derives 
Graronne from Gael, garv an or garhh amhainn, the rapid river ; 
and in another place he says Garunn-us, Garonne, is garbh-an, the 
rough water. But see Yarrow and Yarmouth. 

GASCONY, a province of France. See Biscay and Basque. 

GAU (gow), a termination of local names in Germany, &c., is 
the G.gau, a country, district, as Rheingau, Pinzgau. 

GAUL. The derivation of Gallua, a Gaul, from L. gallus a 
cock, or from Gr. yaXa milk, " because the Gauls had a very 
white skin," is ridiculous. Some derive the name from Celt. 
gallu power, or from gallen to journey, because the Gauls left their 
own and acquired fresh territories ; others say the Gauls derived 
their name from Gadhelius, son of Neimheidh, the Oriental 
patriarch ; or from gaethel or gathel, woodlanders. From the 
root of Gaul come Gaidheal, Ghaidheal, Gadhel or Quyhel 
(W. Crvnfthel), contracted into Gael, also Gadheilig, now Gaelic 
or Galic, the language of the Scotch Highlanders. From the 
root of Gaul come Fr. GalleSf Wales, Norm. TFallez, Wallesch, 
GalleSf Gales, Wales, Welsh ; Galegs, France ; Galeya, Calais 
(William de Galeys, William de JFalegs) ; TFalais, JFaliaix, 
Wallois, Welsh. The Saxon Chronicle speaks of the Weales, 
Wglishe, or Welsh. The A. S. has Walas, the Welsh, Britons ; 
fFallt, Britanni; toealh (pi. wealhas, toealas, weallas, weaian), 
a foreigner, stranger, one from another country, a Welshman, 
Welsh. Taliesin, a Welsh bard of the sixth century, styles his 
own country Wallia, Others say that waUh in the Northern 

1 



114 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

languages of Europe also signifies a stranger^ and that the Britons, 
being unlike the Saxons and Angles, both in speech and costume, 
were called Welsh, and their country, Wales. Further, the 
O. G. has Gal, Gall, Wall, Wale, Weale, Walah, a stranger, a 
Gaul, a Roman ; TFalcholant, Gaul ; the G. WeUcher, au 
Italian, Welsehland, Italy; Belgic Wallon; Low L. Wallus, 
and Gualus, Gaul. Grael, Gallic, Gaelic, Gallia, Gaul, Wales, 
Welch, Wallon, Wallachia, Gallway, Galloway, and Galatia, seem 
to be all formed from the same root, but whether from gathel, 
Gadhelius or gal is doubtful. The Greeks called Gaul Galatia, 
and its inhabitants TaXdrai 'Eoire^ioi, to distinguish them from 
those of Gralatia, a district of Asia Minor, whom they called 
Td\arai, See also Thierry, Hist, des Gaulois; Wachter, 
Gloss; Grimm, Gram., lib. ii. 171 ; Pott, ii. 529. 

GA'Z A, a city of Palestine, now called Gazzara. Gaza is said to 
be an O. Pers. word for a treasury ; *' qu6d Cambyses, Persarum 
rex, cdm ^gyptum armis peteret, hiic belli opes et pecuniam 
intulisset." (See Pomp. Mela, Hb. i. ii.) Bochart says Ghizse is a 
corruption of Arab, khazan, from fleb. khamn, a treasury, from 
pn, khaaan (in Niphal), to lay up in store. 

GEHEN'NA, a word used by the Jews as equivalent to hell ; 
from Gr. ysBvvx, which some derive from Heb. ge-hinom, valley of 
Hinom, where the Israelites sacrificed their children to Moloch. 

The Arab. Jk^ jahannam is a deep pit, lying below, the fire of 

hell, hell. 

GENOA, Fr. Ghies, found written Gennes ; It. Genova, 
G. Genua. According to Lamartini^re it was anciently called by 
the Greeks Tevova, and by the Romans Genua. Its inhabitants 
were, however, styled Ingauni, a word probably of Celtic origin, 
and from which the city may have been named. '' In the middle 
ages ignorance introduced the name of Janua, in order to derive 
it from Janus, whom the inhabitants are said to have worshipped." 
(Lamartinihre,) The word Janua is, however, an old Sabine 
word, which the Latins converted into Diana. 

GEORGIA, an Asiatic province of Russia. The Russians 
called it Chusia, the Georgians call it Gurge or Kurge, the Persians 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 115 

Gurgiatan^ the Turks Gurtshi and Gufjistan, i.e. the stan or 
country of the GUirges, Gurjes, or Kurjes. Some assert that these 
people were named by the Greeks from yew^Oi (whence the 
Christian name George), a farmer, labourer ; others say they were 
called Greorgians from St. George, the great saint of the modern 
Greek church. We, however, find the Greorgians mentioned in 
Pliny, Pomponius Mela, and other authors, all of whom lived be- 
fore the time of St. George. From the following quotation it 
would appear probable that this country was named from one of 
its monarchs : " Heraclius II. died in 1 798, and was succeeded 
by his son, George XIII., who died in 1800, and after his death 
Greorgia was declared a Russian province.'* 

GERMANY. Dr. Bosworth thinks German may mean 
*' spearman," from the Gallic ger a spear. Strabo (1. vii.), observing 
considerable conformity between the Gauls and the Germans, 
thinks their name may have denoted them to be germani^ i. e. 
brothers, of the Grauls. Some modem vniters, amongst whom are 
Althaimerand DeWil]ichius,have derived Germany from ^ar or^^r, 
strong, firm, and mann a man. Philip Melancthon thinks German 
is another orthography of Teut. hermann^ a warrior, but does not 
tell us whether the Germans were so called by themselves, or by the 
Romans. What is supposed to favour this latter derivation, is, that in 
the middle ages herimanni and arimanni were both used to signify 
soldiers, and that herman in A. S. means a war-man, warrior. An 
ancient tradition, preserved in German songs, and mentioned by 
Tacitus, supposes that their God Tuisco was ** bom of the earth," 
and that from his son Mann, the whole Glerman nation have sprang. 
This tradition gives to Mann three sons, from whom the Invenons, 
the Hermions and the Istaevons are supposed to have received their 
names. Dr. Rudbeck derives Germanni from Mann ; Leibnitz 
from Hermion, son of Mann, beheving the Hermions, Hermun- 
deres, and Grermans to be synonymous ; and he thinks that the 
Hermions or Germans having conquered a part of Gaul and 
rendered their name famous, the other Teutonic nations, their allies, 
took the same name. Interchange of the letters g and h is not 
uncommon. The Spaniards converted germano into hemutno. 

I 2 



116 Local bttmologt. 

GETHSEMENE, a Tillage on the Mount of OliTes, whither 
Christ sometimes retired in the night time. ** (reth^emane, or 
Ge^emani, a very fat rale ; otherwise, the Tale of oil ; from H^^ 
ghie a valley, pt2^ ahemen oil, perfume, incense.*' (Caltmef,) 
Others translate *' olive garden," or ''oil press." 

GEYSERS (ff<^sers). The ; hoiling springs in Iceland ; from Ice. 
^msa (G. gie99en\ to pour out. 

GHAUT (jfawt), in India, means a pass through the mountains 
— Whence also a range or chain of mountains — ^and is especially ap- 
plied to the E. and W. ranges of the south of India. From Hind. 
gkdi (from Sans, ghatt), which means also a landing place, steps 
on the hank of a river, a quay, a wharf where customs are com- 
monly levied. (See fFUson.) 

GHENT (gong), formerly capital of Flanders ; Flem. Oend, 
Fr. Gand ; named from its ancient inhabitants, the Grorduni or 
Grond-uni, who were first under the protection of the Nervii, and 
afterwards of the Romans. In the 9th century it was called 
Granda, and by writers of the 1 2th and 1 3th centuries, and even 
subsequent thereto, Gandavum and Ganclavum Vicum, See also 
Meyer, Annal., lib. i., and Csesar, Com., lib. v. 16. 

GIBRALTAR. The name is generally supposed to be cor- 
rupted from Jabaltarik, from Arab. ^Jj^jabal a mountain, A\ 

al the, Tarik, the name of a Moorish general, who conquered 
Spain in 712, having first made a descent on this rock. Canes 
derives the name from Jabaltaraf, from jabal, al, and iarf or tarqf, 
a point, because this rock has a point towards the sea. Manage 
says it was anciently called Gebaltar and Mont Gibel. 

GILLIES' HILL, Bannockbum, Scotland, so called from the 
part contributed to the victory at Bannockbum, by the servants 
(jgillies) attending on the ba^age. Bruce had posted them 
behind the hill, but they suddenly appeared in front, and the 
English, mistaking them for reinforcements, fled in a panic. 
Servants are still caUed gillies in the Highlands. {Kohl,) 
From Grael. giUe^ Ir, gioUa^ a lad, young man, boy, man- 
servant. 

GIPPS' LAND, in the colony of Victoria, Australia ; named 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 117 

by Count Streleski, in honour of Sir George Gipps, Governor of 
Port PhiUip. 

GIRGENTI (jergente), a town in Sicily, the ancient Agri- 
gentum, whence its name has been corrupted. Agrigentum 
is also corrupted from Acragas (Axpayac, avroc), properly the 
name of the mountain near which the town was built. Thucy- 
dides says the Geloans built Acragas, giving the city its name 
from the river Acragas. 

GLADMOUTH, formerly Cledemuth, S. Wales ; " mouth of 
the river Clede or Cleddy ; " A.S. muih mouth. 

GLAMOR'GANSHIRE, S. Wales ; Glamorgan is a corrup- 
tion of gwlad morgan^ from gwlad a country, morgant a sea 
brink, from mor the sea, cant the rim of anything. The Welsh 
call this county Sir Forganwg and Morganwg. But see 
Morgan. 

GLAS'GOW. Some derive this name from Gael, glas *s dhu, 
a contraction of glas agus dhu, gray and black ; Baile Glas 's 
Dhu, the town of gray and black (monks) ; others, from Anc. 
Brit. glaS'Coed, green wood, said to be corroborated by the early 
exisfence here of a forest, subsequently denominated the Bishop's. 
Again, others interpret " Glasgow," a dark glen, in allusion to 
the ravine near the cathedral, where a primary settlement is said 
to have been made. 

GLASTONBURY (gltts/enberry), co. Somerset, found written 
Glsestinga-byrig, Glestinga-byrig, Glasting-byri, Glastingabyrig, 
Glasting-birh, Glastinbirh, and Glastingberi. This town stands 
on an eminence nearly isolated by marshy flats, and was called by 
the Britons Ynys-wytrin, " the island of glass ; " from ynys an 
island, gwydr, gwgdryn, glass. The name was afterwards 
changed to Avalon or Afalon, the meaning of which, as well as the 
reason for its former designation, is still in dispute. The Saxons 
altered the name to Glsesting-byrig, from glaes glass, hyrig, 
burhy a town. ** Glastonbury ; Sax. GUeseney, i.e. the isle of 
glass ; also Glasenbyrig, a town memorable for the tombs of two 
kings, Arthur and Edgar, and of Joseph of Arimathea, and of 
many of the primitive saints of England." (Bailey,) 



118 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

GLENLTONy near Loch Tay, Scotland, takes ita name from 
a stream called the Lyon. 

6LENM0RE', near Strathmore, in Scotland, means ** the great 
glen ; " from Grael. gleann, glinne, a valley, a glen, m^ great. 

GLOUCESTER {gloster) ; A. S. Gleancester. The city of 
Gloucester was, according to most writers, huilt hy the Romans 
to overawe the Silures, and a colony settled there called Colonia 
Glevum, or Glebon Colonia. Others say it was bnilt by Claudius 
Ceesar. Nennius attributes its erection to Glovus, a prince of 
this part of the country. Higden says it was called Caer-elau, 
from Claudius, who erected it, but that it took the name of 
Gloucester from Glovus, a duke of the country. William of 
Malmesbury asserts that the Britons called it Aer-chalu (omit- 
ting the c in caer)^ and he quotes Seneca {Be morie Claudit), 
as observing, '*that the barbarians worshipped Claudius in 
Britain as a god, and built a city in his honour there." This, 
says the historian, '' comes nearest the truth ; for that Gloucester 
was a city built by the Romans, cannot be accredited by those 
who consider that Cirencester was entitled to much higher con- 
sideration, as is evident by the large remains in the latter bity, 
none of which are to be found in Gloucester ; and all the etyma 
of Gloucester turn upon the Brit, caer giou, or the bright city, as 
it is interpreted." He is of opinion that, as '* plo is the Brit, 
for coal, it has in that signification, from circumstances, a greater 
probability than the other ; that Glebon is a misnomer — a 
Grsecism, he supposes, of Ptolemy — totally anomalous to the 
Roman termination, but that Glevum accords with the genius of 
the Roman language." The name of this city has been spelt 
Gleawan-cester, Gleaw-ceastre, Glewceastre, Gloweceastre, Gleu- 
cestre and Gloucestre. Bosworth gives the Brit, glow, splendid, 
or W. fflew, strong, valiant ; A. S. ceaster, a city. 

GLYN, in local names in Wales, is the W. glyn, a dale. The 
Gael, has gleann, glinney ghleann, Ir. gleann. Com. gl^y Sco. 
and Eng. glen, 

GODOL'PHIN, a place in Cornwall. Pryce says go'dol-phin, 
in Com. means a little valley. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 119 

GOL^€K)THA» a small eminence near Jerusalem, which is 
supposed to have received its name either from its resemblance to a 
man's skull ; or because it was destitute of vegetation ; or from its 
being appropriated to the execution of malefactors. The latter 
seems the most probable. From 6r. Tokyoia, signifying the 
place of a skull ; a corruption of Heb. rh^b:i, a skull, cranium, so 

called from its round form. The Arab, has X^^l^ jalajat, the 
cranium, also the head itself. 

GORE (ffoar), in local names in England, as in Kensington 
Grore, &c., may be the O. Eng. ffore, a small narrow slip of land, 
or the A. S. ffor, gore, clotted blood, dirt, mud. It may have 
originally denoted a dirty muddy place. 

GOROD, GORAD, GROD, GRAD, and HRAD, found in local 
names in Russia, Servia, &c. — as Novgorod, '* new town or fort," 
from Slav, nowy new — means a town or fort, from Slav, hrad, 
a camp, castle, citadel, Illyr. grad, a castle. Armstrong gives 
O. G. gard, Pers. gherd, a town ; Phoen. gard, a fenced place, 
an enclosure ; Gael, gard, a garden, fenced place ; Heb. Chald. 
and Syr. gert, to enclose ; and the word is found, in some form 
or other, in most European languages ; but the Hung, korth, 
Goth, gardiy show that the European synonyms are from the 
Gr. %o^oc, an enclosure, courtyard, or the L. hortus ; ht. any 
enclosed place, then a garden. 

GOTHEBORG (gefaburg) or GOTHENBURG {go'tenhurg), 
Sweden. Chas. IX., when Duke of Gothland, laid the founda- 
tion of this town, and named it in honour of the duchy. Sw. 
borg, a castle, fort (town). But see Oude. 

GOTHINGEN (gefing'n), a city of Germany. Some say it 
derives its name from the Goths ; others from the goodness of 
the land. " Sive agri bonitas seu gens tibi Grothica nomen, 
Gottinga, fecerit tuum." (Henri Meibom,) The etymology 
from gutt good, says Lamartini^re, seems authorized from letters 
of Frederick Barbarossa calhng it Guttding ; '' k Northen ad 
montes Messiacos usque ad nostram dvitatem Guttding." 
Modius recounts at great length that, towards the year 925, 
Henri I'Oise, having gained a glorious victory over the Huns, 



120 LOCAL BTYMOLOCnr. 

who bad ravaged Germany, drove them as far as Gottiogen, 
" usque ad Gottungam, sic dictam qu6d Gothos Hunnosque tk 
expeditione subjecisset ; " and that he there celebrated his 
triumph hy a magnificent tournament. See Dresser, de Preecip. 
Germ. Urb. Fran9. ; Modius (de Bruges) Pandect. Triump. t. 2, 
lib. i. fol. 1 ; Zejler, Brunsw. and Luneb. Topog. p. 92 ; and 
Lamartini^re, Diet. G^g. et Grit, 

GOUDA (ffou/da), a town in the province of S. Holland^ situ- 
ated on the Yssel, at the confluence of the Gmtw. 

GRACECHURCH STREET, formerly Grasse Church Street, 
and Grasse Street. ** In New Fish Street be fishmongers and 
fair taverns, and in Fish Street High, and Grasse Street, men of 
divers trades, grocers and haberdashers." (Stow.) See Fen- 
church Street. 

GRAM'POUND, a village in Cornwall ; a corruption of Com. 
gran pant, great bridge. (Pryce.) 

GRANGE. Granges were farms at a distance from the 
abbeys, to which they belonged, and stocked and cultivated by 
the monks ; hence so many mansions called " The Grange.'^ 
'* Fr. grange a bam, Ir. grainsemch a grange, Sco. grange ; the 
buildings belonging to a corn-farm, originally a place where the 
rents and tithes, paid in grain to religious houses, were deposited ; 
from granum grain.'* {Webster,) Low L, grangia, granchia, 
grancia, granca, granica. 

GRATZ, the capital of Syria ; corrupted from Slav, gradez. 
It is called in Slav. Niemetzki-Gradez, i.e., the burg or fortress 
of Niemetzki. 

GRAVE, a termination of local names in England, denotes a 
wood, thicket, den, or cave ; from A. S. gra/, Camden and 
others interpret the Low. L. grava, "a httle wood." Cowei 
says it sometimes signifies a thick wood of high trees, a 
grove. 

GRAYESEND. The origin of this name is somewhat doubt- 
ful. The town was anciently called Gravesbam, from the name 
of the n^anor, and afterwards cormpted into Graveshende. Some 
derive Gravesbam from graqf a reeve, and hem, Mme, " the 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 121 

dwelling place of the reeve or representative of the superior 
lord." See Cruden, Hist. Gravesend. 

GRAY'S INN derives its name from the Lords Gray of Wil- 
ton, its former occupants. (Herbert.) 

GREECE, from L. Gr<Bcia, from F^aixoi, the GreekSf a name 
not used by Homer, but said to be very ancient. Some assert 
that the Javan of the prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah, 
refers to Greece, and that Ionia may take its name from Javan 
(i.e. p> yo»), one of the sons of Japhet. (See Gen. x. 2.) "The 
Hindtis formerly called an Ionian or Greek Javana, but the term 
is now applied to both the Muhammadan and European invaders 
of India, and is oflen used as a general term for any foreigner or 
barbarous race." "Greece, called Hellas by the Greeks." (Cicero.) 

GREENWICH {grin'idj), Kent; in L. Grenovicum ; from 
A. S. Grena-wie, Grene-toie, " a green habitation upon the bank 
of a river," from grene green, taic, a village, bay. 

GRENCXBLE, capital of Dauphin 6, a province of France; 
formerly Grenople, contraction of Gratianopolis, i.e. the oroAic or 
city of the Emperor Gratian, son of Valentinian I. It was 
anciently called Cularo. 

GRIMSBY, CO. Lincohi ; " from one Grimus, who built it." 
(Bailey.) Dan. by, a city. 

GRON'GAR-HILL, from W. gron, for erwn, round, from 
coron, cron, a circle, crown ; and gaer for caer, a fort. Tpron 
gaer, the round caer or fort. 

GUADALOUPE (ffwada-loop'), an island in the W. Indies, 
called Guadalupe by the Spaniards, from the resemblance of its 
mountains to a chain in Spanish Estremadura, which, as well as a 
town and a small river, bear that name. The name of the river 
is probably derived from the Arab, wddi a river, and Sp. I6ba 
(from L. lupa) a she-wolf. Varac calls it in L. Aquce Lupia. 

GUADALQUIVIR, a river in Spain flowing by Seville and 
Cadiz. The name is corrupted from the Arab. Wdd-aUJcdbir, 

" the great river," from ^S\^ wddi a river, also the channel of 
a river, a valley, J^ al the yl^ kdbir great. The names of many 



122 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

rivers in the Peninsula are compounded of wddi and other 
Arabic words. Among these are the Guadalcazar, from Wad'ol' 
kasar, the river of the pakce or royal house ; the Goadalhorra, 
from Wdd-al-ffdr, the laurel river; the Guadarrama, near 
Gibraltar, from Wdd-aUramka^ the mare's river; the Goadal- 
quiton, from Wdd-al-kat, the cat river; the Guadalaxara, or 
Guadaljara, from Wdd-al-hachara, the river of the stones ; and 
the Guadalbacar, from fFdd-al-bacar, the ox or cow river. 

GUERNSEY (genize). The name of this bland was perhaps 
originally Ger^s-ige, and, if so, may have been derived from the 
same root as Jersey and Cherbourg. Camden says Jer^ Ger, and 
CheVf are corrupted abbreviations of Casar, Jerbourg, the 
name of a fort in this island, long since in ruins, is supposed to 
be a corruption of €€8801^9 burg, or Cherburg. The termination 
ey in Guernsey is the ig, ea, in A. S. igland, ealand, island, 
which comes from land / id. and ea, a corruption of Goth* aAwa, 
from L. ag[ua water. 

GUIENNE (ge-yen'), a province of France. The name is 
corrupted from Aquitama, thus, Aquitania, Quitania, Quiania, 
Guienna, Guienne. Chartier says Aquitania was so named from 
its abounding in springs and rivers (aquae) ; upon which Fauchet 
observes, that it was called Aquitania before the coming of the 
Romans, and before the Gauls spoke Latin. See Chartier, 
Descr. de la Gaule ; Yalois, Notice des Gaules, and Manage, 

GUIPUZCOA {gepoosko'a), in the Basque provinces of Spain ; 
found written Lepuzcoa, Ipuzcoa, Ipuzca, and Puzico. Larra- 
mendi thinks Guiputzua is the correct orthography. No ety- 
mology has yet been suggested. 

GULISTA'NI, a town in Persian Armenia ; from Pers. gulistdn, 
a rose-garden ; J^gul a rose, ^^IjLj *^^^ a place, country. 

GULNAR. " The name given by the Turks to a harbour and 
surrounding district (on the sea coast of Asia Minor), containing 
only some dispersed cottages, and the remains of the ancient 
Celendris, still called Kelenderi by the Greeks." The Turc. 
^Inar is a cherry, but the name may have been corrupted from 
Celendris, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOQT. 128 

GURH, 6URGH, 6HUR, in local names in Hindustan (as 
in Kishenghur, properly Krishna Ghur, in the Punjah ; Ram- 
gurgh, in the hill state of Hindoor ; Rajgurh, in Sirmoor ; Chu- 
nargurgh, in Mirzapoor ; Gawilgurgh, in Hyderabad ; Futihgurh 
(which Gilchrist translates " Fort Victoria"), is the Hind, garh^ 
ffurh, a fort, hill fort, mud fort. 

GUZERAT, or GUJERAT, a principality m the W. of India, 
also a district in the Punjab. Mr. Elliot considers the appel- 
lation to be deriyed from the G(ijar, a numerous class in the 
N. W. provinces, chiefly engaged in agriculture, though for- 
merly notorious for their martial and predatory character. " In 
the Dakhin, says Wilson, the term Gujar is considered synony- 
mous with Gujar&ti, and applied to any native of Guzerat, but 
more especially to the traders and dealers from that country." 
Guzar in Pers. is a passage, transit, a broker, factor, pasturage ; 
ffuzdrd a ferry, ferry-boat ; gus&ridan to cause to pass, transact, 
pay ; mdl-ffuzdr, a farmer, or renter. 

GWEN DWR, CO. Brecknock, N. Wales, synonymous with 
Wendover, i.e. fair water. (W.) 

GWY, in names of rivers in Wales — ^as Edwy, Efymwy, Elwy, 
Llugwy, Mawddwy, Mynewy, Trydomwy — is the W. gtoy or try, 
the primary signification of which is '^ water." 



H. 



HACKNEY, near London ; in ancient records written 
Hackenaye and Hacquenye ; in a patent of Edward IV. 
Hackeney otherwise Hackney ; and in Index to Rolls of Parlia- 
ment, Hackenayes and Hackenay. " It may have been so called 
from a Dane or Saxon of the name of Hacon or Hakon, and be a 
corruption of Hacon-ey, i.e. Hacon's ey or place near water, or 
his domain." Hackney is reputed as the first place near London 
provided with coaches let out for hire ; whence, it is said, arose 
the term hackney coaches, hackneys, or hacknies ; but the coche- 



124 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

^haquenee originated in France in the early part of the 17th 
century ; and haquenie, in French, is a sort of coh-horse. See 
Robinson, Hist. Hackney ; Month. Mag., yol. xvii., 582 ; Tol. 
xviii., 126. 

HADDEBY, formerly Haithaby, a town in Denmark, on the 
river Schle, and opposite to Schleswig ; from Sax. at, at, by, had 
heath, Dan. by a town — " town by the heath ;" so called from 
the heath abounding in the neighbourhood. (Boaworth,) 

HAGUE (haig) ; Fr. La Haye, a city in Holland. The Hagae 
owes its origin to a hunting-seat built there by the counts of 
Holland in 1250, and is named from (rraven Haage, i.e. the 
counts' hedge, which surrounds their park. D. graaf, earl, count, 
haag a hedge. See St. Graavenzande. 

HAINAUT, or HAINAULT {highno), formerly Henault and 
Hainoum ; in G. Hennegau, L. Hannonia, a frontier province of 
Belgium. It is said to take its name from the river Haine, which 
runs through it. There is also Hainault Forest in England, co. 
Essex. Hainault may be from the Celt. hSn-ault, an old 
wood, and Haine may come from hen, old. 

H ALSTEAD, Essex, in records found written Halsed, Hausted, 
Hawlstede, and Howsted, and in modem writings sometimes 
named South Halstead, to distinguish it from Halstead in Suffolk. 
From A. S. haUtede, ** healthy place" (from hal, and ated a 
place) : a term said to be, with great propriety, applicable to the 
pleasant eminence it occupies. 

HAM, in local names, as East Ham, Rainham, Farn- 
haro, Waltham, Debenham, Cheltenham, Bumham, Tyneham, 
Swineham, Gillingham, Odiham, Hammoon (i.e. Ham-mohun), 
is the A. S. ham (Plat, ham. Fries, ham, hem, G. heim, M. Goth. 
haim, Dan. hiem, Sw. hem. Mid. L. hamd), a habitation, house, 
home, dwelling, farm; perhaps from O. G. heimen, to cover. 
Norden says ham, in some names, is from L. amnis a river. 

HAMBURG, according to Dresser and others, was anciently 
called Augusta Gambriviorum, or Gambrivia; but Tacitus, 
speaking of the Gambrivii, does not mention it. Its origin is 
ascribed to Charlemagne, who, to arrest the incursions of the 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGT^ 125 

northern Slavonic nations, in the year 808, hnilt two forts 
upon the Elbe, one of which became Hamburg. Albert de Staade 
says its ancient name was Hochbuchi or Hochburi ; Lambecius, 
that it had both a Saxon and a Vandal name, the latter in ancient 
monuments written Huobbuocki, Hobbouch, Hochbuch, Hoch- 
buri, Bochbari, Buchburi, Buchborg, and Buchborch ; and that 
the derivation of the first syllable Buck, from the Pol. Bog, or 
Bohem. Buhy God, agrees with the statement in preface to ancient 
Droit Civil of Hamburg, that this city was called Fille de Dieu in 
the Vandal language. The Slav, has also bog war. The name 
may have come thus : — Bogborg, Bockborg, Buckborg, Huck- 
borg, Huhborg, Hubbouch, Humboach, Humbourg, Hambourg, 
Hamburg. See Lambecius, Orig. Hamb. p. 3 ; Eghinard, ad 
ann. 808 ; Dresser, de Urb. Germ. p. 304 ; Cluvier, Germ. Ant. 
lib. iii., c. 27, p. 605 ; Albert de Staade, Chron. ann. 810. 

HAMMERSMITH, found written Hamersmith. Faulkner 
(Hist. Hammersmith) derives the name from Sax. ham, a town or 
dwelling, and hyde or hythe, a haven or harbour ; therefore, says 
he, Ham-hythe, signifies a town with a harbour or creek ; which 
here connects the river vnth the centre of the town, and forms a 
convenient quay or dock for the landing of various kinds of mer- 
chandise, coals- and corn. Bowack says it is called in Domesday 
Hermoderwode, and in ancient deeds Hermoderworth, which is 
an evidence of its antiquity, because it was, at that time, a place 
well known. He says, " We shall not attempt accounting for the 
present name of it, Hammersmith, which is somewhat odd, unless 
we suppose that time has melted those rough Saxon sounds, which 
indeed seems more probable than several conjectures we heard 
about it, or that ridiculous account firmly believed by some of 
the inhabitants of Fulham and Putney, as well as of this place, viz. 
that the two churches of the two first named places were, many 
ages since, built by two sisters of gigantic stature, who had but one 
hammer between them, which they used to throw across the river, 
but that one time it happened unfortunately to fall upon its claws 
and broke them, so that the pious wish must have unavoidably 
stood still, if they could not have got it mended, but, going to a 



126 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

smith that Kyed at Uiis place, he set all to rights again, and, for 
such good senrice it has ever since retained the name of Hammer- 
smith. This &ntastic relation is inserted only for the reader's 
diversion, and to let him see the force of tradition, and how 
strangely the ignorant may be imposed upon, especially if there b 
the least shadow of tmth to support it, as there is here, the 
towers of the two churches being exactly alike, and, by the con- 
dition of both, built about the same time; and the name of 
Hammersmith colours the whole story admirably well, and puts 
the certainty with them out of doubt." Antiq. Midd. p. 47, 
Lond. 1705. 

HAMPSHIRE. See Southucpton. 

H AMPSTEAD, formerly Hamestede, the old form of '' home- 
stead," which, says Lysons, means the site of a house with its 
appurtenances — a name which may have been sometimes applied, 
by way of pre-eminence, to the residence of the lord of the manor. 

HAMPTON-ON-THAMES, according to some, was called 
Avona, from Anc. Brit, aoofi, water, river, whence AtHma'ion, L e. 
" river-town," afterwards corrupted into Hampton. Others say 
the name means " home-town," from A. S. ham, used in the sense 
of " home," and iun. 

HANSE TOWNS (hanz). The Hanse Towns, in Germany, 
were cities associated for the protection of commerce, as early as 
the 12th century. This confederacy has now ceased ; and its 
remnants, Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, and Frankfort, are called 
Free Cities. Some say '^ Hanse" means ''maritime," from am 
see, "upon the sea;" others derive the name from O. Goth. 
unsi, " the upper classes ;** or from hansa, a multitude ; but 
the most probable derivation is from O. G. hanse, a society, from 
hana a companion, which may be the G. and D. hans (John). 
The D. has hansbeker, a large drinking cup ; hansen, to drink 
a bumper; hantsen, great men. The O. Fr. marehand hansi 
or ante, is a privileged merchant, or one received into the 
number of the privileged ; the O. G. han»elH meant " to initiate," 
to admit into a society or company. See also Dueange, and 
Wachter, Gloss. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 127 

HARBOTTLE, Northumberland, so called, says Bailey, be- 
cause it was a place where soldiers kept their quarters ; from 
A. S. here an army, boil a house. See Bolton. 

HARTLEPOOL {hartt), co. Durham. Cooke is of opinion 
that Hartland Point is a corruption oi Hercules Promontorium and 
Hartlepool, of Heracleopolis, and that the early inhabitants of this 
part of the country were a trading colony of lonians who wor- 
shipped Hercules (see Hutchinson's Northumb. p. 161); and 
he speaks of an inscription on an altar to Hercules in Corbridge 
church-yard. Cade thinks Hartlepool, or the port of the Hart, 
at Hartness, may be named from the redness of the stone or soil 
(see Hertford) ; others, that it has been the peculiar haunt of 
deer, as evidenced by the numerous antlers and teeth discovered 
hereabouts. Bede calls it Heortu or Heortea, " the place where 
the harts drink ;" and Huntingdon, " the island of harts." The 
name is derived by some from the long-submerged Hart Forest, 
the adjunct " in-pool" or " le-pool," showing its vicinity to the 
sea. Dufresne, however, says hart is a Teutonic word for " forest,'* 
in a general sense. On the town seal a stag is represented in a 
pool ; but as the historian justly observes, this (like the arms of 
Hertford and Oxford) can only be considered as a rebus on the 
ancient appellation. 

HARWICH (harridj), co. Essex, from A. S. here-wic, her-wic, 
from here an army, wic, a port, bay, residence ; ** a place where 
an army encamps or is in garrison, a station, camp." (Boeworth,) 
It is supposed that a Saxon army was always stationed here, to 
oppose the descent of the piratical Danes. See Morant's Essex, 
vol. i., p. 499. 

HARZ (hartz) ; the Harz mountiuns and forest in N. W. Ger- 
many. Lamartini^re says the old Teut. word harz, a forest, is still 
preserved in Speshart, Neustadt-an-der-^ar^, &c. ; but the forest 
may be named from the large quantity of resin (G. harz) which 
it produces, or from the number of its deer (Teut. hart, a stag). 
But see Spener, Not. Germ. Ant., p. 83 ; also Wachter, Gloss. 

HASTINGS, CO. Sussex, called by the Saxons Hastinga. 
Somner writes Haerting and Haertingaceaster, which he derives 



128 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

from Sax. luBrte heat, because of the babbling or boiling of the 
sea in this place. Camden says from one Htutinff, a Dane, 
a great robber, who either seized, built, or fortified it. ''In 
893 the Danes, in 250 ships, commanded by the pirate HasHnge, 
landed at the mouth of the river Rother, near Romney Marshi 
and immediately possessed themselves of Apuldore, where, and 
at Hastings (so called from their leader) they constructed forts 
and ravaged all the coast to the westward of the country." 
(JDcdlaway). Kemble thinks Hastings was the fortress, and pro- 
bably at one time the town, of a tribe called the Hasiinffos. See 
also Moss, Hist. Hastings. 

HATCH, an adjunct to many local names in Essex, as Kelve« 
don Hatch, West Hatch, Abury Hatch, How Hatch, Pilgrim Hatch, 
Fox Hatch ; also Colney Hatch, near Muswell Hill, Middlesex ; 
Hatch House and Manor, Wilts, standing upon a high hill. Morant 
(Hist. Essex, p. 185) says hatch means a low gate towards the 
forest. A learned annotator, referring to Hatch in Essex, says : 
"Hatches has also the signification of flood-gates, but no flood- 
gates exist, or ever could have existed, in many of the places having 
the name of Hatch, no water of any kind being near them." See 
also Cowel, Law Diet. ; 27 Hen. 8, 23 ; and Survey of Corn- 
wall. 

HATFIELD, Herts, found written Hsed-feld, Heat-feld, Hedt- 

felt, and Hat-feld, from A. S. h€ed he&thf /eld a field. 

HA UGH (hauj), a low-lying meadow ; another orthography 
of Haw. 

HAVAN'A, or THE HAVANNAH, in the Island of Cuba ; 
from Sp. Habana, "The harbour." (Johnston.) Neither 
habana nor havana, for a harbour, is found in the Spanish dic- 
tionaries. Habana may, however, have been formed from haven, 
or G. ha/en* Dan. havn, D. haven, 

HAVERING-ATTE-BOWER, Essex. Atte is a corruption 
of " At the ; " " ELavering at or near the king's or queen's 
bower." 

HAVRE (hahver), Fr. Le Havre, a seaport of France ; from 
O. G. hqfen, a port, or the Celtic aber, the embouchure of a 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 129 

river. See Bochart, Colon. Phoen. liv. i. ch. 42; SyL Giraldus, 
Itin. Camb. liv. ii. ch. 1 ; also, Minage ; and voc. Aber. 

HAW, in English local names, means lit. inclosed land, a small 
field ; from A. S. haga^ hagen. In Chaucer it signifies a dale. 

HAYNE, a terminal of English local names, is probably a 
contraction of A. S. hagen (haga) a hay, hedge, meadow. ''Hcige, 
hagen, tot oppidorum nominibus hlnc annexum." (Somner.) 
*' Nigan et xx. hagena syndon ; novem et viginti prsedia sunt." 
{Bosworih,) "Grete hertes in the haynea, fair bares in the 
playnes ;" MS. Line. (HalliwelL) Willhayne, well inclosure ; 
Woodhayne, wood inclosure ; Cownhayne, cows' inclosure. 

HAYTI {hayte)y an island in the West Indies. The name 
signifies "high land." 

HEARN, formerly Hem, is sometimes found in local names. 
Some translate the Sax. hem, a cottage ; others a house ; as Whit- 
hern, a ** white house." Hem may sometimes be another ortho- 
graphy of JSrw, Erne (q. v.). 

HELICON, a mountain of Boeotia, sacred to Apollo and the 
Muses ; from Gr. *EX/xa;y, which Le Clerc derives from Phoen. 
hhalik or hhalikon, a high mountain. Bochart (Chan. lib. i. c. 16) 
shows that Boeotia was full of Phoenician names and colonies. 

HEL'IGrOLAND, found written Helgoland ; an island near the 
mouth of the Elbe, and anciently called Hertha, after the goddess 
of that name, whom the Saxons worshipped there. From G. Heili' 
gealand, i. e. holy land. 

HEL'SINGFORS, in Finland ; said to be named after a colony 
from the province of Helsing-land, in Sweden, which had been 
established in the neighbourhood for several centuries. Qu. Sw. 
/ors, stream, ^waterfall. There is Helsing-borg in Sweden, oppo- 
site Helsing-or, commonly Elsinore and Elsineur, in Denmark. 

HELSTON, a village in Cornwall ; contraction of Corn, ha-laa* 
ton, " the hill by a green moor.'* 

HEM'EL HEMPSTED, Herts, formerly Hemel Hamsted. 
Hemel may have been originally the name of the owner. In the 
neighbourhood is Wheal Hempsted. See Hampstead. 

HENLEY-ON-THAMES. Dr. Plot calls it " the ancientest 



130 LOCAL BTTHOLOOT. 

town in the country," but has not adduced any fact or argument 
to support his conjecture. lie derives the name from Celt, hen 
old, ley a place. In an inspeximus granted by Queen Eli- 
zabeth to the corporation of Henley, it is called Hanlegauz and 
Hanneburg. (Reea.) 

HENTLAND, a parish, co. Hereford, derives its name from 
the old church, in W. Mn-llan* 

HEREFORD (kerryford). Leland says '< in Welsh this place 
u called Hewr-ford, of an old ford by the castle, by the which 
many passed over, or ever the great bridge on the Wye at Here- 
ford was made." Camden says "the similarity between the 
names of Ereinue, Arcenfeld, the town of Ariconium, mentioned 
hereabouts by Antoninus, and Hariford or Heriford, now the metro- 
polis of the county, have led me to think that all are derived from 
Ariconium ; not that I believe Ariconium and Hereford the same 
place, but as Bazil in Germany took the name of Augusta Raura- 
corum, and Baldach in Assyria that of Babylon, because they 
arose out of the ruins of those places, so our Hartford (as it is 
commonly pronounced) derived, in my opinion, its name and 
existence from the Roman Ariconium." Duncumb, however, 
prefers the derivation from A. S. here an army. Bad ford a ford ; 
the place being near a ford frequently crossed by armies of Britons 
and their invaders ; and he considers all prior etymologies doubt- 
ful, no evidence having been adduced to prove that Hereford 
existed as a town before the Saxon Heptarchy. 

HERMANN or ERMINE STREET, one of the four great 
roads or military ways constructed by the Romans in Britain, and 
extending through the entire length of the kingdom ; from A. S. 
here an army, or hereman a soldier. See Hereford. 

HERTFORD (har/ord) ; found written Heorot-ford,Heort-ford, 
and Herudford ; perhaps from A. S. heort, a hart, stag, ford 
a ford ; " the hart's ford." Bede says from herud/ord, ** the red 
ford." The historian thinks it was named from its situation on 
the Roman Vadum Militare, or the ford of the Roman military 
way, called by the Saxons Herman Street, which extended from 
Newhaven, in Sussex, to Castor, in Norfolk. See Herman 
Street. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 131 

HIBERNIA. See Ireland. 

HIMALA'YA signifies '' the abode of sdow ;" from Sans, hima 
snow, dlaya an abode. 

HIN'DOO KOOSH, i.e. the Hindoo or Indian Cancaans, a range 
of mountains in India. 

HINDUSTAN', i.e. the atan or country of the Hindds. Gil- 
christ sajs '* Hind, the ancient term for India, perhaps signifies * a 
black' (niffer), which, with the commonadjunctoo, makes ' blackey,' 
* negro,' &c.; so that we might translate Hindaatan ' negro-land.' '* 
He adds that Sind and Hind are synonymous. " India, in the 
Zend and Pehlvi languages is called Heando, and in Hebrew rvi 
koddu (Esther, i. 1); and by the Persian and Arabian geographers 
Hendy See Indus and Stan. 

HIS'SAR, in local names in Turkey and India, is the Turc. and 

Hind. .La>. hi^dr a fort, as Bala Hissar, Cabul ; Kara Hissar, 

the black fort ; Koyla Hissar, Sultan Hissar, Ghieuzel Hissar, 
Kizhissar, in Turkey. 

HITHE, a termination of local names in England, denotes a 
situation on the shore, and conyenient for landing goods {Bo^- 
worth), as Greenhithe, Queenhithe, Rotherhithe, from A. S. hyth 
a port, haven. Hythe, Hithe, is the name of one of the Cinque 
Ports, in Kent. 

HO, in local names in China, generally signifies a river. The 
Yellow River is also called " Ho," as being the river, by way of 
eminence. 

HOANG-HO, a river in China. See Hwang Ho. 

HOCHST (heat), near Frankfort. Hochst in G. signifies 
" highest," but it may be here a contraction of Hochstadt, from 
hoch, high, stadt a town. We have Hochstadt in Bavaria, near 
which is the little village of Blenheim, properly Blindheim, noted 
for the famous victory of Marlborough and Eugene, over the 
French and the Bavarians. 

HOLBORN {ho'bem). " Oldbome or Hilboume was the like 
water breaking out about the place where now the bars do stand, 
and it ran down the whole street till Oldbome Bridge, and into 
the river of the wells, or tumemill brook. This bourne was like- 

K 2 



132 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

wise long since stopped up at the head and in other places where 
the same hath broken out, but yet till this day the said street is 
there called High Old borne Hill, and both the sides thereof, 
together with all the ground adjoining that lie betwixt it and the 
river Thames remain full of springs, so that water is there found at 
hand and hard to be stopped in every house.*' (Stow.) Lemon 
(quoting Cle. Voc. 73 and 131 n.) says Hol-boum means "the 
bounds or limits of the college," and is consequently a Greek 
word(!). The true derivation^is from A. S. eald^ isld, old, burn, a 
stream, brook. 

HOLDERNESS (hoal'demes), co. York (called by Ptolemy 
Ocelium ; from Anc. Brit, ykilly a foreland), from A. S. Hold- 
deor-nesw, the promontory of hollow Deira. (Bailey.) The pro- 
vince or kingdom of Deira was part of Northumberland, situated 
between the Tyne and Humber. Dr. Bosworth gives the " A. S. 
HoldeoraneSy hoi deora nesse, cavse Deirse promontorium ;*' hoi 
hollow, ntsuse, nesae, promontory, headland, cape. See Spurn- 
bead. 

HOLLAND. According to some authors, the name may 
denote a very low country ; from O. G. hoi low, land, id. Dr. 
Bosworth, quoting Halbertsma, says the meaning of Holland 
exactly suits the fenny and boggy soil which it designates ; that 
the oldest Dutch authors write Ollant ; but that the word ol in 
the sense of dirty or glutinous matter, mud, does not appear in 
A. S., although it is found in a derived signification. Van der 
Schueren says, " Beven daveren ah eyn ollant^ acatere — tremble 
under the feet as a marshy ground.*' The name Holland is not 
heard of before a.d. 1064. (See W^chtendonk's Rhym. Chron. 
and Huydecoper on Melis Stoke.) 

HOLM (home), in local names in England, is the A. S. 
holm water, island, low ground by water ; thus, the Steep and 
Flat Holmes, and Holme, Dorset ; and Axholm. In Sweden 
and Denmark holm, is " a small island ;" as Stockholm, Rydbo- 
holm, Gripsholm, Bomholm, Drotningholm (i.e. queen's island). 

HONGr-KONG', a Chinese island ; said to be corrupted from 
Chin, heang-keang, " the valley of fragrant waters." 

HOO, HOE (Ao), in local names in England^ as Prud-hoe, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 133 

Shaft-hoe, Sand-hoe, Tud-hoe in Durham and Northumberland ; 
Uoo, Herts ; Hoe, Kent ; may have originally signified a hill, 
perhaps from G. hohe, height, elevation. Hohe is found in Ger- 
man names of places, as Hohenlinden, Hohenwart, Hohen 
Staufen, Hohenzollern, Hohen werfen, &c. Baxter translates 
lean hoe, " Arx Icenorum." 

HOPE, in local names in England, is said to signify a sloping 
hollow between two hills, and is derived by some from the Celt. ; 
but it is more probably a corruption of haw, hattffh^ hawffh, 
hough, from the A. S. hapa, a small quantity of enclosed land, a 
dwelling-house. HaUiwell gives *' Hope, a valley, also a hill." 
(North.) 

HORNCHURCH, Essex, " hath its denomination from the 
horns of a hart that happened to be killed by a king's dog near 
the church, as it was building ; and the horns were put in the 
wall of the church." Mr. Estest of Trinity College, Oxford, went 
to school here, and said that the stumps of the horns were extinct 
in his time. {Cam, Soc) 

HORNSEY, Middlesex; from the 1 3th to the 16th century 
called in public records Haringee, Haringhee, or Haringay ; 
about Queen Elizabeth's time usually written Harnsey or Hom- 
sey. Its etymology must be sought for in its more ancient name. 
Har-inge, " the meadow of hares," is not very wide of its original 
orthography. {Lyaons,) Hornsea is the name of a place in 
Yorkshire, situated on the sea-coast, near a small lake formed 
by a breach from the sea. 

HORS'HAM, Sussex. The common derivation is from the 
Sax. Horsa, brother of Hengist. Allan {Hist, Sussex), says its 
situation in that part of the county termed the weald, which was 
formerly one continued forest, would authorize us to suppose that 
the present name is a corruption of Hurst-ham, or the town in 
the wood. 

HOUNDSDITCH. " From Aldgate north west to Bishops- 
gate, lieth the ditch of the city, called Houndesditch, for that in 
old time, when the same lay open, much filth conveyed forth of 
the city, especially dead dogs, were there laid or cast ; where- 
fore, of latter time, a mud wall was made, inclosing the ditch, to 



134 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

keep out the laying of such filth as had beea accustomed." 
(Stow.) 

HOUNSLOW, Middlesex. See Low, 

HOXTON, formerly Hogsdon, a suburb of London, may have 
been noted for a hog-market, or its site may have belonged to one 
Hogg. Bailey, under Hoxton, " a town in Sussex, remarkable 
for the martyrdom of St. Edmund the King," says, " formerly 
Hogilsdon, perhaps by metathesis for kalt^tun, i.e. a holy town." 

HRADSCHIN, the part of Prague situated on the left bank of 
the Moldau ; also the palace of the Bohemian sovereigns. From 
Bohem. hrad a castle (castrum, eoBteUum^ arx). 

HULL, CO. York, formerly Kingston-upon-Hull, and still so 
called in Parliamentary documents. It stands at the confluence 
of the rivers Humber and Hull, the latter being supposed by 
Bailey to derive its name from Low S. hulen (Tent, heulen)^ to 
howl, from the noise which it makes on meeting the sea ; but the 
name is more probably a corruption of one or more Celtic words. 

HUMBER, a river in the N. of England; from Sax. Humbre, 
so called, because its waters make a great humming at the flowing 
and ebbing of the tide. (Somner.) 

HUMMUMS. The Hummums, Covent Garden, were ori- 
ginally celebrated for their hot baths, which were first established 

there by a Turk. From Turc. and Arab. Aa>>^ hammdm a hot 

bath. The Arab, hammdmd is an embalming herb ; kamim hot 
water ; hamm hot. 

HUNGARY, from L. Hungdria, for ffungavdria, said to be 
from Hunni and Avarea, two Scythian tribes who invaded this 
country about a.d. 400. Hungary was anciently called Pannonia. 

HUNGERFORD, co. Berks, formerly Ingleford, for Engla- 
ford, ** the ford of the Angles." See England. 

HUNTINGDON, found written Huntandun, Huntendun, 
Huntendune, Huntadun, Huntyngdon; from A. S. huntan a 
hunter's, dun a hill. (Bosworth.) 

HURST, in English local names, as Sandhurst, Midhurst, is 
the A. S. hurat or hyrst, a wood or grove. Chiselhurst means 
'* the chesnut grove ;" Haselhurst, *Hhe hazel grove." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 185 

HURSTMONCEUX (herst-mun-zoo), co. Sussex. Prior to 
the Conquest, the estate then called Hjrst was the property of Earl 
Godwin, and was then given to Earl de Warren ; but a few years 
afler we find it transferred, by some means, to a Norman family, 
who assumed its name ; and one of them added that of Monceux, 
the name of his mother, who was bom at Compton Monceux, in 
Hampshire. (See Parry, Coast of Sussex.) The A. S. hurst or 
hyrst is a wood or grove. See Hurst. 

HWANG HAY (wanff-ha), the YeUow Sea, China; from 
Chin, hwang yellow, hae the sea, " nature's lake, which receives 
all nvers." Hae is pronounced t^A or high^ and in the Canton 
dialect like the English hoy, 

HWANG HO {wang-ho), a river in China ; Ut. " the yellow 
river.'* JEZti7an^ is the colour of the earth, yellow. See Ho« 

HYDRABAD (hidrabad'), *«the city of Hyder.** See 
Abad. 

HY^RES, or HIERES (he-are^), a town of Provence, in 
France ; also a small group of islands upon the coast of Provence. 
The town was anciently called Olbia Areee, and the Islands, Insulse 
Arearum, whence the present name has been corrupted. 



I. 

IBERIA, the L. name for Spain, or rather part of Spain ; 
from the river Iber or Ebro, which flows through it. But see 

Ebro. 

ICELAND, from Dan. lisland, "the land of ice." The 
Swedes write Island, from is ice. 

IGHTHAM, a parish in Kent, found written Ehteham, a cor- 
ruption of Eight-ham, so called from the eight boroughs or hams 
lying within its boundaries, viz., Eightham, Redwell, Ivyhatoh, 
Borough-Green, St. Cleres, The Moat, Beaulies, and Old- 
borough. 

ILCHESTER, co. Somerset ; a contraction of Ivelchester, i.e. 



136 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the fortress on the Ivel. Nennius says the Brit, nnme was 
Pensavelcoity i.e. *' the city at the head of the river's mouth, in 
the wood." It was the Ischalis of the Romans ; and, according 
to Ptolemy, was one of the chief towns of the Belgce. See Yeovil 
and Chester. 

ILEY MEAD^ near Meltsham, found written Iglea, CEglea, 
(Ecglea and Ecglea ; from A. S. t^ an island, leak a plain. 

IM'aUS, in anc. geog. a chain of mountains traversing Asia. 
*'The division of Asia into intra and extra Imaum, was not 
unknown to Straho and Pliny. The name is from Sans, himavat, 
snowy mountains." (Humboldt.) " It was known to Pliny that 
the word Imaus signified in the language of the natives ' snowy.* " 
(P. Ctfc.) Himavat means rather '* abounding with snow," 
" covered with snow." See also Plin. lib. vi. c. 17 ; Ptol. lib. vi. 
c. 14. 

IN^ INN, in local names in Great Britain, is sometimes a con- 
traction of Gael, innis (q. v.), a country, an island. 

INDIA. See Hindustan. 

INDUS, the name of a river in India, is said to be either the 
L. form of the Pers. Hind, a word having no definite meaning, 
and applied to the whole country ; or a corruption of Sindus or 
Sinthis, its ancient name. The natives call it Seedhu or Sinde, 
the Nilah or " blue river," and Abi Hind. The most probable 
derivation is from Sans, nndhu, the sea, this river being one of 
the largest in India. 

ING, at the termination of local names in England, is some- 
times the A. S. inff, inge, a meadow, pasture inclosure (Goth. 
vnnga) ; thus. Basing, Kettering, Reading, Godalming, Yelling, 
&c. In like manner, the O. G. tny, inge^ now ingen, is a field, 
tract of land ; as Lotharingen, the country of Lothar ; Thiiringen, 
Kitzingen, Memmingen, &c. In G. it is sometimes changed into 
ung, as Waldung, woodland ; Holzung, a district, field, region 
with wood ; Hiitung, pasturage, meadow ; Feldung a field ; 
Stallung, a place on which stables are built, &c. Names of places 
in Sweden and Denmark also frequently end in ing, inge. (See 
Bo9voorth and Lye.) Briton says ing is sometimes affixed to the 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 137 

name of a place to form a gentile name, meaning a person of the 
place; thus, Leaming (Warwick, York, Gloster), the Leam 
(river) people ; Fearnbeorging (Kent), Farnborough-men, &c. 
Ing, in some names, is a corruption of e or en, as Newington for 
Newenton or Neweton. 

INGRAM'S CROOK, Bannockbum, so called from Sir Ingram 
Umfraville, an English general, who was slain there. 

INKERMAN, in the Crimea ; from Tart, in-kerman ; Ht. ** the 
town of caverns," from the cells excavated within the rocks. 
{Pallas,) It is the CtenCls (Krevouc) of Strabo. 

INN, a river in Switzerland and Tyrol. It was called by the 
ancients (Enus and Oenus, from which its present name has been 
corrupted. But (Enus is probably only the L. form of its ori- 
ginal name. 

INNIS, ENNIS, in local names in Scotland and Ireland, &c., 
is the Grael. innisy Ir. inia^ Com. ennis, W. fynt#. Arm. enes and 
enesariy a country, an island ; perhaps from L. insula, an island ; 
thus, Innismore, the great island ; Innisbeg, the little island ; 
Innishowen, the island of Owen ; and Enniskillen — all in Ire- 
land. Armstrong says '' innis does not always mean an island, 
but sometimes a headland or promontory, as Craiginish, Deiginish, 
Fraisinish, in Argyleshire 4 M6nnish in Breadalbane ; and that 
there is a strong affinity between innis, the Norw. noes or naes 
a promontory, and the termination ness of many places in Scot- 
land, as in Inverness, Taberness, Strom ness, and the L. nasum, 
Fr. nez, Eng. nose, meaning the projecting feature. Tlie Sco. 
ness also means a promontory, as do the A. S. nassa, nesse, O. 
Sw. naes, Belg. neus,*' But these words are from the Gr. vtjo-oc, 
island, peninsula, yri<riQ, small island, as UeXo'novvifja'oct '* the island 
of Pelops," a peninsula in the south of Greece, now the Morea. 

INNSPRUCK (—prook), the chief city of Tyrol. The cor- 
rect orthography is Innsbruck, so called from a wooden bridge 
(G. hrUcke) which here crosses the river Inn. 

INTERLACHEN {--lalcn), a village in Switzerland, situated 
between lakes Brientz and Thun ; from L. inter between, G. lachen 
lakes. 



138 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

INY£R, a prefix of names of places in SooUaod^ as laver- 
gordon, Inverkeithiug, Inverleithen^ Inyertheil, is a corruption of 
the Gael, in-aor. See Inyerary. 

INVERA'RY^ a parish^ &c.y co. Argyle, Scotland, is said to 
take its name from the river Aray. " The old town of Inverary 
was situated upon its banks, at its junction with the sea ; and as 
a plain formed by the deposit of mud and sand at the mouth 
of a riyer is called in the Gael, in-aor or inver^ the town took 
its name from its site, and was called Inverary, or in Gael. 
Inaorhora. The waters of the Aray flow rapidly over a rugged 
and rocky bed ; and, accordingly. Dr. Fraser and others think 
Aray or Aora is from ad-reidh, ' not smooth,' and that as the 
waters of the Shira, the other principal stream in this parish, 
flow gently over a pebbly channel, it is from nor-reidh, ' always 
smooth.' " (Stat. Ace. Scot,) But qu. should not ^-reidh be 
written neo-reidh, uneven, and, instead of sior-reidh, norruidh 
(asp. ahiorruidh) ever-running, ever-flowing. 

INVERCHAOLAIN, Scotland, signifies in Gael. " the plain 
or lands fit for tillage, on the small stream," said to be descriptive 
enough of the situation of the manse and adjoining farm. {Stat. 
Ace, Scot.) 

INVER'URY, Scotland, formerly Ennerurie, "lies between 
the Don and Ury, and, extending to the confluence of these 
rivers, thence derives its name/* But see Inverary. 

IC^NIA, a country of Asia Minor. See Greece. 

IPSWICH, found written Gippeswic, Gipeswich, and Ypes- 
wich, takes its name from the river Gipping ; from A. S. geap 
winding, and tvic a village, residence. (Bosworth.) 

IRELAND ; by classic writers called lernis, leme, Invemis, 
Hibemia ; in A. S. found written Yrland, Yraland, Iraland, Ire- 
land, Hibemia, Igbemia, and Ybemia. The root of all these 
words is the Gael, iar the west, in a country, island ; thus iar-in, 
eir-in, er-in, Erin, " the western isle." From er comes ire, and 
then Ireland. Again, erin becomes em, and with the new prefix 
Ay, used by the Irish to denote " a country," hy-em, converted by 
the Greeks into lovkpya, and by the Romans (inserting b for 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY- 139 

euphony) into Hibernia. ''Scotland was at one time called 
Igbernia^ Hibernia^ and from the end of the third to the 
beginning of the eleventh century Scotia was used exclusively to 
indicate Ireland." According to Vallancey, the most ancient 
name of Ireland was Inis-phail or -/ailf "The island of shep- 
herds." 

IRMAK, in local names in Turkey, is the Turc. Jk«il irtnak a 

river, as the Kizil Irmak, "the red river," which falls into the 
Black Sea, near Sinope. 

ISCA. From the Anc. Brit, word isca, use, probably meaning 
" water," (Gael, uisg, uisge ; Ir. uisge^ uUc ; W. toysg a stream ; 
Com. and Arm. isge ; Belg. eack, asch) are derived the names of 
many rivers in Great Britain ; thus, the Ax, Esk, Ex, Ouse, Usk, 
Wisk ; whence Axley, Axholm, Axminster, the minster on the 
Ax; Axmouth, Exmouth, at the mouth of the Ax and Ex; 
Exeter, i.e. Exe'Cetuter, a fortress or city on the Ex ; Wisbeach, 
formerly Ouse-beach ; Oxford, Uxbridge, Osbom, for Ouse-ford, 
Ousebridge, Ouse-boum. The Brit. iscOf use, has also assumed 
the forms of usa, vmsa, ose, use, ise, Isis, ese, oxe, wox, woxe, and 
wax. 

ISLE OF DOGS. The story goes that a waterman having 
here murdered a man who was accompanied by a dog, the latter 
would not leave its dead master, until through hunger it was con- 
strained to swim over to Greenwich, which, being frequently 
repeated, was observed by the watermen, who, following the dog, 
discovered the body of the murdered man. Soon after, the dog 
returning on his usual errand to Greenwich, snarled at a waterman 
and would not be beaten off, which caused the bystanders, who 
knew of the murder, to apprehend the waterman, who afterwards 
confessed the fact, and was hanged on the spot. {Coghlan.) 
According to others, this isle was so called, because one of the 
kings of England kept a pack of dogs here. 

ISLE OF MAN. Some derive man from the Brit, word mon, 
isolated, or from W. maen, a stone, a pile of stones. Gumming 
says the name means " a rocky island." Pliny calls this isle 
Monapia ; Csesar, Mona ; Ptolemy, Monseda ; Orosius and Bede, 



140 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

MenaTia ; Nennius, Eubonia. Tacitus {Ayric), when speakiug 
of Mona, means Anglesea. See Pen-man-mawr. 

ISLE OF SKYE (*Ay), from Ir. skiach, cloudy (Gr. (riutz a 
shade, tncoroc darkness). (Beliot,) 

ISLE OF THANET, found written Tenet, Tanet, Tanetlond, 
Tened, Thenet, Taneth. Solinus (quoted by Camden) calls it Atha- 
natos, and Thanatos. Lewis derives Thanet from tene^ a fire or 
beacon, and supposes the island to hare been so named on account 
of the beacons or fires kept there to give notice of Danish or other 
pirates, to whose ravages it was greatly exposed. He probably 
refers to the Celt, tdn^ fire. We read "that the Danes in 
general made Thanet their landing place, and frequently stayed 
whole winters in it, so that it became their accustomed rendezvous 
while in this kingdom, and that consequently it felt continued 
scenes of misery and plunder during the whole time of their 
remaining in it.*' Some derive Tkanet from Gr. QavaroQ, death, 
** 80 called from the death of snakes when brought into it, no such 
having ever been able to live in it.** Lambarde thinks it was named 
from the Sax. or O. Eng. word ihanef, moist, watery, '* a name 
well suited to its situation, surrounded by the watery element.'* 
Moilem writers consider this isle identical with Inis Ruine or 
Ruoichim. Leiaud says *' Tenet, Britannico sermone Ruoichum ;" 
but by Ruoichim is probably meant the old Roman station 
*' Rich borough," which was anciently an island. See also 
Ilasted, Hist. Kent. 

ISLE OF WIGHT. See Oude. 

ISLINGTON ; in ancient records written Isendune, Isendou, 
Iseldou, Ysledon, and Eyseldon. Skinner derives the name from 
A. S. yUel a hostage, tun a town, to which Bailey adds, '* by reason 
of the many inus there.** " It does not, however, appear that this 
place was ever called Giscltou or Gistleton ; the name Isendune 
occurs in the most ancient records belonging to the church of St. 
Paul's, as well as in Domesday, and means in the Saxon ' the 
hill of iron ;' in favour of which etymology it may be adduced 
that several springs of water impregnated with that mineral 
have been found near the village." (Iy«oiw.) ** It most pro- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 141 

bably derives its name from its situation with respect to Tolentone, 
whose site was the elevated ground adjoining the woods of High- 
bury, the appellation Iseldone, expressing the Lower Town or 
Fort, from the O. Brit, word ishel, signifying lower** {Lewis). 

ISLIP, Oxon ; in old documents written Yslepe, Heslepe, 
Ighteslep, Gythslepe, Hiltslepe, Isleslepe, and in Domesday 
Leteslepe. In the last form Le seems to be the Norm, or Fr. 
prefix le. Islip comes from A. S. eds, 48, or /«, of water, or water's ; 
lippe, a Up ; hence the name means water's lip or bank. This 
derivation^ which is an analogy with that of " island," from e&a^ 
Ss, or island, i. e. water's land, land of water, is confirmed by its 
position, which is on the river Cherwell. Islip in Northampton- 
shire is also on the bank of a river, called Nen. {Bosworth.) 
Both Islips, however, may be derived from Ouse-lip, i.e. " lip of 
the Ouse ;" from the Brit. isca. " Ouse" may sometimes be traced 
in is, ys, ese, use, and wis. See Lewes, Wisbeach, and Isca. 

ISPAHAN', the ancient capital of Persia. It is written in 
Pers. . .bbljs*-> sipdhdn, which is also pi. of sipdh, a soldier. 
Some, however, say Isfahan, not Ispahan, is the orthography. 

ISTER (Gr. IoT/joc), the ancient name of the river Danube, 
probably corrupted from the Celt. Ys-dwr, from dwr water, with 
the prefix ys. See Stour. 

ITALY. Thucydides tells us that Italy was named after 
Italus, an Arcadian king, who taught the Italians agriculture ; 
others that Italy was so designated from abounding in bulls or 
bull-calves, which the Greeks and Tuscans called iraXAi, Varro 
and Columella state that Italy had its name from the number, 
beauty, and breed of its calves. The Gr. itaXoc is a calf ; the 
synonymous word^ the L. vitulus, is a bull-calf, and the Etruscans 
called a sheep idulus. Bochart says Italy abounded in pitch, and he 
derives the name from Phoen. It aria (softened by the Greeks into 
Italia), from itar, itra, pitch ; he refers also to the pitch of Brittia, 
a country in the southern part of Italy, over against Sicily, and 
inhabited by the Bruttii, Brutii, Brutti, or Britti. This pitch 
{bruttia pix) is said to have been greatly esteemed by the ancients, 
and was used not only for pitching vessels, but also in medicines. 



142 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

See Plin. lib. xvi. c. 11; also lib. xxiv. c. 1. According to 
Servius^ some of the most ancient names of Italy were Hesperia, 
Ansonia, Saturnia, and Yitalia. 

ITHACA, one of the Ionian Islands, corrupted by the modern 
Greeks into ThiaM. Bochart says Kpn**^, ithaca, means a hard 
and nigged island, and the Heb. pn^, athac, hard, and athaca or 
ithica, that which is hard and rugged ; and that old authors with 
common consent describe Ithaca to be such. See Odys. i. ver. 
242 ; iv. ver. 605 ; also Plutarch, and Cic. de Orat. lib. i. 

IVIZA, IVKJA, or IBIZA (eve^tea), the ancient Ebusus, one of 
the Balearic Isles. Pliny informs us that the figs of Ebusus 
were very large and excellent, and that the inhabitants used to 
dry and send them to Rome in cases. Bochart accordingly 
derives Ehuaut from Phoen. nuni'', iebuso or ibtiso, dried 
(" figs " understood). In confirmation, Lamartini^re says that 
dried figs were called cauna, from Caunus, in Caria, whence they 
were first brought ; and that certain plums were called brignoles, 
because they grew in the environs of Brignoles in Provence. 

IVY LANE, Paternoster Row, " so called of ivy growing on 
the prebendal houses of St. Paul's." 



J. 



JACK STRAW'S CASTLE. Lambarde, speaking of Black- 
heath, says, " It hathe borne thre severall rebellious assemblyes, 
besides the burden of the Danes campe. The first was in the 
tyme of Rich. II., moved by Jack Strata, whom William Wal- 
worthe, then maior of London, slew in Smythefeild with his 
dagger ; in memorie whereof, the citie had given them for increase 
of honour a dagger in their sheild of armes." 

JAMAICA (Ja-ma'-ka), The early Spanish historians for 
Jamaica write Xaymaca, which, in the native language, is said to 
mean ** a country abounding in springs." 

JANIN A (jan'ena), the chief town of Albania. The name is 
found written Jannina, Janna, and Yanina, all corrupted from 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 143 

Jo&nnina, its former appellation. It may have been named afler 
one of the emperors Ia;ayyijc (John). 

JAPAN, formerly Gepen, corresponding with the Chin. 
Gepuen, or Jepuen, " the kingdom of the rising sun.'' It has 
also been called Zipangd, Zipangri, Cyampagti, and Cimpago. 
The natives call it Niphon, the basis of excellence ; Awadsima, 
the land that springs from the mouth of the sea ; Tonsio, the 
true morning ; Teuka, the empire only inferior to heaven ; and 
Sinkoxa Kaminokuni, the habitation of the gods. 

JELALABAiy, in Afghanistan ; ** the dbdd or city of Jeldl,'' 
a famous warrior. Jaldl, in Arab, means "majesty," ** power." 
See Abad. 

JEREZ (heereth), formerly written Xerez, a town in Spain. 
" This place is said to have been called by the Moors^ Sherish 
Filistin, because allotted to a tribe of Philistines." By Sherish, 

perhaps the Arab. Ji ^ *arsh a throne, or jjij -c 'arish a taber- 
nacle, is meant. 

JERICHO (jerry ko), a city of Palestine, near the Jordan and 
the Dead Sea. Some write the name in Heb. im"» i/rehho, which 
they translate " city of the moon ;" others, irTn"» %/riyhho\ " a 
place of fragrance." In the Septuagint it is written iBpi^ca, in 

Strabo (xvi. c. 41) UpiMVQ, and in Arab. \^\j A Ertha, slso 

ROa. 

JERSEY (jer'ze), found written Gearsey, Gersey, Jereseye ; 
supposed to be a corruption of C€B8area^ the name by which it 
was known to the Romans. 

JERUSALEM, a royal city of the Canaanites, who called it 
Shalom. The name is derived from Heb. Dbt2n^> y'rtishalainh 
signifying "foundation of peace" from yardh a foundation, 
and ihalaim, for shaldm, peace, perfect, whole. Others trans- 
late, " possession of peace ;" " men or people of peace ;" 
" house or habitation of peace," " dwelHng of peace." The 
Latins corrupted the Heb. word into Solyma, and the Greeks 
into lepocoXviui and lepoucaXyjfjif which some imagined to be com- 
pounded of iepOQ sacred, and JloXvp^a Solyma ; and in corrobora- 



144 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

tion, they state that Chserilus and others mention a people caUed 
the Soljmi, whom Tacitus and Josephus took to be the Jews, 
and to be so called from Solyma their capital. See Tacitus ; also 
Josephus, Cont. Ap. lib. L xix. 27- 

JORDAN (Io/?^ajnjc), the largest rirer in Palestine ; from Heb. 
pn^ yard4n^ which Robinson translates "the flowing," "the 
river," from the idea of descending, flowing down, from yaradh, 
to go down ; " like G. Rhein, from the verb rtimen." In Arab, it 
was called El-urdun, and at present Esh-theri'ah, watering-place. 

JUGGERNAUT, a temple at Puri, in Orissa, Hindustan. 
The Hind. Jaganndtha means "lord of the world," from Sans. 
jagat the world, and natha, or ndih, lord. 

JUMNA, or JAMUNA, a river in India, which rises in the 
Him^jas; corrupted from Sans. Famund. "In mythology 
the personified river is considered as the daughter of Sdrya or 
the sun, and sister of Tama" (Shakespear), " who corresponds 
to the judge of hell, Minos " (M. Williams). 

JUTLAND, the Danish peninsula. See Oude. 



K. 



KAISARIEH (ka-sa-re^a), a town in Asiatic Turkey, the 
ancient Csesarea ; named after Csesar. See Saragossa. 

KALEH, in local names in Turkey, &c., as Teni Kaleh, in the 
Crimea, Hassan Kaleh, Sukhum kaleh, Redut kaleh, in Asia 

Minor, is the Turc. <u]j kal VA, a fortress. 

KAR'AH, in local names in Turkey, b the Turc. 2^ J karah 

black, as Karah Dengiz, the Black Sea; Karah Si^, the black 
water, the western Euphrates ; Karah Hissar, the black fortress. 
Karah means also a continent. 

KARDUANSKOI ILMEN, a bay or lake in Russia through 
which the Kigatsh rushes. " On the shore of this bay a guard 
is stationed, on account of the salt lake in the steppe, called Karr- 
duan, a compound of the Tartar, from karr snow, duan thaw ; 



y^. 



!^*' LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 145 

and the place has been thus denominated, because along the high 
sandy steppe the snow soon dissolres." (Pallas.) 

KARS, a town in Asiatic Turkey, said to derive its name from 
the river upon which it is situated, which name may possibly be a 
corruption of karah sd, "black water;" the designation of many 
rivers and streams in Turkey. Erzeroum is situated on the western 
Euphrates, which the Turks called Karah sd, and near Kars is a 
place called Karah hamza. The Arab, hart signifies " very cold," 
** freezing," and the town is situated 6000 feet above the sea 

level. The Turks, however, write ^pji kdn. Others say 

Kars is situated on the Arpeh-tchai i.e. the Arpeh river. 
Baudraud writes Cars or Chiseri. 

KEANG HO, a river in China. The name means " a rapid 



river." 



KELYEDON, Essex, found written Kilwendun, Chellendana, 
Keluedon, and Kellevedon. It was anciently called Easterford, 
from a ford there, which, in relation to some other ford, lay 
in an easterly direction. Morant derives Kelvedon from Sax. 
dun a hill, and celd (pron. keld) a spring ; Dr. Stukely from 
Celt, celn, mysterious, or to conceal (whence Celi, the name of 
God), according to which it signifies ** God's hill." See Wright, 
Hist. Essex. 

KEMPTEN, a town in Bavaria, is considered to have been the 
Roman station Campodinum ; from L. campus, a plain, down, 
open field ; and dinum, Latinized from the Celt, din, dinas, a 
city. 

KENDAL, CO. Westmoreland, more correctly Kirby Kendal, 
or Kirby-in-Kendal, i.e. the church town (Jcirk-hy) in the dale 
of the Ken or Kent, 

KENMORE, a village on the eastern shore of Loch Tay, in 
Scotland. The name signifies a high promontory ; from Gael. 
eeann-mbr^ from eeann, cinn (Ir. eeann, W. cwn and cyn. Corn. 
kyn\ head, point, top, high headland, promontory; and mdr 
(Com. and Arm. maur, W. mawr, Ir. mor) great. 

ElENNET, a river in Wilts ; dim. of Brit, eain, white, clear, 
i.e. beautiful Ccm/1 W. eanaid, white, bright. 

L. 



146 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

KENSINGTON ; in Domesday written Chenesiton and Cheni- 
sitnn ; in a charter of Henry I., Chesnetuna ; and in other an- 
cient records^ Kensitune, Kinsintuna, Kensintuna, Kensintune, 
and Kenesitune. Some say that one Chenesi held the manor of 
Huish, in Somerset, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, and 
that this place might have been originally called Chenesi Tnn, 
i.e. the town or village belonging to Chenesi. See Faulkner's 
Kensington ; also Lyson's Environs, 2, 126. 

KENT ; the name of this county is said to be derived from 
Anc. Brit, kant a corner, or, when applied to a country, a headland. 
The Romans converted Kent into Cantium, and called the people 
Cantii, The North Foreland is mentioned by Ptolemy under the 
name of Kavrwy or hyuivriov, ocK^oy, the promontory Cantium or 
Acantium. Lambarde derives Cent (Kent) from W. cenne, a 
leafj because this part formerly abounded in woods ; Camden, 
from canton a corner, " because England in this place stretcheth 
out itself in a comer to the north-east." Csesar, Strabo, Dio- 
dorus Siculus, Ptolemy, and others call Kent, Cantium ; and the 
Saxons, as Nennius tells us, named it Cantgear-lantd, i.e. the 
country of men inhabiting Kent. In Domesday it is written 
Chent. The most probable derivation is from the position 
of the county, the land here extending itself with an angle or 
comer eastward towards France. In Scotland such a comer is 
called Cantir ; the inhabitants of another comer in that part of 
the island are called Cantse by Ptolemy, and the Cangani were 
possessed of another comer . in Wales ; to which may be added 
the Cantabri, inhabiting a corner among the Celtiberians in 
Spain, and Kent is called Angulus, or a comer, by all our old 
geographers, as a name aptly denoting its situation. (Hasted, 
Hist, of Kent.) Others derive Kent from Celt, cean head. 
The W. cant is a circle ; cantref^ the division of a country, a 
canton or hundred ; cum is the head, top, or summit, and cyn 
the first or foremost part. 

ElESTON, a village in Kent where Csesar is said to have 
fought the Britons ; from A. S. Cesari-tun, Cfesar's town, in 
imitation of Casarea, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 14T 

KEVENON, in Wales, from W. eevnon, "the ash-tree 
ridge ;" eevn a ridge, onen the ash-tree. 

KEW. The most ancient record in which I have seen this 
place mentioned, is a court roll of the manor of Richmond, in the 
reign of Henry VII. It is there written Kayhough ; in subse- 
quent records its name is varied to Kayhowe, Kayhoo, Keyhowe, 
Keye, Kayo, and Kewe. Its situation near the water-side might 
induce one to seek its etymology from the word "key," or 
** quay." (Lysons.) 

KHORASSA.N (khur-a-sdn), a division of AfTghanistan. 
D'Herbelot derives this name from Pers. kMr the sun, and assan 
a habitable place. He says, that by khorastan is understood " a 
great extent of country well peopled du c6t6 du soleil, i.e. du 
soleil levant.'* " Aussi les Persans de I'lraque Persique disent 
que le Khorassan s'^tend depuis Rhei, ville de la Perse mon- 
tagneuse, qui s'appelle aussi Erak-A'gem [Irac-Agemi] ou 
Iraque Persique, jusqu'^ Mathla-Asitah, i.e. jusques au lever 
du soleil." 

KIEL (keel), in Holstein, Denmark. This town may have 
been named Kiel on account of its magnificent bay or harbour, 
from Teut. kille, kieile. See Calais and Gala. 

KIL, KILL, KILLI, KILLY, GILLY, is sometimes found 
in local names in Cornwall. The Com. chil means " the hinder 
part of the neck ; also a neck of land or promontory, as 
Kilsey or Kelsey, i.e. the dry neck of land. Kil, kill, killi, 
kiUy, gilly^ in the following names means "a grove," as 
Killgorick, the grove on the water side ; Killyverth, the white 
thorn grove ; Killigrew, the eagle's grove ; Killoch, Killyoke, 
the oak grove; Kilmar, Kilmarh, Kilmarth, the great grove, 
the horse grove, the wonderful grove; Roskilly ( — gilly), the 
grove in the valley. 

KILDARE, KILFINAN, KILKENNY, KILKERRAN, 
KILLALOE, KILLARNEY, KILMADOCK, KILMAR- 
NOCK, KILMORE, KILPATRICK, &c. See Kill. 

KILL, KIL, in local names in Ireland and Scotland, is the 
Gael, cill, a burying-ground, cell, chapel, grave ; from L. eella. 

l2 



148 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

(See Zell.) It generally means " church," perhaps originallj 
" cell ;" thus Kilbridge, the church of St. Bride or Bridget ; 
KUdare, the church of the oak (others say, ** wood of oaks," 
from Gael, coille a wood, and darech) ; Kilfinan, Scotland, the 
church or burying-place of St. Fman, who lived in the 7th 
century, and was a disciple of St. Columba ; Kilkenny, the church 
of St. Kenny, or Canice, from the cathedral church of the diocese 
of Ossory, founded there about the end of the 1 2th century; 
Kilkerran, the church of Ciarain (according to others " the circle 
or sepulchre of Ciarain," from eylch a circle) ; Killaloe from 
St. Lua, called Mo-Lua, who founded a cell there about the be- 
ginning of the 7th century ; Kilmadock, co. Perth, Scotland, 
the chapel of St. Madock, Madocus, or* Modocus, one of the 
Culdees ; Kilmore, the great church ; Kilpatnck, the church of 
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, to whom it was originally 
dedicated. 

KINGSTON-ON-THAMES, " famous for being the seat of 
the English Saxon kings in the Danish wars, and for the coro- 
nation of three kings." {Bailey.) From A. S. cynges-tun, king*s 
town. 

KINROSS, in Scotland, formerly Kynross or Kynrosse, 
named from its situation on a point of land running into Loch 
Leven ; from Gael, eeann, a head, point, high headland, ros, a 
promontory, isthmus. 

KINSALE', Ireland. The name may have been corrupted from 
Ir. cean-tail, " the head of the sea." 

KINTIRE, or KYNTIRE, the Mull of, Scotland ; from Gael, 
ceann-^^r^, a peninsula, promontory, headland, land's end; ceann, 
einn, head, point ; tir, i)re, country, region, territory, land in 
opposition to water (Fr. terre. Corn. W. and Arm. tir, Ir. tior 
and tir), from L. terra, from Sans, dhara. See Mull. 

KIRKALDT (JcerkawVde), a parish and district, co. Fife, 
Scotland; from A. S. ctrc^, eyrie, church, Celedei or Keledie, 
the Culdees. '• Prior to the introduction and establishment of 
Roman Catholicism in Scotland, the Culdees, who had erected 
•ev^ral religious estabUshments in Fife and Kinross, had one of 



LOCAL ETYMOLOQT. 149 

their houses called cells here ; hence the place was called KiU 
celedeL During the Scoto-Sason period, the name was changed 
to Kirk-caledie, suhsequentlj contracted into Kirkcaldie and 
Kirkaldv." 

KISTNAH, a river of Hindustan, rising in the Deccan ; from 
Krishnoy the popular divinity among the Hindus, named from 
his black complexion (Sans, krishna, black). 

KLAUSEN {klows'n), a little town in Tirol, lying S. of Brixen, 
and N. of Bozen ; jammed in between the river Eisack and the 
mountains ; from its L. name Clausum, from clausuMt shut up, 
inclosed. 

KONG MOUNTAINS, in the north-west of Africa. Kong m 
the Mandingo language means " mountains." 

KREMLIN, the ancient citadel of Moscow, now containing an 
imperial palace, &c. The word is used in Russia to denote the 
citadel of any town or city, from krem, a fortress. 

KUNCHINJINGA (konchinjong), a snow-clad mountain in the 
Sikkim Himalaya. The name is Tibetan, and signifies *' covered 
with snow." 

KUND, a termination of local names in India, as in Rohilcund 
or -kund, Bundelcund or -kund (an appellation given to this pro- 
vince from the Bundelas, a tribe of Rijputs), is a corruption 
of the Hind, khand, khund, khdnd, a district, province ; lit. a 
piece, a portion. 

KUTA'TA, a large town in Asia Minor, the ancient Kvraix, 
Cytsea, a town of Colchis, famous for the poisonous herbs which 
it produced, and as the birthplace of Medea* 



L. 



L ABU AN (lahoo'an), an island in the mouth of the River 
Borneo proper. The Mai. j^ ^jj labuh-an is an anchorage, 

an anchoring place ; from labuh or iabuh, to drop anchor. 

LADRONES. These islands were named from the thievish 



150 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

disposition of the natives at the time of their discoyery bj Magal- 
haens (1521) ; from Sp. Iddron^ a thief, robber, from L. latpo, 
'Onis, They are also called Marianne Islands, in honour of the 
Queen of Philip lY. of Spain, bj which king thej were settled. 

LAGO D£ M£RIM, a lake in Brazil, near the mouth of the 
Rio de la Plata, on the sea-coast. Merim is a Brazilian word 
signifying ''Httle:" a European would call this lake a yerj 
considerable one. 

LAIBACH (fye^ak), the chief town in Camiola, Austria, 
situated on a riyer of the same name, or rather, perhaps, on the 
Laib-ach, i.e. the Laib-brook. In Italian it is called Lubiana. 

LAKE TAHOO or TAI, in China, means the " Great Lake." 

LAMBETH. By ancient authors this name is written 
Lamhee, Lambeth, Lamhyth, and Lamedh. In the earliest 
record, a charter of Edward the Confessor in 1062, it is called 
Lambe-hithe, and in Domesday Lanchei, which latter is most 
probably a mistake. Dr. Ducaret derives Lambeth from A. S. 
lamb a lamb, hyth a haven ; the objection to which etymology, 
as Lysons observes, is that it has no meaning. Dr. Gale says 
it was named from its contiguity to a Boman road, or leman, 
which is generally supposed to have terminated at the river, at 
Stangate, whence there was a passage over the Thames ; but 
the most reasonable etymology is that from A. S. lam mud, htfth 
a haven or port. Lye writes *' Lamb-hythe, Lambhith, hodie 
Lambeth." 

LAMB'S CONDUIT STREET. The Old English Herbal, 
speaking of winter rocket or cresses, says, " It groweth of its 
own accord in gardens and fields by the way side in divers places, 
and particularly in the next pasture to the Conduit Head, behind 
Gray's Inn, that brings water to Mr. Lamb's conduit in Holborn." 
*' The fields around Lamb's Conduit formed a favourite promenade 
for the inhabitants of St. Andrew's Holborn and St. Giles in the 
Fields. They were first curtailed in 1714, by the formation of a 
new burying ground for the parish of St. Greorge*s, Bloomsbury, 
and again in 1739, by the erection of the Foundling Hospital. 
The conduit was taken down in 1746." (Gutmingham** London.) 



LOCAL ETTMOLOOr. 151 

At the north end of Lamb's Gonduit Street is a tareniy whiih 
formerly had for its sign a " lamb ! " 

LAMMERMOOR HILLS, situated in the counties of Edin- 
burgh, Berwick, and Haddington. Some translate Lammermoor, 
or rather Lammermuir ( — mweer), " the moor that reaches to 
the sea." But does it not rather mean the hills ** near the sea- 
side? ** The Gael, laim-ri is near, hard by, beside, at hand {lamh 
the hand, ri at), and muir the sea. 

LAMPFTER, S. Wales, a corruption of W. Uan Bedr, 
" Church Peter." 

LAMPLUGH, a parish, co. Cumberland ; said to have been 
named by its Irish inhabitants Glan flough or Glanfillough ("wet 
dale"), of which Lamplugh is a corruption. See Nioolson and 
Bum, Hist. Westm. & Cumb. 

LANCASTER, found written Longoaster. Camden contends 
that the Roman name of this place was Longoricum, " long street." 
Whitaker says it was the Ad-Alaunum of Richard of Cirencester's 
Itinerary. It was anciently a Roman station, and was doubtless 
a considerable fortress under the Saxon dynasty. Some derive 
the name from A. S. lang^ long, long, and ceaster a fortress. 
The more reasonable etymology is from Lan or Lune, and eeaster; 
'* a camp or fortress on the river Lune." 

LANDEK, a village in Tirol, situate at the comer of three 
roads ; from G. land, id., eck com^. 

LANDES (longd). The Landes are wild sterile districts^ 
stretching along the coast of Guyenne and Gascogne, in France, 
between the Gironde and the Adour. The name, which denotes 
heath or waste open country, is sufficiently descriptive of its 
natural character, though it varies considerably, the part near the 
coast being the wildest. (P. Cyc) Cotgrave says, "the Fr. 
lande is a wild, untilled, shrubby, bushy plain." Camden calls it 
" a plaine among trees." The Sp. has Unda, an extensive tract 
of heath land. The /ancfa is a plain, common, field. The French 
word is derived from the G. land, country. "C'est probable- 
ment par allusion k la st^rilit^ d'une grande partie des terres de 
rAllemagne que nous avons appele lande, une grande ^tendue de 



152 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

tefre qui ne produit que des bruy^res." {Noel.) The G. land 
may come from the Celt, llan, a clear place or areai or from L. 
planus, plain, flat, level ; thus, planus, plana, planata, planada, 
lanada, landa. Land. Larraraendi derives the Sp. landa from 
the Basq. Ian, labour, work, and da is; and, says he, "the 
earth and the fields are the theatre of labour and work." 

LANGUEDOC (long'gwedok), a province of France. The 
dialects called Langue fCoe and Langue d^oi, or d^oil, are derived 
from oc and out, the affirmatives peculiar to each dialect. The 
langue d*oil, was used by the Trouv^res, north of the Loire, 
and has expanded into the modem French ; the Langue d*oe or 
Provencal, was spoken by the Troubadours south of the Loire, 
and in the 11th century, was more employed in the language of 
poetry and sentiment than the Langue d*(nL {For. Quar.) 
Others derive Languedoc from lande de Goth, i.e. country of 
the Goth. 

LARISSA, a city of Thessaly, on the River Penens ; also a 
Pelasgian town in the Troad, which assisted Troy ; also the name 
of other ancient towns. Bochart says Fi<nva was the name of 
a city situated between Edessa and Mount Masius, in Mesopo- 
tamia, and Paia-eyoc that of another city between the rivers Chabora 
and Saocora, also in Mesopotamia ; and that there was also a city 
called Resen (see Genesis x. 12), lying between Nineveh and 
Calach, in Assyria. He thinks it very probable that when the 
Greeks asked of the Assyrian rabble the name of their city, they 
should have answered " fDlb " le-resen, i.e. ** of Resen," which 
the Greeks may have changed to Aoi^i<r<rav. 

LATAKIA, iu Asiatic Turkey, said to be a corruption of 
Laodieea, a city of Phrygia; also the name of other Asiatic 
cities; from Gr. Aao$iKsicL, perhaps named ader Aao^ixij (Laodice), 
one of Priam* s daughters ; also a daughter of Agamemnon, better 
known as Electra ; from Xaoc people, iixvi justice, &c. 

LATH, a part of a county, containing three or more 
hundreds or wapentakes ; from A. S. leth, lath (Low L. lastum, 
leda.) Webster thinks lath may come from lathian, to call 
together, and that the primary meaning may have been "u 



LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 153 

meeting or assembly." According to the Laws of Edward the 
Confessor, the lath in some counties answered to the trithing or 
third part of a county in others. The term is common in Kent. 
A lathe or leath in S. Lancashire and in Craven in Yorkshire 
means "a bam," from Dan. lade. See Carr's Craven Dial., 
Quar. Rev. vol. ex. 380; HalliweU; Spelman; Blackatone ; 
and Cowel, Law Diet. 

LAUNCESTON (lanson), in Cornwall, was anciently called 
Dunhevedy " the swelling hill." Its modern name, a contraction 
of Lan-eester-ton, means ** the church castle town." 

LAW, LA WE, a designation of many hills or mounds in Scot- 
land and in Northumberland, whether natural or artificial, as 
Berwick-law, &c. ; from A. S. hlaw^ hlaw, a mound, heap, a 
small hill. See also Jamieson, Sco. Diet, and voc. Low. 

LAWND, LOWND, LAUND, in names of hamlets, &c., in 
England, as Chipping Laund, Craize Lownd (Isle of Axholme), 
New Laund Booth (Lancashire), generally means plain lands, 
lands untilled, extending between planted lands or woods ; an 
open field between woods ; whence the smooth grass-plats about 
houses and mansions in the country are called " lawns." Cowel 
defines landa " a laund or open field without wood." The word 
is derived from G. land, signifying land, country* But see voc. 
Landes, and Ducange, Gloss. 

LAYTON, CO. Essex ; found written Lightun, and Ligetune ; 
from Liffa the River Lea, A. S. tun an enclosure, town. 

LE MANS {lemon^)y chief town of the department of the 
Maine. Mans is a corruption of Cenomanum, capital of the 
Cenomani or Cenomanni, a people who anciently dwelt in this 
part of France. These Cenomanni, or " head men," seem to be 
the same as the Cenomanni, Iceni, Y-ceni, Ceni, or Cenones, who 
inhabited Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, &c. Cenomanum was 
called by the Romans Suindinum, The original Celtic name may 
have been S^ai/n-din, i.e. holy town. 

LEADENHALL, the name of a market and street in London, 
is a corruption of Leather Hall ; a large market for hides and 
leather having been formerly held here. 



154 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

LEAMINGTON, or LEAMINGTON PRIORS (Urn—), co. 
Warwick, is named from the river Leam, in die vale of whidi 
it is situated, and from its having originally belonged to the 
Priory of Kenilworth. Dngdale thinks the river may have its 
jiame from Gr. Aijctijy, a pool, lake* He says, " this river is of a 
muddy disposition, having some standing holes, in the nature of 
lakes or ponds, in sundry places thereof ; and we find at this day 
that divers of those artificial rivers in Cambridgeshire, anciently 
cut to drain the fens, bear the name of Leame, as Watersey 
Leame, New Leame, Moston's Leame, te., being all muddy 
channels through which the water hath a dull or sfew passage." 
The Gr. Aijuii^y is a haven, seaport, harbour, refuge ; Dugdale 
probably means Xijxmj, a marsh, lake, stagnant water. The A. S. 
has lam, D. leem, G. lehmf loam, Dan. iMm, Sw. lim, lime, glue, 
L. limus, slime, mud, Gr. Xufta, filth. We find Limeme or 
lAmine-muthy " mouth of the River limine," in Kent. The ^ in 
Leamington is perhi4>s of modem introduction, like that in 
Lymington ; or Leandng-tun may translate ** the town of the 
Leam river people." See Ing. 

LEB'ANON, or LiVanus, Gr. AijSavoc, a celebrated mountain 
on the confines of Syria and Palestine, described as abounding in 
cedars and various kinds of fragrant plants. *^ Libanus is 
so called from the milky whiteness of its perpetual snow." 
(Riehardwn^ ** The name Libanon comes from the whitish colour 
of the limestone rock." (Robinson's Palest, lib. iii. p. 439.) Jere- 
miah (xviii. 14) speaks of the snow of Libanus. Tacitus (Hist. 
lib. V. cap. 6) says " Prsedpuum montium Libanum erigit, mirum 
dictu, tantos inter ardores opacum fidumque nivibus." The name 

in Arab, is written ...UuJ lubndn, which seems to come from 

laban milk. The Heb. pb laban signifies " white." 

LECH or LLECH (lek% in local names in Wales, is the W. 
lieeh , a flat stone, slate stone, slate rock, slate ; thus, Llechvaen, 
near Brecknock, from Uech, and vaen, for maen, a stone. 

LECHLADE (lek'lade) co. Gloucester, named from its 
situation on the River Lech, and A. S. ladian, to empty. North- 
lech is near the source of the Lech. See Crickladk. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 155 

LEEDS, formerly Loidis, which some derive from A. S. ledd, 
a people. Whitaker considers Laidis the genitive case of Loidi^ 
the name of the first Saxon possessor of the place. He says this 
kind of ellipsis was very frequent ; thus Melsis, the dwelling of the 
Hcflsi; and in N. Lancashire, Levens (theLefaenes of Domesday), 
the habitation of Leoffwine. 

LEICESTER (leater), found written Ligora-ceaater, Liggora- 
-eeaster, Liecestre, and Leioestre; from A. S. Legre-cedster \ 
named from the river Legre or Leir (now the Soar), on which it 
stands. 

LEIGHTON BUZZARD, co. Beds, a town of Norman origin, 
.on the River Ouse. It was formerly called Leiton-Beau-Desart, 
said to be derived from leiton grassy ground, beau fair, deaart 
woody. The name is found written Leiton Bosart, and, in the 
Chronicles of Dunstable, Leyton. 

LEINTWARDINE, co. Hereford; Bradwardine, &e. See 
Waroine. 

LEIPZIG or LEIPSIC {lype-tzig), originated in the Slavonian 
village situated in the angle where the Parde. falls into the Pleisse. 
It is said to have received its name from the lime-trees (Slav. ZtjM, 
Upa^ or lipsk) growing about it. 

LENHAM, Kent, named from its situation on the Len, which 
falls into the Medway near Maidstone ; A. S. Aam, a dwelling. 

LEOMINSTER (lem'tter), co. Hereford, from A. S. Uof, loved, 
beloved, dear, mynater a monastery. 

LESLIE {lez'le), a parish, co. Fife, said to be from Gael. 
lis a garden, or enchanted spot, and Leven, the name of the 
river ; thus, lisleven, lisleen, lislie, Leslie. *' This derivation 
corresponds with the beautiful table-land on which the village is 
built, originally the scene of royal imd noble games, and the 
resort of all that was royal and noble in Scotland, to enjoy those 
games in safety ; hence the name still retained by many a con- 
tiguous field and croft, wliere each noble family erected their own 
pavilion, such as Bin-ard-ri, pronounced bingarhree^ 'high 
station of the king.' Every name of standing in the parish is 
Gaelic, and many evidently connected with royalty, as Strafaendry 



156 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

for Strath^an-ri, * the king's park or forest ;' Balquhonvie, for 
Bal-quhom-ri, 'the king's grass town.* Balsillie, for Bal- 
shiellie, * com town ;' Ingri, for Effiui-an-ri, ' the king's 
chapel.' " (Stat. Aec. of Scot,) By /i* is meant the Gael, /to*, 
a garden, lit. a court, palace, house, fortified place. Cf. Ir. /to«, 
a court ; W. Uyst Arm. /«, a court ; Com. llys, a manor-house. 
LEWES (loo'U), Sussex, " hath its name of pastures called by 
the English Saxons Leswa.** (Camden.) ** From O. Fr. Les 
ewes, waters, as expressive of its state when the levels north and 
south of the town were flooded for the greater part of the year." 
(Rowe.) " In ancient times the valley to the north and south 
of the town was undoubtedly one continued lake ; hence the L. 
denomination of Laquis, given to it in Domesday ; hence also the 
names of the town and of the river, both of which are but corrup- 
tions of the equivalent French word Eaux,*' (Allen, Hist. Surr. 
and Suss.) It has been likewise suggested that a Belgic tribe 
named the Levaci, and mentioned by Csesar, may have settled in 
this district, and that Lewes may have derived its name from them; 
which is considered the more probable, from the Belgse having 
formerly possessed the whole of our maritime coast. (Elliot fs 
MSS.) A Brit, etymology from ffluis, shining or bright, has 
been hazarded by a passage from Camden ; but the only reason 
given, is, the neighbouring chalk-pits and the chalky tracts pro- 
bably worn by the Britons, and which, seen at a distance, would 
appear as bright spots in contrast with the green Downs. This 
derivation, however, has been considered too general, since every 
inhabited spot on the slope of the Downs, standing upon a chalky 
soil, might for the same reason be designated '' Gluis." Baxter, 
under "Lagentiura," says Lewes was probably called by the 
ancients Laiiisca, as much as to say, '* the hand upon the water 
(from Anc. Brit, lau a hand, isca water), and under *' Clauanis, 
he remarks, that the largest of the Hebrides, which shoots for- 
ward its arms or promontories into the sea, is called " Lewes ;" that 
its former name was Clauanis, from elau or lau an arm, inis 
an island — " an island Uke an arm." Horsfield, the historian, 
assures us that the derivation of Lewes from lau and ese (which 






LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 157 

seems to be merely another form of isea), strictlj agrees with 
the face of the comitry and the situation of the town, and that 
several remains of the termination ese are to be found in the 
immediate neighbourhood of Lewes river, as Isefield, Lewese, 
Southese, Northese, all of which take their names from their 
relative situation near the river anciently called Ise, Ease, Esse, 
Eyse, Use, and now the Ouse. For our part, we think the most 
reasonable derivation is that from the A. S. hl€ewy " a word 
expressive of the gradual ascent which the eastern termination of 
the Down makes from the river," joined to the old Brit, name of 
the stream, Isca or Ise ; whence hUew-ise, hlew-ese, or Lewes. 

LEWISHAM, Kent, formerly Lewsham, and before that 
Levesham, said to be named from its situation; from A. S. 
lijuwes pastures, ham a habitation. The O. Eng. word leasow is 
still used for a pasture in Herefordshire and some other counties. 

LEY, LEA, LEE, LAY, LEIGH, in local names in England, 
as in Bletchingley, Bletchley, Botley, Dudley, Dursley, Hanley, 
Helmsley, Lee, Layton, Leighton, means an open field, or large 
pasture ; from A. S. lea^, legh^ leak, lega^ ley, a ley, field, place ; 
(W. Ue, Fr. /ten, a place) from L. locus^ a place. 

LEYDEN (la!dn), a town in Holland ; a corruption of Luff' 
dunum, the L. form of its original name. The Romans called it 
Lugdunum Batavorum. See Lyons and Dun. 

LIBYA (/t6'-e-a), L. Libyan Gr. A/Svij, a part of Africa now 
called Abyssinia. An ancient writer says Libya has its name 
from the colour of its inhabitants, and that Aj/5vc is an old Gr. 
word for "black." Warburtou derives Libya from Heb. leb, 
heat ; Bochart from Heb. lib lub, thirst, from the quality of the 
soil of the country. He says laab is the same as /u6, just as laat 
is the same as lut ; that from laab comes Jm-lab-oth, which means 
dry and thirsty places ; and that therefore lub signifies a thirsty 
land. He quotes Lucan, who says. 



" per calidaa LibjB ritientii arenas." 



LICHFIELD {litchfield), co. Stafford ; from A. S. lie, lice, a 
body, dead body, corpse, and feld a field ; lit. " the field of dead 



158 LOCAL BTTMOLOGT. 

bodies" (^'because," saysBailej, ^'agreatmanysaffered martyrdom 
there in the time of Dioclesian ") ; or *<from lie, wet, from 
hecian^ to irrigate ; from the stream which divides the city, and 
/eld a field. (See B(moorth.) The Dame of this place is found 
written Licedfeld, Licetfeld, Liccetfeld, Licitfeld, Licethfeld, 
Lichesfeld, Lichfeld, Lychefeld, and Lichfelde. Bede writes it 
Licid-feld. 

LIDFORD, CO. Devon ; found written Hlida-ford, Hlydanford, 
Lideforda, and Lideford ; ** Ford of the Lida." 

LIGURIA, a country of ancient Italy, extending from the 
Apennines to the Tuscan Sea. An inhabitant of Liguria was 
called Ligus and Ligur. Some derive ligur teom Basq. li-gora, a 
mountaineer, from /t, tV/t, people, country, gora high, elevated. 
The L. name for the river Loire, in France, was Liger, 

LILLA, LILLE, in local names in Sweden, Norway, and 
Denmark, is the Sw. liUa, Dan. lille, lille, as Lilla Edet, in 
Sweden ; Lillehammer and Lillesand, in Norway ; the Lille Belt, 
between Slesvig and the island of Fyen or Funen in Denmark. 

LILLE {leet), formerly L'Isle, a town of France. It was 
anciently called Insula — from its situation ; being built between 
two rivers, the Lys and the Deule — whence, by corruption, 
its present name. Thus insula, insel, isel, isle, L'Isle, Lille. 
The Germans and Flemings call it Ryssel, which may be a cor- 
ruption of Lgs-insel, or Rys-insel. Rys^ in Dutch, means brush- 
wood. The French pronounce it LiL 

LIMA {leema)y the capital of Peru, was formerly called Rimac, 
from the name of a famous idol, represented under the figure of 
a man, and uttering oracles. To this idol the incas and grandees 
of Peru were in the habit of sending ambassadors to consult upon 
the most important affairs. From the responses which it gave, 
they called it Rimac, i.e. ** he who speaks." The Indians, or 
more probably the Spaniards, corrupted Rimac into Lima, 

LINCOLN (lingkan), called by the Romans Lindecollina ; by 
Ptolemy and Antoninus Lindun ; by Bede Linde Collinum and 
Linde Collina ; and by the Saxons Lincolen, Lincylen, Lindcy- 
len, Ljrndcylene-ceaster, lincol, Lincolla, and Ljrndcolla. Having 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 159 

the privilege of a Roman colony, it was also styled Lindun 
Colonia, whence possibly its present name. Lindun or Lindin 
may come from Anc. Brit. Uyn, a lake, pool> and din a town. 
Others derive Lincoln from Lyndeeolline, because the principal 
part of the town, in Saxon times, stood upon a collyne or 
hill. According to Camden it was named Lindcoit from the 
woody neighbourhood (W. eoed a wood). Under the Nor- 
man dynasty, Lincolnshire, according to some writers, was 
called Nicolshire, which (rough, however, supposes to be 
either a mistaken reading of IncoU or Lincol, or to have 
arisen from the imperfect pronunciation of the Normans. The 
ancient inhabitants of Lincolnshire were the Coritani or Coriceni, 
*' a name of uncertain derivation, but which probably had its 
origin in the Brit, word corani or coranaie, appellations denoting 
men that are liberal, generous or lavish.'' ( Cam, Reg. vol. xi.) 

LING, in local names in China, generally means '* a chain of 
mountains ; " thus, Pih-ling, the northern chain ; Nan-ling, the 
southern chain. 

LIP, a termination of many local names in England, as 
Hindlip, Postlip, Birdlip, Counterslip, Wanlip, is the A. S. hlyp, 
hlip, hleop, a leap, jump. Hicks translates Hindlip, " track of 
hounds ; " Nash says *' harts' leaps." 

LIPARI ISLANDS (le-pa-re), near Sicily, in L. Lipara and 
Lipare; and in Gr. Aiirapi^ and AiitapiQ. The L. liparii is a 
kind of lizard or fish, also a sort of gem ; the Gr. Xiirapoc is fat, 
greasy, rich, fertile, shining, &c. The name of the islands may 
have been derived from Xtirapoct and the Latins may have 
called a lizard, and also a particular sort of gem, liparis, because 
these islands abounded with both of them. According to Pliny, 
(lib. iii., cap. 9), the Lipari islands were named after King 
Liparus. They were anciently called MsAjyouv/c, Meligunis. 
See Diod» Sic, lib. i., and P. Sab. 

LISBON; Port, and Sp. Litboa, Fr. Lisbanne, It. Lisbona. 
It is related that Ulysses, after the destruction of Troy, sailed 
hither, and laid the foundation of this city, which was called after 
him Ulysiipane, Ulysiipo, or Olynipo ; but, as Lamartini^re 



• -^ 



160 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY- 

observes, the resemblaDce of the names might have occasioned 
this opinion, and, besides the difficulty of proving that Ulysses 
ever led the Mediterranean Sea, the true name was neither 
Ufyasipo nor Olyssipo, but Olisipo, as proved by an inscription 
fonnd at Lisbon. There is an ancient tradition that this city 
was first designated ElyseOf afler its founder Elisa, brother of 
Tubal, and grandson of Noah. It was with equal probability 
called Elysa, from the Elysian fields which were supposed to 
have been here. Others say that the harbour of Lisbon, which 
is spacious and deep, was called by the Phoenicians, who first 
traded there, Olisippo, i.e. " agreeable bay," whence its present 
name has been corrupted. This last derivation seems the most 
reasonable. 

LISIEUX (Zwr-yii'), a town in the department of Calvados, in 
France. It existed at the time of the Roman conquest, when it was 
called Noviomagus, or Noeomagus. It subsequently took the 
name of Lexovii^ from the people to whom it belonged, whence 
its present name is derived. (P. Cyc.) 

LISKEARD (lis'keerd), in Cornwall ; one of the ancient seats 
of the Dukes of Cornwall. Lis- card or Les-keard in Com. means 
a fortified court or palace, or refiner's court or green. Leslis, is 
the Arm. les, lis, a court, hall. See Pryce, 

LIVERPOOL, found written Lyrpul, Litherpul, Lyrpole, Ly ver- 
pool, livrepol, Lyverpol, Liverpole, Lerpoole, Leerpole, Leverpole, 
and Leverpool. Camden writes the name Lithere-pool ; Baxter 
Lither-pool, and Leland L/r-poll. In popular belief, the name 
is derived from that of a bird called a liver or lever, which used 
to frequent the site of the town, a great part of which was for- 
merly a marshy pool. The corporate seal of the town bears the 
figure of a bird, which, however, as there represented, is said to 
be of a species wholly unknown at the present day. The historian 
says " the borough of Liverpool beareth argent a lever azure, the 
family of Lever beareth three levers* heads couped, and Lever of 
Liverpool argent a lever azure, the beak and legs. In truth the 
lever, if such a bird really exist in nature, appears to be no other 
than the blue duck which sometimes frequents our coasts and is 



LOCAL BTYMOLOGT. 161 

also found in the river Ribble, known at present by the name of 
the ** blue shoveller, the afuu elypeater of Linnaeus, which agrees 
in form with that represented on the borough seal ;" and he thinks 
the lever was chosen as an emblem for the seal in imitation of the 
Lever family and others. That there was anciently a* bird called 
the lever seems probable, from the fact that in D. we have 
lepeler, ** a bird somewhat like a heron, having a long bill round 
at the end," evidently derived from Upel, G, Isfel, a spoon. 
The name of Liverpool has also been derived from the W. i/er- 
pwU, i. e. ''place on the pool : " and in confirmation, it is stated 
that anciently the whole estuary of the Mersey, as far as Run- 
corn, was called Lyrpul or Lyrpoole, and that Liverpool is pro- 
nounced lerpool by many of the country people in the neighbour- 
hood. In the original charter, however, of Henry II., in 1173, 
this town is described as a place '* which the Lyrpool men call 
Litherpool." In the subsequent charter of King John it is 
called Lyrpool. According to others, in the provincial dialect 
lither signifies lower, and they say that Lither'pool may mean 
simply the ** lower pool," and hence the name of the village 
Litherland, or ''lower land," and of a passage stiU called Lither- 
land Passage, in the neighbourhood of Pool Lane. We are 
inclined to think that the true derivation of the name has not 
yet been given. The original appellation was probably either 
Litherpool or Latherpool. Litherpool would translate " sluggish 
pool." Lither is a north country word signifying idle, lazy, slug- 
gish, and may come from A. S. hlithe. Latherpwll would signify 
in the Anc. Brit, "smooth pool." The W. llathr is glossy, 
polished, glittering; llathru, to make smooth; llithriff, sliding, 
gliding, slippery, the A. S. lith, Mith, gentle, compar. lithra^ 
lithre. When speaking of " pool," we refer, of course, to the 
pool which encircled the ancient town, and not to the pool of the 
Mersey. 

LIVONIA or LIVLAND, G. Liejland, one of the Baltic pro- 
vinces of Russia, derives its name from its inhabitants, the Liven, 
a Finnish tribe, now either extinct, or confounded with the Es- 
thonians and the Lettonians or Letten. 

M 



162 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

LLAN, LAN, in local names in Wales, is the general prefix of 
Welsh churches, coupled with the name of some native pastor. 
The pi. llanau signified sacred enclosures or churchyards. Owen 
translates lldn, a church-village, a church or place of meeting, a 
clear place, area, or spot of ground to deposit anything in, a yard, 
or a small enclosure, a place of gathering together. The primary 
signification is prohahly a yard or enclosure. Among local names 
having the prefix llan, are Llanarth ; Llanasaph, the church of St. 
Asaph ; Llanheris and LlandafF (q. v.) ; Llanidloes, church of 
St. Idloes ; Llandovery, said to be a corruption of Llan-ym-ddy- 
froedy " the church among the waters," derived from its situation 
near the confluence of several streams; Llandudno; and Llan- 
gollen (q.v.) ; Llanhidrock, church of St. Hidrock ; Llanthony, 
i. e. Llan-Anthony ; Llanymynech, the village of the miners. 
Launceston, in Cornwall, also, was anciently called Llan Stephadon, 
church of St. Stephen. 

LLANBER'IS, near Caernarvon, N. Wales. The church was 
dedicated to St. Peris, a Cardinal missioned from Rome, who settled 
and died here. From W. llan a church, and Berts for Peris. 

LLANDAFF, co. Glamorgan, for Llan David, i. e. the church 
of St. David. Others say " church on the River Taff." 

LLANDUDNO (landicTno)^ co. Caernarvon, from W. llan a 
church, and Tudno, " the name of a saint who chose for his retreat 
the precipitous eminence known as the great St. Orme'sUead, on 
which the sacred fire, after being borne across the Menai from An- 
glesey, was first exhibited on the vernal festival of the first of May, 
and from which, by the enactments of the Druid ic religion, every 
family in the kingdom was obliged to re-kindle its hearth-stone or 
domestic fire, extinguished under the operation of the same laws 
the preceding night." (See N. Sf Q., 2d S. ii. 230.) 

LLANGOLLEN (JangotKlen), co. Denbigh, N. Wales ; « the 
church of St. Collen," whose Latin legend is still extant. See 
Llan. 

LLWCH (lookh), in local names in Wales, is the W. llwch, a 
lake, as Llwch Lawe, Llwch Sawdde, Llwch Cyhirych, Llwch 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 163 

Amlwch ; also Tal-y-llychau, Llan Llwch ; places situated near 
lakes. 

LOCH (lok) in local names in Scotland, as Loch Taj, Loch 
Fine, Loch Awe, Loch Ness, &c., means a lake, a bay or arm of 
the sea; from Gael. /ocA, locha (W. llwchy Arm. lagen, Manx 
luch a lake, G. lack a pool, Bisc. and Fr. lac, Sp. and It. logo, 
£ng. lake)f from L. Iacu8 a lake, Gr. Xaxxoc Aaxoc) a pit> cistern, 
pool, lake; allied to Chal. lachah, a marsh, and Heb. lekee, 
to hold. 

LOCH KATRINE (kafreen) or CATHARINE, one of the 
largest and most interesting of the . Scottish lochs. Sir Walter 
Scott calls it Katterin, and in some maps the name is written 
Katherine. The people pronounce the word katteren, "The 
name JTafrtne," says Kohl, ''occurs more than once in Scotland ; 
thus, the castle of the Stuarts^ in Ayrshire, is called Catrine ; 
hence it is reasonable to suppose that both the castle and lake were 
named in honour of the Caterans, those famous freebooters who, for 
along time, played such an important part in Scottish history." A 
Gael told our author that the lake, in Gaelic, is properly "Loch 
Ceam" (pronounced kairn), meaning "the lake of lords or heroes," 
which became afterwards corrupted into Katrine, 

LOCH LOMOND. Armstrong says " Lomond " is synony- 
mous with Lacus Leman-us in Helvetia, in the time of Caesar. 
But see Ben Lomond. 

LOE (fo), EAST LO, LOO, or LOE, a village in ComwaD, 
The name in Corn, means " a lake or pond." 

LOMBARDY. Some say Lombardy is the country of the 
Longobardi, or long beards ; but bardi means bards, not beards, 
which would be barbee. Vossius, with more reason, derives the 
name from longis bardis, or bartis, i. e. long battle-axes, which 
these people carried ; and he says the word is found in Teut. helle^ 
baert, perhaps from hel, bright, splendid, flaming, and baerd, a 
halberd, battle-axe. 

LONDON. Tacitus and other Roman writers call it Londi- 
nium ; the Saxons Lundun, Lunden, Lundon, Londone, Lunden- 

M 2 



164 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

burgb, Lundanes, Lundun-ceaster. Some derive the name from 
Anc. Brit, lyn, a lake, din, a town or harbour for ships ; " as until 
recent dates, the south side of the river was often a lake in some 
parts, and a swamp in others, the name might easily be changed 
from Lyndin to London, and be descriptive of its local position." 
(Encyc, Brit,) Somner gives W. llawn, populous, dinaa, a city. 
Many other etymologies have been suggested, as that from Luna, 
another name for Diana ; or from Lindus, a city of Rhodes ; or 
Lugdus, a Celtic prince ; or from the Brit. Llan-Dyn, '* the temple 
of Diana ;" or from llwyn a wood or grove, dintu a town ; or 
llong a ship, and dinas, i. e. town or harbour for ships. Mait- 
land derives it from Anc. Gael. Ion a place, dun or don, an eminence 
or hill ; " than which no denomination can better suit the city of 
London." Stow says, "King Lud (as Geffrey of Monmouth 
noteth) afterwards repaired this dtie, but also increased the 
same with fair buildings, towers and) walks, and after his own 
name called it Caire-Lud, as 'Lud's town,' and the strong 
gate he builded in the Welsh part of the citie he likewise for 
his own honour named Ludgate ;" and that Cair Lunden is 
mentioned byNeunius in the list of Anc. Brit, cities. This 
derivation of Stow will do very well for Ludgate, but not for 
London. The most reasonable etymology is that from lyn and 
din, and the name may have come thus : Lyndin (pron. lundin), 
Lundinium, Londinium, Londin, Lundin, Lundun, Lundon, Lon- 
don. Dr. Pughe says " Llundain (Uun-tain) * the form or bend of 
the Tain ;' Caer Lundain, or more properly, perhaps, Llydain ' the 
spread of the River Tain,* the Welsh name for London. It was so 
called on account of its being situated on a large expanse of the 
River Thames, or Tain, beginning about Battersea, and including 
all the present low grounds on both sides, to Erith ; by which 
place the water ran in a narrow channel, made by its own force 
through a chain of hills, lying in a transverse direction to the 
stream ; and it would seem that a memorial of such an event is 
preserved in the name of the place, for erth implies a bursting 
through, or a rupture ; whence Erith, the present name, differs 
scarcely anything in sound." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOQT. 165 

LOO, LO, a not unfrequent termination of local names in the 
Netherlands, particularly in Gelderland and Overyssel ; as Almelo, 
Borkulo, Dinxperlo, £ckelo, Ermelo, Groenlo, Hetloo, Humelo» 
Lillo, Peterloo, Ruerlo, Tessenderlo, Yenlo, Waterloo. Loot loo, 
according to some, is a wood ; others say a marsh. Wachter 
thinks lo, loo, means a plain ; and he cites Tozanderlo, which is 
now called Kempen, not because it is surrounded with marshes, but 
with plains. Yerelius translates la *' mare, the sea ;" and, says 
Wachter, this la may be from Gr. A£/oc, smooth ; and lo may mean 
the smooth surface of a plain, and la that of the sea ; and he refers 
to the L. aquor, which means the smooth surface of the land, 
as weU as of the sea. See Yenlo. 

LOODIA'NA, a town in Sirhind, Hindustan ; so called from 
having been founded and principally inhabited by the Lodi 
{LodhA, Lodhi), a tribe of Afghans. {Thornton.) 

LORCH, {lork) a village near £nns, on the Danube, corrupted 
from Lauriacum, a Roman station, on the site of which £nns now 
stands. 

LORRAINE (lorrain), a province of France, formerly Lorrene ; 
from O. Fr. Loherregne, from Lotharingia, i.e. Lotharii JRegnutn, 
the kingdom of Lotharius, son of the emperor of the same name. 

LOSTWITHIEL (losfwithel), a village in .Cornwall, formerly 
Lestwithiel. Let uthiel, or Lea uhal, in Corn, means " the lofty 
palace." Uchel in W. is high, lofly, and Ifys, a palace. 

LOTUBURY, London. Stow, speaking of one of the city wards, 
says ** of the antiquities to be named therein are these : — First, the 
street of Lothberie, Lathberie, or Loadberie (for by all these names 
have I read it) took the name, as it seemeth, of berie, a court of old 
time there kept, but by whom is grown out of memory. This street 
is possessed for the most part by founders, that cast candlesticks, 
chafing-dishes, spice mortars, and such like copper and laton 
works, and do afterwards turn them with the foot, and not with the 
wheel, to make them smooth and bright, making &loathsomenohe, 
to the by-passers, that have not been used to the like, and therefore 
by them disdainfully called Lothberie." Lothbury may have been 
originally called Latonbury. The word latone, now latten, was a 



166 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

term used in the middle ages for a fine kind of brass, or copper very 
much resembling brass, used for making crosses, candlesticks, &c,; 
from Fr. let on or laiton, D. latoen, Arm. la ton, 

LOUGH (Jok), in Ireland, means a lake, or arm of the sea ; as 
Lough Allen, Lough Erne, Lough Foyle, Lough Neagh, Lough 
Swilly. It is merely another orthography of the Grael. loch. (q. v.). 

LOUVRE {loovef). The etymology of Louvre, the royal 
palace at Paris, is variously explained by French writers. Some 
assert that the early French monarchs, who delighted in the 
chase of the wolf, erected a hunting seat here at a time when 
the country about Paris was covered with immense forests 
infested by wolves ; and they derive Louvre from louve or loup^ 
a wolf. Others say from the Sax. leower (perhaps hlaw a 
mound), a fortress ; or from the O. Fr. word rouvre, (from 
roboretum), a forest of oaks ; or from L'oeuvre, the work or 
building, par excellence. Mons. Clarac considers the last to be 
the least probable etymology, because in ancient documents this 
building is called Lupara, perhaps pronounced loupara (which 
might be easily changed into Louvre), at a time when it is doubt- 
ful if the word ceuvre was in use. Besides, he observes, would 
they have applied the pompous term, "L* ceuvre," par excel- 
lence to a hunting-seat, while the king had already a palace in 
Paris itself, and the vast Thermae of Julian were in exist- 
ence? Mons. Clarac inclines to the derivation from "the hunting 
of the louve." If this be correct, the word may have been formed 
thus : Xuxoc, lupus, lupa, lupara, Louvre. The old word lover, 
loover, or louver, was applied to a chimney, or rather to an open- 
ing in the roof of old houses through which the smoke was 
emitted. This word is by some derived from the Fr. fouvert, 
open, or from the Ice. lidri (pronouned liowri or liovri), 
Norw. liori, W. Goth, liura; which, in the statistical accounts of 
the northern countries, is described as a sort of cupola with a trap- 
door, serving the two-fold purpose of a chimney and a sky-light ; 
and they derive libri from libs, light, analogous to the Fr. lucame, 
from L. lucerna. See also Musee du Louvre, par Clarac, p. 248 ; 
Buchetne ; Dallaway, Disc, ed. 1833, p. 1741; and Craven, Gloss. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 167 

*« 

LOW, LOWE, and L0£ (/J), found in local names in England, 
is the A. S. hkeWi Maw, M. Goth, hlaiw, a heap, burrow, 
small hill, tract of ground gently rising. Thus, Hounslow, from 
hundeS'hlaw, hound' slow; Winslow, from winnes-hlaw, mound 
of battle, or windes-hlaw, the windy mound ; also Barlow, Bed- 
low, Eastlow, Ludlow, Merlow (qu. Marlow), Taplow, Westlow, 
Wicklow. (See Boswortk.) 

LOWESTOFT (lo'stof), co. Suffolk. Some translate this 
name ** toft of the lakes,'* there being two lakes in the vicinity. 
According to others, Lowestoft or Lowestoffe is LowevLS hof, from 
the Viking named Lowen, i. e. lion. See voc. Tot. 

LUCKNOW, the chief city of Oude. The name is properly 

written AX^ lacknau, perhaps contracted from its ancient Sans. 

name Lakshmanavati, signifying fortunate, lucky, thus ; Laksh- 
manavati, Laksmanauti, Laksm'naut, Laksnaut, Laksnau, Laknau. 
Gaur Lucknauti, or Gaur, a ruined city in the presidency of 
Bengal, may derive its name from the same root ; although, ac- 
cording to some, it was named after Lakshmana, who ruled over 
it in the 12th century. Both names, however, appear to be con- 
nected with Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity. 

LUDGATE, formerly one of the western gates of the city of 
London. " Either of Lud, a king of the Britons, who built it, as 
some say ; or q. d. Flood-gate, from a little river that ran under 
it ; or, as Dr. Th. H. supposes, of Sax. leod the people, and ffate^ 
as Porto del Popolo, at Rome." (Bailey.) 

LUDLOW, CO, Salop ; found written Leod-hlaw, and Lude- 
hlaw ; from A. S. leod people, a nation, and hlaw, hlcew, a heap, 
barrow, small hill, a tract of ground gently rising. "Ludlow, 
populi tumulus,*' (Bosworth,) 

LUND, in local names in the N. of England, as in Plumbelund, 
a village near Cockermouth, co. Cumberland ; also in Denmark, 
as Charlottenlund, Christianslund, Frydenlund, Frederickslund, 
Lundigt, &c., villages near Copenhagen ; is the Dan. and Sw. 
lund, a grove or wood dedicated formerly to some god. In Lan- 
cashire lund also signifies a township, and is a family name. 
LUNDY SIND, or Kdbul Biver. The name in Pushto signi- 



168 IJOGAL ETTMOLOGT. 



fics ''the little river;** in eootndisliBcCkNi to Aba Sind, or 
''fiuher of rivers,** as the Indos b termed. 

LUSITANIA, the ancient mppdlatioa of Pbiti^dL Tarro and 
others derive the name from Lnsos, son of Baodios; Bochart 
from nb lug, a word naed bj the Hebrews and Syrians lor an 
ahnond. He si^ the Phomirians often named places from their 
aboondingin froii; that there were two places called Lma, one 
in the tribe of Benjamin, and the other in the tribe of Ephraim, 
both probably named from the fruit which thej produced ; and 
why not also Lusitanta, which yields to no place on the globe 
in the abundance and eicelknce of its almonds ? Further, 
tiiat writers speak of the great quantity of wine, oil, oranges, 
citrons, and almonds, produced in Lnsitania; and that there are 
several places in Portugal, which were named on that account, as 
Calmende, for Ca$almetide, " the almond house ;" Castelmondo 

for CoMtro almendrOf '* the almond fort." The Arab, has jJ 

lawz (lawzat), an almond. 

LUTON, CO. Beds, found written in Domesday and in different 
charters, Loitoine, Lo3rton, Luytone, Luyton, Lewton, and Loton. 
The Saxons called it Lygetune. Davis tells us it has its name 
from the River Lyge, now called Lea, which rises near Houghton 
Regis, and runs through the whole extent of Luton parish. It 
appears to have been an ancient tovm of the Britons. Its oldest 
name was Lygea-byrig, or -burg. The Brit, name vras nearly the 
same as the Sax. Lygea, which means " a river in an open field." 

LUXEMBOURG, a grand duchy, takes its name from the old 
chateau of Lucili burgum, which, in 963, vnu acquired by Sigfried, 
Count of Ardennes ; whose descendants, from 1 120, took the title 
of Counts of Luxembourg {burff, a castle). 

LUXOR ; El Kusr, " the palaces ;" a village of Upper Egypt, 
on the right bank of the Nile, occupying partly the ancient site of 
Thebes, and having one of the most magnificent ancient temples 
extant. (Johnston.) It is called ** The Palaces " from the temple 
erected there by Amunoph III. and Rameses II. The name is 

derived from Arab. A\ al the, ^ kasr (pi. kw&r)^ a dwelling, 

every edifice built with stones, a palace, a citadel. 



LOCAL BTTMOLOGY. 169 

LYME REGIS, co. Dorset. See Regis. 

LYM'INGTONy a town in Hants^ situate on the river 
Lymington. The manor is in Domesday called Lentune ; temp. 
Edw. I. Lemynton^ and in several charters Liminton, which War- 
ner {Hist, Hants) considers the proper orthography ; and he 
derives it from Brit, limii a stream, and A. S. tun a town. See 
also Baxter, Etym. in voc. Limia. 

LLYN, in local names in Wales, is the W. llyn a lake ; as Llyn 
Goch, the red pool ; Llyn Flynnon y Gwas, the servant's pool ; 
Llyn Glas, the blue pool ; Llyn y Cae, the inclosed pool ; Llyn y 
Cwm, the pool of the dogs ;Llyn y Dwarchen, the pool of the sod ; 
Llynn y Nadroedd, the adder's pool. 

LYNN, LYNN REGIS, or KING'S LYNN, co. Norfolk. 
This ancient town was named by the firitons. It is called 
Lena and Lun in Domesday, and Lunea in the foundation deed of 
Wm. de Warrena (Earl Warren), of the Priory of Lewes in 
Sussex, in the reign of Wm. I. Hen. VIII. emancipated the 
corporation from the feudal supremacy of the bishops of Nor- 
wich, and changed the name from Lynn Episcopi (Bishop's 
Lynn), to Lynn Regis, or King's Lynn. Qu. W. lyn, a lake, 
pool. See Parker, Hist. Norfolk ; also Leland, Itin. vol. 5, 
p. 44 ; Selden, notes on Drayton's PolyolbioD, p. 78 ; and 
Camden, 

LYON (Je^onff), Anglic^ Lyons, It. ZAone, G. Lyon, a city of 
France, was built in the year b.c. 41 or 42, by Lucius Munatius 
Plancus. It did not receive a Roman name, but was called 
Lugdun, from the name of the hill upon which it was built. 
Lugdun is said to have meant in the O. Gaul, ''hill of the 
raven." 



M. 

MACAO (wacott/), a peninsula near Canton. Vieyra (Por^. Dtc.) 
says "Macio, i. e. a seaport." This is not satisfactory, macdo 
not meaning a seaport in Portuguese. It is related that on the 



170 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 

site of the present city there was formerly a Chinese temple, 
sacred to an idol named Ama, and as the port was called Gao, 
the name Amagao was applied by the Portuguese, and subse- 
quently corrupted, first into Amacao, and afterwards into Macao. 
Some write the Chinese name of Macao, Gannan; others Graou- 
mun. Gaou (jjao, ngao, gow) signifies land near a shore or 
coast; a bay; kow, or rather ftae kow, is a port or harbour for 
ships. 

MADEIRA (madeera)f an island in the Atlantic Ocean, so 
called from having been originally very woody ; from Port. 
madHra (Sp. madSra), timber, wood, from L. materia, materials, 
stuff, matter, especially materials for building, timber. 

MADEN, in local names in Turkey, is the Turc. ma'den, a 
mine ; as Keban Maden, Arghana Maden, between Erzeroum and 
Kaisariyeh. 

MADRAS', formerly Madras-patan, or Madras-pattan ; from 

Arab, i^jj^ madrasa, a university, college, school for the 

diffusion of Muhammadan learning, and Sans, pattana, a town, 
city. 

MADRID'. This toity being built in an open country, 2412 
feet above the level of the sea, some have derived the name from 
majerit, which in Arab, is said to signify ** a current of fresh air." 
Sousa prefers the Areih, maajarit, " running waters," of which, 
however, there are scarcely any in this part of the country. The 

name may come from Arab, ijj^ madarat, a city, a town, Ht. a 

single clod, a lump of dry clay of which walls are built, from 
tnadar, id. ; also the name of a city in Arabia. Medina, in like 
manner, means a city. Some assert that Madrid is the Majoritum 
and Mantua Carpentanorum of the Romans. The Arab, majara 
is, to be thirsty ; tnaajrad, is ** naked." 

MAELSTROM, a celebrated whirlpool on the coast of Norway, 
at the south end of the Luffoden Isles ; from Dan. malsirdm, a 
whirlpool, gulf, abyss ; lit. a mill-stream. 

MAEN, in names of places in Wales, is the W. maen a stone, 
as Pen-maen-mawr. Maen is sometimes changed into vaen, as 
Kist-vaen, &c. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 171 

MAESTRICHT (ma'strikt), the capital of Limburg in Belgium, 
is situated on the River Maes, Maas, or Meuse, and was called by 
the Romans Trajectus Superior, i. e. the upper ford. The name 
is contracted from Maes and trajectus, " ford of the Maes." See 
Meuse and Utrecht. 

MAG'DEBURG, on the Elbe, found written Maydenburg. 
Heylin 'says '' it is a Saxon name, taken from its site, as was the 
custom of the Saxon agej and before. May or map signifies 
some considerable water or river ; thus, Mayence or Mentz, on 
the Rhine, Maestricht, on the River Maes ; that den bespeaks a 
low situation in a valley, and bowre is from bow-re, that is, where 
the water makes a bow, a turn, or winding." Pomarius derives 
the name from Magada, under which name Venus was known 
and worshipped in this part of Germany ; and he informs us that 
she had here a famous temple, respected both by the Huns and 
the Wends or Vandals, when they ravaged this country ; and exist- 
ing up to the time of Charlemagne. Boethius and others reject 
this, and derive Magdehourg from magd a virgin, and burg a town ; 
and they state that it was named by the Empress Edith, who had 
received this town as a marriage portion from the Emperor Otho, 
her husband. This accounts for the names Parthenopyrga, 
Parthenope, and Parthenopolis, given to it by the savants. 

MAGEL'LAN. These straits, at the extremity of S. America, 
were so called from the Portuguese navigator Magalhaens or 
Magellan, by whom they were discovered. 

MAHA, MAHADEO, MAIIANUDDY. Maha occurs in lo- 
cal names in India, as the Mahadeo Mountains, a cluster of con- 
siderable height in the N. part of the N^gpore territory, and so 
called from a celebrated Hindoo temple of the same name ; Maha- 
nuddy, a large river. Maha is the Sans, mahd (whence L. tnag^ 
nus, Gr. fj^syas), from mahat, great. The Sans. Mahddeva or 
Mahadeo means "The Great God," from mahd and deva, vulg. 
dewa, dev, deb, or deo (whence Gr. 0eoc, L. deus), a god, divinity, 
an idol. See also Nuddy. 

MAIDENHEAD, co. Berks, acquired its name, says Leland, 
from the great veneration paid here to the head of a British 



172 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

▼irgin. In the most ancient [records says Ljsons, it is called 
Maydenhithe, or Maidenhead^ and it may have been originally the 
name of the spot where the bridge now is, and where there was 
anciently a great wharf for timber. Some of the principal inhabi- 
tants were incorporated in 1352^ as the fraternity or guild of the 
brethren and sisters of Maydeneth or Maidenhithe. In the parish 
of East Garston, in the hundred of Lamboum^ is the manor or 
&nn of Maidencote. Hitke is an old word for a port or haven, 
from A. S. k^th. 

MAIDSTONE, a town in Kent, on the Medway. According 
to Nennius, this place was called by the British, Caer M^;uaid or 
Medwag, i.e. the town or dty of the Medway. It was probably 
named by the Belgse, Midw^; thus, Midweg, Medwag, Med- 
wagstun, Maidston, Maidstone. Richard of Cirencester speaks 
of a town supposed to have been situated on the Medway, and 
which he caQs Ad Madum, or Madis, which probably refers to 
Maidstone. 

MAJORCA, MINORCA, and IVIZA (e-vef-tza), islands on 
the coast of Spain. See Balearic Isles and Iviza. 

MALAGA, a sea-port of Spain, anciently Malaca (MaXoxa), 
which, according to Pliny, belonged to the allies of the Romans. 
Bochart says it was called by the Carthaginians, Malacha, on 
account of its salted or pickled fish, from nbo malach to salt, 
ra^iX^veiv, " sale amdire" and he quotes Strabo as to its being 
famous for salted fish. The Heb. has maiakh, the Arab, milkh, 
for " salt." 

MALAKOFF, the name of a fortification at Sebastopol. " Some 
ten years ago, a sailor and ropemaker, named Alexander Ivano- 
▼itch Malakoff, liyed in Sebastopol, and by his good humour, 
jovial habits, and entertaining qualities, became the centre of a 
select circle of admiring companions. Like many great conver- 
sationalists and wits, Malakoff contracted most intimate relations 
with Bacchus, and, under the influence of the latter, he partici- 
pated, in 1831, in some riots which broke out in the town, and 
which had one result — that of the dismissal of Malakoff from 
the dockyard in which he was employed. Being incapable of 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 173 

tumiog himself to any more reputable trade, he opened a low 
wine-shed on a hill outside of the town, and introduced into prac- 
tice the theoretical notions which he had acquired by a long and 
zealous study of the nature of beer-houses and wine-shops. His 
trade prospered, his old admirers crowded round him, and in 
their enthusiasm christened the wine-shed — which soon expanded 
into a decent public-house — and the hill on which it was built, by 
the name of the popular host. In time a village grew around the 
public-house, and was likewise called by the name of Malakoff. 
But the entertaining and imaginatiye founder of the place, in his 
deepest cups, could never have dreamt that one day his name 
would be in the mouths of all men, and that one of the heroes of 
a great war would esteem it as an inestimable title of honour/' 
{Gazette de France.) 

MALDON (mawld!n), co. Essex ; found written Mealdune. 
" It consists of two principal streets at right angles to each other, 
and their figure has led some authors to suppose that the name 
of this town is derived from A. S. nusldune, "the hill of the 
cross ;" from nuel a cross, dune a hill. The name, however, is 
more probably a contraction of Camalodunum^ the L. form of its 
original British name. Some assert that Camalodunum means 
** the hill of Camalus or Mars," who was worshipped by the 
Britons. 

M ALPAS, CO. Chester, The name means a dangerous or 
difficult way, from Fr. mal evil, and pas a step. Before the 
Conquest, it was distinguished by a British name of similar sig- 
nification, viz., Depenbech. Ormerod (Hist, Chester), says that, 
from this circumstance of local strength, produced partly by the 
yielding nature of the soil, and partly by the inequality of sur- 
face, but more particularly from its position on the enemy's 
frontier, Malpas was selected by the first Norman earl, as the 
site of one of the numerous fortresses with which, at regular in- 
tervals, he strengthened his Welsh border. 

MALTA, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, mentioned by 
Homer (Odys.) under the name of Hyperia. Malta is a contrac- 
tion of Melita, the name by which it was]^known to the Greeks 



174 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

and Romans. Some derive Melita from L. mel^ 6r, y.eXi, honey, 
for which it was celebrated. Bochart says it does not derive its 
name from the nymph Melite, as some assert, but from Phcen. 
tTtobD refuge, retreat, or from meletf a cement much used in 
making Maltese linen ; and he refers to the Arab, mildt^ sig- 
nifying clay or cement. Conf. Heb. meletf mortar^ cement, 6r. 
(jMkdrj, L. maltha, It. malta. 

MAMELON, a fortified mound at Sebastopol. This is a 
French word, meaning Ht. a nipple. By extension, it is applied 
to any round protuberance rising up in the middle of any surface 
whatever ; and in geography, to a little isolated mount, or to the 
upper part of a mountain which terminates in a point. From 
Fr. mamelle, from L. mamilla, dim. of mamma, a breast. 

MANCHA (mantsha) ; La Mancha, a province of Spain. 
Larramendi derives the Sp. mancha, " a piece of ground covered 
with copse and weeds," lit. a stain, a spot, from Basq. manchd, 
manchea for macacha, maeachea, dim. of macd a spot. 

MANCHESTER. In Antoninus this place is called in different 
copies Manaurium and Manutium, " which old name," says Cam- 
den, '< is not quite lost at this day, the place being now called Man- 
chester." *' This town seems to have been destroyed in the Danish 
wars ; and because the inhabitants behaved themselves bravely 
against them, they will have their town called Manchester, i.e. as 
they explain it, a city of men ; and of this notion they are 
strangely fond, seeming to contribute much to their honour, but 
Mancunium was its name in British times ; from main (maefi) a 
stone, for it stands upon a stony hill, and beneath the town, at 
Colyhurst, there are noble stone quarries." (Mariantu.) " In 
the present Castle Field, then the site of the Roman castrum, but 
before the construction of the castrum, was the town of Mancu- 
nium, all built upon the rocky height that forms the northern 
bank of the Medlock, and was distinguished among the Britons 
of this region by the general appellation of Man-cenion, or the 
place of tents." (JFhitaker.) The present name is found written 
Manige-ceaster, Manne-ceaster, Manner-ceastre, and Manne- 
ceastre, which some derive from A. S. manige many, ceasfre a 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 175 

castle ; but the first part of the name is the Brit, maen, a stone 
or man (a place), in Mancenion. 

MANFREDONIA, a city in Italy, was named after Manfred, 
son of the Emperor Frederick IL, who built it in the year 1256, 
principally out of the ruins of Lipontum. 

MANTUA. "Ocnus, son of the prophetic Manto [fji^avno], 
and the Tuscan river [Tiber], who gave thee walls, O Mantua, 
and his mother's name." (VirgiL) Bochart, citing Servius, 
says Mantua was so called after Mantu, the Etruscan name for 
Pluto, to whom also other cities were consecrated. The Etruscan 
mantisa means " addition, increase." Pliny says (lib. iii. c. 19), 
Mantua belonged to the Tuscans : <' Mantua Tuscorum trans 
Padum sola reliqua." (Pliny, lib. iii. c. 19.) Virgil was either 
born at Mantua or in the neighbouring village of Andes. 

MAPLEDURHAM, co. Oxon, formerly Mapplederham, i.e. 
the maple-tree habitation ; from A. S. mapulder for mapul treow, 
a maple tree, ham, a habitation. There is also Mappledurwell, 
in Hants. 

MARATHON, a small plain in the N.E. of Attica, memorable 
for the victory which the Athenians under Miltiades gained over 
the Persians, b.c. 490. According to Plutarch, it derived its 
name from the hero Marathos ; but MapaBwy was rather named 
from being productive of fennel. MapaB^cav is a field abounding 
in fennel, and fji.apa$ov, fj^apnQpov is fennel, from luaponvta, to 
wither, dry up, die away gradually. 

MARAZION (mara!zhun), in Cornwall, is said to have been 
anciently inhabited by Jews, who held markets here for the sale 
of tin, and named it Mara-Zion, the '' Bitter-Zion," from being 
their allowed place of rest. It is sometimes called Market Jew, 
but the latter designation is not in use on the spot. *' Marazion 
vulffd Market-jew, * the sea-coast market.' " (Pryce, Com. Voc.) 
" Marca-iewe signifies in English ' market on the Thursday.* " 
(Norden, p. 39.) " Marcaiew, of Marhas Diew, in English, the 
Thursdaies market, for then it useth this traffike." (Carew, p. 
156.) " Markiu, Forum Jovis, qu6d ibi mercatus die Jovis 
habeatur." (Camden,) " The name of Market-jew is the ori- 



176 LOCAL ETYMOLOGT. 

ginal and proper designation of that town^ which had a market 
conceded to it in a concession to the Mount ; while the name of 
Marazion is the designation only of a new, a Jewish, and a 
western part." (Leland, Itin. viL, 1 1 7.) See also Polwhele's 
Cornwall, iii. 222, supp. p. 13 ; ELingsley's Teast, a Problem, 
p. 255 ; and Notes and Queries, 2d S. ii« 432. 

MARGATE, in the Isle of Thanet, formerly Meregate^ so 
named from there haying been anciently a mere or stream here 
which had its influx into the sea ;" from A. S. mere, and geatt 
gat, a gate, door. 

MARLBOROUGH, co. Wilts. Some assert that this name is 
a corruption of " MerlirCs Borcugh^* and that Merlin had a cave 
here. The more reasonable derivation is from A. S. marl and 
hurg a town, from the chalk or marl in the neighbourhood. 
Camden, who rather doubts this derivation, admits that the place 
" lies at the foot of a hill of white stones, which our forefathers 
called marie, before they had borrowed the word chalk from the 
Latin calx" The name is found written Merleberga, Mearleas 
beorge, Marleberge, and Merleberg. 

MARLOW, CO. Bucks, from A. S. marl chalk, leag a field, 
place, or hlaw a hill, heap, barrow. 

MARNE, a river in France. Armstrong derives the name 
from Gael, marbh-an, "the dead water." In Low L., however, 
this name is found written Matrona and Materna, and in A. S. 
Maeterne and Meateme, 

MARSEILLES (marsagls), a city of France ; a corruption of 
Massilia, its ancient name. It is said to have been founded 
by Phocaeans from Ionia. Cicero calls it the Athens of the 
Gauls. From what nation it received the name of Massilia seems 
doubtful. Bochart suggests no derivation. 

MARYLAND, one of the United States ; named after Hen- 
rietta Maria, queen of Charles I. 

MARYLEBONE, a district of London, was anciently called 
Tyburn, from its situation near a small bourn or rivulet of that 
name, known in record as Ayebrook or Eyebrook ; and acquired 
its present name from the church of St. Mary-le-bourn (St. Mary- 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 177 



s 



on-the-brook), now corruptly written Marylebone or Marebone. 
(Cunninffham,) 

MASSACHUSETTS, one of the United States. The name is 
corrupted from that of a native chief. 

MAUBEUGE (mobuzh!), a town in France. The name is 
corrupted from Low L. Malhergium, a hall of justice, or place of 
assembly, to which the inhabitants were summoned by the ring- 
ing of a great bell. Malbergium comes from L. malleus, a ham- 
mer (bell), and Teut. berg a hill. See Bufreane. 

MAURITIUS. The Mauritius, sometimes called the Isle of 
France, was discovered by the Dutch in 1 595, who named it in 
honour of their Stadtholder Maurice, Prince of Orange. 

MAWRj in local names in Wales, as Pen-maen-mawr, is the W. 
mawr, great. 

MEATH, a county of Ireland, Ir. Midhe, formerly known by 
the name of Mithe, Methe, Media, or Midia, perhaps from its 
central situation. Others derive its name from Ir. maith, or 
magh, a " plain," or "level country," a derivation indicative of its 
natural character. The Ir. midhe is a neck ; midh the sight, aspect. 

MECKLENBURG, L. Megalopolis, the name of two grand 
duchie; in Northern Germany, is generally derived from Sax. 
michel great, Imrg town, and was probably first applied to some 
city or fort, although there does not appear to be any place of 
this name at the present day. There is, however, a place called 
Malchin, and Lake Malchin in these duchies. 

MEDIA, in anc. geog. a country of Asia. Some derive the 
name from Madai, third son of Japhet, whence they assert that 
the Medes were called Madai ; others from Medus, son of Medea 
and Jason. Again, others say the Medes took their name from a 
city named Media, whence the whole country was also designated. 
(See Strabo, i. xi.) '*The Medes were not named from Medus, son 
of Medea, as the Greeks pretend, but from their founder Madai, 
or from Heb. "»^d, a boundary." (Bochart,) 

MEDINA (medeena), a city of Arabia Petrsea, anciently called 
Yatrib. It is more correctly written Almadfna, i. e. " the city," 

from Arab, al the, aju<X« madina a city. 

N 



178 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

MEDWAY, a river in Kent, in A. S. Medw€Bge, i.e. the river 
which holds the mid^a,y, or runs through the middle of the coun- 
try. It is said that the British name was Vaga, hut Nennius calls 
Maidstone, CaerMeguaid or Megwad, " the town on the Medway." 
These terms are prohahly corruptions of its original Belgic name, 
which may have been Midweg. 

MEI-LING, a mountain range and a pass in China. Klaproth 
interprets the name mei-ling, ** the chain of the wild plum trees." 

MELBOURNE, co. Derby. The historian of the place gives 
several suggestions as to the etymology of this name. He says 
that in the days of William the Conqueror, a mill was considered 
of great value, and in Domesday the mill of Melbourne was regis- 
tered with the land and the church, and therefore Melbourne may 
have been so called from its having had, at an early period, a 
mill turned by a stream or bourn, or from its being situated upon 
a stream that turned a mill ; and that in ancient documents it is 
called Mill-burn. The Hon. G. Lamb says the church is dedi- 
cated to St. Michael, and that Melbourne may be a corruption of 
''MichaeVs bourne,*' or boundary. The Rev. J. Deans, deriving 
the name from Sax. tnael-bum, " the brook of the cross" — ^which 
would lead to the inference that a cross had been set ,up here 
by the side of a brook near the town — says it was not unusual 
to erect religious buildings upon spots where distinguished per- 
sons had died by violence, and to provide for the residence of the 
clergy, that prayers might be constantly offered up for the soul of 
the victim ; and that whenever a church was built, the emblem of 
Christianity was erected near it, and sometimes supplied a 
distinguishing name to the place where it was found. That 
allowing the tradition which connects the building of the 
church with the death of Ethelred, we have at once a sufficient 
reason for the name. Osthrid, a Saxon chief, was waylaid and 
murdered upon the spot, and where the crime was perpetrated, the 
emblem of Christianity was set up, and provision made for the 
constant performance of Christian rites. According to a local 
opinion, it was once called the " citie of sweete springes.'* If 
so, it may derive the first part of its name from L. mel, honey. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 179 

Melbourne, however, may simply mean "bourn of the MeU" 
See also Briggs (Hist. Melb.), 

MELTON MOWBRAY (mdbrd), co. Leicester. Melton may 
be a corruption of 3ft7/-^OM?n, from the conflux of the River Eye and 
a large brook, which breaks out with great force north of Scalford, 
and supplies two mills before it reaches Melton ; and, says the 
historian, <' both above and below the town are two capital mills." 
Others think that as the name in ancient writings is found 
written not only Meltone, but also Medeltone and Medeltune, it 
may be from A. S. middeltun^ i. e. middle town, and may have 
been so called from its situation in the midst of its various 
hamlets. The adjunct Mowbray is from a family who were lords 
of it. 

MEMPHIS. Tattam says the hieroglyphic name of Memphis 
or Memphe, was read Ma-m-Phthah, which he translates " palace 
of Phthah or Vulcan." " It was afterwards called Panuph, * the 
temple of the Good God.' From the ancient form Ma-m-phthah, 

came the Coptic Mf/x,j3g, Mg/x,<{>/, Gr. M£ju,<j><c> Arab. j^jjJt* men/, 
and probably the Heb. ^''D moph ; and from Panuph came ^3 noph,^* 
(Gresen. Robinson.) 

MENAM', a celebrated river in Siam : " mother of waters." 
MENIL, MESNIL (magnif), is found very frequently in names 
of villages and manors in Normandy and elsewhere in France, 
either singly, or combined, as Menil-montant, Paris. Its original 
meaning was '* a habitation,** from Low. L. mansus; thus, mansus, 
masnus, masnile, maisnil, Mesnil, Menil. 

MERE, MER, in local names in England, as in Windermere, 
Merton, generally means a lake, pool, marsh ; from A. S. mere, 
m€Bre, from L. mare, the sea. Mere, however, is sometimes used 
to denote a boundary or landmark. Mere-stones are stones set up 
for boundaries or landmarks in open fields. In Wilts is a small 
town and parish called Mere. The parish is of an angular shape, 
and bounded on two sides by the counties of Somerset and Dorset, 
from which circumstance it is said to have been named. Mere, a 
boundary, comes from the A. S. nueraf genuera, from Gr. (ji^eipou, 

to divide. 

N 2 



180 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

MERIONETH (W. Meirionydd), *' is the only comity in Wales 
which, with the addition of skire, retains its ancient appellation. 
It was named from Meirion, son of Tibiawn, and grandson of 
Cunedda, a noble British chieftain who came to N. Wales in the 
fifth ceotury, to assist in rescuing it from the grasp of a set of 
marauding Irish, who, for the sake of plunder, had nearly OTerrun 
the whole country. Having succeeded in his enterprise, he ob- 
tained a large portion of territory as a boon, and gavelled out the 
possessions among his ten sons, and two grandsons, Maelor and 
Meirion." This district appears to have been known to the 
Bomans, and was called by them Menrinia. 

MERSEY {merze) in A. S. found written Merea-ig^ Merea-ige 
and MereU'ige ; from ig an island, meres of a lake. The island 
Mersey, Essex; the river Mersey, dividing Lancashire and 
Cheshire. (Basworth.) "The Mersey, in its whole course, divides 
Cheshire and Lancashire. It is formed and receives its name, 
by the confluence, near Stockport, of the Thames and Groyt.** 
(P. Cgc) Armstrong {Gael. Diet.) under Muir " the sea,'' gives 
" O. Sax. mars, merse, mere, a lake ; hence Winder-mere, Mersey." 

MERTHER, in Cornwall ; from Com mSr-dSr, " on the sea 
water." (Prgce.) 

MERTHYR TIDVIL, co. Glamorgan, N. Wales. It is related 
that Tydfil or Tudfil was one of the daughters of Brychan, the 
Regulus of Garthmadrin, and wife of Cyngen-ap-Cardell; that her 
father, towards the end of his life, retired with some of his family 
to this neighbourhood, and was here attacked by a marauding party 
of Pagan Saxons, who slew Brychan, her brother, Rhun Dremnidd, 
and herself ; that a church was afterwards erected near the scene of 
this slaughter, and called after her, Merthyr Tydvil, or " Tydvil 
the martyr." The W. merthyr is a corruption of the Gr. fjM^rvg. 
The W. word means also a plain, a clear spot. There is likewise 
Merthyr Mawr, on the Ogmore river, co. Glamorgan, where the 
Stradling family formerly had a seat. 

MERTON, Surrey, found written Merantun, Meretune, 
Meretun, Meritonia, and Meretone ; said to derive its name from 
lying adjacent to a mere or marsh, of which there are still some 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 181 

traces near the River Wandle, which flows through the parish. 
" Merdon, Wilts ; MeretOD, Oxon ; Morton, Devon ; from A. S. 
mere, nuere, a mere, lake, pool, marsh, sea, tun a town." {Bos- 
worth.) 

MESOPOTAMIA, in anc. geog. a country between the 
Euphrates and the Tigris. The name means land lying between 
two rivers ; from 6r. fjLsaoTrorafJuoc, between rivers ; [^aa-og middle, 
ito^fji^os river. 

MESSINA (messeena), a city of Sicily, the ancient Mess&na ; 
founded by the inhabitants of Messene, chief town of Messenia, 
a country of Peloponnesus. 

MEUSE, a river in France, Belgium, and Holland ; D. Maas 
or Maes, L. Mosa. Hey]in says the Celtic mag or may was used 
to denote a large body of water ; but the primitive meaning of 
maff may have been simply " great " (from Gr. fji^eyag), and if so, 
Mag-ese would mean the "great water," which might easily 
become corrupted into Maas or Maes; thus, magese, mages, 
Maes, Maas. This mag may be the root of the Gael, magh, a 
field, a plain, whence magus (contracted in W. to maes), a field, 
and then a colony or town in a field. 

MEXICO. According to Clavigero, the name means "the 
place of Mexitli or Huitzilopochtli,*' " the god of war," to whom 
a sanctuary was anciently there erected. This god was most 
honoured by the Mexicans, and regarded as their chief protector, 

MIDDLESEX, from A. S. Middel Seaxe, the Middle Saxons. 
In like manner, Essex from East Seaxe, the East Saxons ; Sus- 
sex, from Sutk Seaxe, the South Saxons. Essex and Sussex 
formed separate and distinct kingdoms during a certain period of 
the Saxon Heptarchy. See Saxony. 

MIDDLETON, the name of several places in England ; from 
A. S. middel middle, tun a town. 

MILAN, It. Milano, G. Mailand, a city of Lombardy. Some 
authors tell us that the name was formerly Melano, the deriva- 
tion of which, from mel, honey, is not worth refuting. According 
to Isidore, it was built and named " Mediolanum" by the Gauls, 
who established themselves in Italy, and built other towns there. 



182 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

There were several cities in Gaul and one in Britain called Medio- 
lanum. Some translate Mediolanum " mead-land ;" others '* har- 
▼est-full/' from the Celt, lawn full, mediad the harvest (medi, to 
gather in the harvest). This derivation is said to he confirmed 
by the fact that all the towns called Mediolanum were situated in 
fertile spots. Mediolanum, miolanum, miolan, Milan. Mediola- 
num is mentioned by Livj, v. 34, and Polybius, vi. 1 1 . 

MILTON, the name of several places in England ; contraction 
of Mill-town^ or Middle-town* 

MINSTEB^ in local names in England, denotes the church of a 
monastery, or a church to which a monastery has been attached ; 
from A. S. minstre, mynster, from root of Monastir and Moustier 
(q. v.). Among names compounded of minster, are Axminster, 
Beaminster, Bedminster, Charminster, Kidderminster, Stur- 
minster, Warminster, Westminster, Yetminster. 

MISR, the name given to Egypt by the natives and by the 
Arabs, is derived by some from Misraim, son of Ham, by whom 

it was peopled. The Arab, ^.a^ mimr means not only Egypt, but 

also a limit, border, a large city, the capital city of Egypt. Web- 
ster says mesr, mazor, means a fortress, from ^i^, to bind or 
enclose. Bobinson thinks that under the Heb. mazor lurks the 
Egyptian metouro, a kingdom, but that the Hebrews doubtless 
assigned to the name a domestic origin, probably as signifying a 
border, limit. 

MISSISSIPPI, a river of N. America. The name means ** the 
father of waters." (Ind.) 

MITCHAM, CO. Surrey, is called in Domesday Michelham, 
i. e. " the great dwelling." In all early and in many recent 
records, it is written Miccham or Micham ; the present mode of 
spelling, which is more remote from its etymology, was not uni- 
versally adopted before this century. {Lysons,) 

MOEL, in local names in Wales, is the W. moel, a mountain, 
a hill : as Moel Aelir, the frosty hill ; Moel Hebog, the hill of 
flight, so named from Owen Glendwr having once taken refuge 
in a cave there ; Moel y Don, the hill of the wave, celebrated as 
the place where, in 1282, part of the English army were defeated 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 183 

by the Welsh with great slaughter ; Moel Grolfa, Moel Shiabod, 
Moel Eryr. 

MOLD, CO. Flint ; a contraction of Mont-hault (and so called by 
the Normans) from fRont, and A. S. koU a wood ; or from mont- 
haut, i.e. mons alius, the high mount. The Welsh, even at the 
present day, call it Y Wyddgrug, the conspicuous mount. 

MOLDAVIA derives its name from the River Moldau, which runs 
through it. It is called by the Turks and the natives Bogdania, 
from Bogdan, a chieftain who colonized it in the 13th century. 

MOLE, a river in Surrey, '' so called because, Uke a mole, it 
forceth its passage under ground, and thereby mixes its waters 
with the Thames." {Bailey.) This was Camden's idea, who 
says, '< betaking itself to subterraneous passages Uke a mole.*' 
Spenser says. 



" And Mole, that like a nousling Mole, doth make 
Uifl way still under ground, till Thames he o'ertake. 



>» 



Mantell informs us that this river was anciently called the 
Emele, Emelyn, or Emley stream, and that it gives* the name to 
the hundred of Emley Bridge (or Amele-bridge, as it is spelt in 
Domesday), through the whole of which it flows \ and he 
derives Emele from Brit, y melin, the mill, i. e. the mill river. 
He says this is corroborated by Domesday, in which twenty 
places are mentioned as possessing mills, which, from their 
respective localities, must have been situated either on this stream 
or its immediate auxiliary branches ; and that its present appellation 
** mole," by which it was known prior to the Conquest, will admit 
of a similar origin, viz., the L. mola, a mill. In deeds temp* 
Henry VIII., it is called the Emley River, and in the Leiger 
Book of Chertsey, a deed is recorded " of lands bounded on the 
east by the water Emele." Emele or Emelyn may be a con- 
traction of Brit, y melyn an, " the yellow river." 

MONAS'TIR, the name of several places in Greece and Euro 
pean Turkey ; and of one in Southern Italy, denotes the site of a 
monastery ; from Gr. /u^ovacmj^ lov, from ju^ovatcmjc, a monk. 

MONMOUTH {mon'muth), stands on a narrow peninsula 
formed by the rivers Mannow and Wye : thus Mouuow-mouth, 



184 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Monmouth. The Welsh call it Mynwy, and Tre-Fynwy, and 
the shire, Swydd Fynwy, Gwent, and Gwlad Went. 

MONTGOMERY, in Wales. The ancient name of this town 
was Tre Faldwyn, i.e. Baldvryn's town, from Baldwyn, a lieu- 
tenant of the marches, who, in the time of William the Con- 
queror, erected here a fortress, to further his future designs 
against the Welsh. The name was afterwards changed to Mont- 
gomery, from Roger de Montgomery, who huilt the castle here. 
Montgomery prohahly derived his name from residing in the 
yicinity of a mound called Mont Gomer (A. S. Munt-Gumri, 
"mount of Gomer"). The Wekh still call the town, Tre 
Faldwyn, and the shire. Sir Drefaldwyn. 

MONTMARTRE {mong-mart/), Paris. Its ancient name is 
said to have heen Mons Martis and Mons Mercurii, i.e. mount 
of Mars or Mercury, from the temple erected here to these gods. 
It was afterwards called Mons Martyrum (whence its present 
name), because St. Denis and some of his followers suffered mar- 
tyrdom here about the year 260 See Bailies, Topog. des Saints, 
631 ; and Piganiol, Descr. de la France, part i., p. 24. 

MONTSERRAr, a smaU island in the West Indies. There 
is also a convent and a mountain in Spain called Monserr^te. 
The latter derives its name from tndnte a mountain, serrdto, ser- 
rated, notched like a saw ; '' a tooth-shaped mountain." 

MOORGATE STREET, " a north gate of the city of London, 
so called of a moor or marsh which was formerly hard by it ; 
from Sax. mor a moor or marsh, and gate." {Bailey,) 

MORAST, in Sweden, situated on the frontier of Norway; 
ftt)m Sw. moras (G. tnorast), a marsh. 

MORAVIA (Slav. Morawa), a province of the Austrian 
monarchy, takes its name from the Marsch or Morawa (in L- 
Maro), the largest of its rivers. Armstrong, under Gael, miitr, 
the sea, an ocean, gives Mor-awaw^ a river in Moravia ; but if 
Morawa is from the Celt., it would rather translate ''great water 
or river," from mdr great, and an, air, water. 

MORAY, Scotland. The ancient province of Moray extended 
from the mouth of the Spey on the east, to the river Beauly on 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 185 

the west; it therefore included the whole district of country 
stretching along the sea coast ; hence some derive its Gael, 
name Murar or Morar, from mtitr, the sea. 

MORE, in local names in Scotland, is generally the Gael. 
mbr, great (Com. and Arm. maur. W. mawr, Ir. mor), as Glen- 
more, the great glen. 

MORETON VALENCE, a parish, co. Gloucester, was anciently 
called simply Moreton, " town-on-the-water," and received the 
addition of Faience, from a family of that name who were earls of 
Pembroke, and lords of the manor, in the reigns of Edw. L 
and Edw. II. (Notes and Queries,) 

MORGAN, a place in Cornwall. Pryce says the name in 
Corn, means ** by the sea," from mor the sea, ffan by. Some 
derive the name of Morgan in Wales from two Irish words, mor 
great, eean head ; others from mor the sea, geni to be bom ; *' sea- 
bom ;" a term, they say, which might be applied to a man or to 
a country on the sea side. According to others morgan is for 
morgan t, a sea-brink, from mor the sea, cant the rim of anything. 
The Morgan in Wales is probably derived in the same way as 
that in Cornwall. 

MORGUE (morg), a place in Paris and in many towns of France 
where the bodies of persons found dead are exposed for the purpose 
of recognition. The word morgue in some of the southern provinces 
means face, countenance (Fr. visage). Alberti translates morgue 
" a grave and serious countenance, in which there appears some 
fierceness ; a sort of place at the entrance of a prison ;" morguer, 
" to brave some one." The verb also means " to take the Uke- 
ness of a prisoner," i.e. to regard him on his first entrance to a 
prison so fixedly as to know him again. " Morgue, he second 
guichet oh. Ton tient quelque temps ceux qui entrent en prison^ 
afin que les guichetiers les regardent fixement et s'impriment si 
bien Tid^e de leur visage dans Timagination qulls ne puissent 
manquer de les recounoitre." From Gr. [Ji^vrig, the nose ; thus, 
l^vrig, musus, murus, muricus, murica. Morgue. {MSnage.) 

MORTLAKE, co. Surrey. The name is said to mean '' dead 
lake," from L. mortuus lacus. 



186 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

MOSCOW, called by the Russians Moskva, from the river on 
which it is situated. 

MOSELLE (mo'zel'), a river of Grermanj (G. Mozel\ is called 
Mosula by Floras, Obrincus by Ptolemy, Musella and Mosella 
by other writers, and its modern name is found written Mozelle. 
Mosella is perhaps merely a dim. of Mosa, the L. name for the 
River Meuse (q. v.). 

MOULSEY, CO. Surrey. This place may have been so situated 
with respect to the River Mole and the Thames, as to have been 
almost an island ; and if so, the word may be a corruption of 
Moles-ige, i. e. island of the River Mole. " The parish of East 
Moulsey or Molesey, consists of a triangular tract of land near 
the junction of the River Mole with the Thames, which forms 
its boundary on the north, as the Mole does on the east and 
south-east ; on the south it borders on Esher ; and on the west 
on West Moulsey." {MantelL) 

MOUNTNESSING, co. Essex, vulgarly pronounced munna- 
seen. In old maps the name is written Munnassing. In the 
time of Edw. III. it bore the name Ginge Mounteney, sometimes 
written Yng or Yeng Mounteney, Its present name is a corraption 
of Mountney's'Ing, i. e. the ing or meadow of the Mountneys, an 
ancient family who were formerly lords of the manor here. 

MOUSCRON, a town of France on the frontiers of Belgium. 
The name is said to be corrupted from Mons Ceuteron or Cen- 
teron, from the old word ron or ront a circle, ken or kern a kernel, 
fig. the middle ; " the middle of the circle.** The Centrons were 
clients of the Nerviens {CtBsar) ; and they inhabited the centre of 
the country occupied by that people (Grammaye.) " La mon- 
tagne nomm^e Ceuteron, Mont Ceuteron, Mouscron." See 
Lamartinidre and voc. Courtrai. 

MOUSTIER, MOUSTIERS {mooste-a) sometimes Monstiers, 
the name of several places in France ; from Low L. monaster 
riumy a monastery. See Mon astir. 

MULL, in local names in Scotland, means a cape, promontory, 
or headland ; from Gael, maol, maoil ; as Maol Chinntire, the pro- 
montory or Mull of Kintire. Maol signifies also the brow of a 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 187 

rock, a bald head ; maoil, is bald, bare (Ir. and Arm. moal, id. 
Com. tnoel, a bald top). 

MUNICH {mu'ntk)y G. Miinchen, It. Monaco, the capital of 
Bavaria^ takes its name from certain monks, who owned some 
warehouses erected on the spot, for the reception of salt, brought 
from the mines of Reich enhall and Salzburg. From G. miinchen, 
m'dnchen, monks, from Low L. monachits, from Gr. [i^ovoL'xpQ, a 
monk. The U in Miinchen is pronounced somewhat hke the 
long French H. 

MURSHIDABAD, Hindustan, i.e. Murshid-dbdd, the city of 
Murshid Kuli Khan, who transferred to it the seat of his govern 
ment from Dacca. See Abad. 

MYNYDD, in local names in Wales, is the "W. mynydd, a 
mountain, as Mynydd Mawr, the great mountain ; Mynydd 
Moel, &c., &c. 



N. 



NABLOUS (na-bloo€e), in Asia Minor ; a corruption of Gr. 
NEOcTfoXic, the new city ; ysog new, woXic a city. This word is 
synonymous with Napoli and Naples. See Blous. 

NAGORE, or NAGUR, in local names in Hindustan, i^ the 

Hind. /} nagar, a town, city, from Sans, nagara ; thus Bamagore, 

for Vardha-nagar, " city of the boar," from Sans, vardha, a boar ; 
Chandemagore, for Chandranagar, " city of the moon," from 
Sans. Chandra, the moon ; Sirinagur, for Sdryanagar, " city of 
the sun," from Sans, surya, the sun ; or for Srinagar, " city of 
Sri," goddess of prosperity and wife of Vishnu. 

NAGY, in names of places in Hungary, means " great," just 
as Ms means little ; thus Nagy-Kanizsa ; Nagy-Rip€ny ; Nagy- 
Tapolcsan ; Nagy-Rocze ; Nagy-Maros ; Nagy-Ndna ; Nagy- 
Ecs ; Kis-Komdrom ; Kis-B^r, &c., &c. 

NANCE, or NANS, in local names in Cornwall, is a Com. 
word signifying " valley," as Pen-nans, the head of the valley, 
Tre-nance, the town in the valley, &c., &c. 



188 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

NAN'KIN', formerlj the capital and still the second city in 
China. See Pekin. 

NANT, in local names in Wales, is the W. nant (pi. nentydd), 
a hollow formed hy water, a valley, a ravine ; a mountain tor- 
rent, a hrook ; as Nant Frangon, the heaver's hollow, so called 
from having heen formerly frequented hy these animals ; Nant 
Gwrtheyrn, Vortigem's valley ; Nant Gwyrfai, the vale of fresh 
water ; Nant Lie, the vale of Lie ; Nant y Bellan, the dingle of 
the marten ; Comant, Pennant, &c. 

NANTERRE {nangtair') a place upon the Seine, in the 
vicinity of Paris. The name is corrupted from Nemptodorum, 
or perhaps Nemetodurum ; thus, Nemetodurum, Nemtodur, 
Namtdur, Nantur, Nanturre, Nanterre. The first part of the 
name may he that of a trihe, and durum is the Latinized form of 
the Celt. dwTy water. 

NANTES (nanfft), a town of France on the Loire, mentioned 
by Ptolemy under the name of Condevicnum, as the capital 
of a Celtic people called the Namnetes. Afler the downfall of 
the Roman empire, its name was altered to Namnetes, of which 
its present appellation is a corruption. Some derive the name 
from Celt, nan, streams, and aid or ait, a great number ; this 
town being situated at the confluence of several streams. 

HAVARRE (navarr'), a province of Spain, near the Pyrenees. 
Larramendi derives the Sp. Navdrra — which the natives pro- 
nounce nafarroa — from Basq. nava, a vast tract of level ground, 
and the termination arra : and the name, says he, denotes an 
inhabitant of the plains, just as mendiarra means an inhabitant of 
the mountains. (Basq. mendia, a mountain.) 

NEATH, a town and a river in S. Wales. " The river Nid 
or Nith in Scotland, like the Nidus or Neth in Wales, is from 
the Brit, nedd, pron. neth, which in W. means 'circling,* 
'revolving,' as the fact evinces." (Chalmers,) Dr. Pughe in- 
terprets the W. nedd, " that forms a whirl or turn ; also a small 
dingle or hollow." 

NERA, a river of Italy anciently called the Nar. According 
to some, nar is a Sabine word, signifying sulphur, and Virgil 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 189 

mentions the Nar^ as "white with sulphureous'water ;*' but the 
name may be derived from the Phoen. naharo, a river. Bochart 
derives the name of the river Naron in lUjria, from Phoen. itaar- 
on, "the River On." See Nile. 

NESS, in local names in England, as Sheemess, formerly 
Shireness ; Dungeness, Kent ; Orfordness, Eastonness, Suffolk ; 
generally means a cape or headland, from A. S. nasse, nSsae, 
nes8 ; and sometimes an island, as in Foulness, Essex. See 
In, Inn. 

NEYERS (na'vare), a town of France. The name is cor- 
mpted from Neveris or Niveris, now the River Ni^vre, on which 
it stands, at its junction with the Loire. The name is also found 
written Nivernum and Nevemum, and the place is called by 
Ceesar, Ptolemy, and other ancient writers, Noviodunum 
^duorum. 

NEWBURY, Berks ; found written Nubiry, Neubiry, Neu- 
bury, Nubury, Newebury, Newbery, Newberye, Newbir, and 
Newbiri ; from A. S. neow new, and burff a town ; " new 
town." The conjecture that it was called Newbury from its 
relation to the old Roman town of Spinse, now the village of 
Speen, Lysons deems erroneous, because at the Norman survey 
Speen or Spene was only a village, and Newbury a place of con- 
siderable importance, known by its Saxon name of Uluritone, 
which may have been a corruption of Ullwardetone, from Ull- 
ward, who possessed it in the reign of Edward the Confessor. 
The historian, however, says " this may be quite compatible vrith 
the above conjecture, as in the interval, the Roman town of 
Spinse might have dwindled into a village, and Newbury might 
have risen into some importance. Spinee, having owed its origin 
to the Romans, was likely to fall into decay on their quitting the 
island, and the more convenient village of Newbury, and its con- 
tiguity to the river, were probably circumstances to bring it into 
consideration." 

NEWFOUNDLAND was known to the Icelandic and Green- 
land colonists^ but its existence seems to have been forgotten, 
until its re-discovery in 1427, by John Cabot, who was then in 



190 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the service of England ; and on that account the new found 
island has been claimed as a British dependency. The name 
was first given by Cabot to the whole of the territories which he 
discovered, but was subsequently restricted to the island to 
which it is now applied. 

NEWGATE STREET, London; "Newgate, the fifth prin- 
cipal gate in the city wall, and so called as latelier built than the 
rest (Stow), stood across the present Newgate-Street, a little east 
of Giltspur Street and the Old Bailey." (Cunningham.) 

NEWINGTON BUTTS, Surrey. Newington is a corruption 
of Neweton, from A. S. neow new, tun a town. The first record 
of Newington Butts is in 1558. In Henry VIII.'s time, butts, 
for exercises in archery, were set up in the fields of London by 
authority, and some may have been placed here. " Newington 
Butts is not mentioned in the Conqueror's survey, but a church 
at Walworth is there noticed, whence it seems probable, that at 
the rebuilding of that church upon a new site, it was surrounded 
with houses, which obtained the appellation ' Neweton,' as it is 
called in the most ancient records, which was doubtless afterwards 
spelt Newenton, and then Newington." (Lysons*) 

NIAG'ARA, the Falls of. Nidgara, or Aghera is said to be 
an Indian word, signifying " hark to the thunder." 

NIGHTINGALE LANE, East Smithfield, London, formeriy 
Ci\ihtena-guild-lane, so called from the men of the Cnihtena- 
guild, '* the knights' guild," from A. S. cniht, cneoht, a boy, 
youth, attendant, servant, and guild, a company or society of 
men incorporated by the king's authority ; from A. S. geld, 
gield, gild, or ggld, from geldan, gildan, to pay, because each 
member of a guild had to pay something towards its charge and 
support. 

NILE, a river of Egypt ; in L. Nilus, Gr. NbiXoq ; from Heb. 
bm nahhal a stream, brook, torrent. It means also a valley 

watered by a brook or torrent (Arab, wadi). The Arab, has JjJ 
nayls, blue colour, and JjuJl an-nayl the River Nile. In Heb. 

however, this river is usually called Nhar Mizraim, " the river of 
Egypt." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 191 

NING'PO, a city of ChiDa. The name signifies "repose of the 
waves," from Chin, ning rest, repose, tranquillity, po a wave ; also 
the name of a river and of a lake. The Portuguese used to call it, 
corruptedly, Liampo. The first name of this city was Jungtung, 
then Ningcheu and Kingyuen, which was afterwards changed into 
Ningpo. 

"NO MAN'S LAND," "NO MAN'S WALK." "The 
term 'No Man's Land' is applied to a forest tract which is not 
part of any parish, as ' No Man's Walk ' is one not within the 
jurisdiction of any particular verdurer." (Dallaway's Sussex.) 

NORFOLK, from A. S. north id., andyb/c people ; in contra- 
distinction to the Suth'/olc, (Suffolk), or people of the south. 

NORMANDY, in A. S. Normandi, Normandig^ Normandige, 
and in L. Normandia, the part of France which was occupied 
by the Normans or North-men, a people originally from Scandi- 
navia. 

NORTH' AW, found written Northawe, Herts ; from A. S. 
north id., and haga an inclosed piece of land, a small field. 
Northall, Bucks ; and Northall or Northolt, Middlesex ; from 
north and hall, or north and A. S. holt a wood or grove. 

NORTHUMBERLAND, i.e. North Humber-land; "the 
country north of the River Humber." 

NORWAY (Dan. and Sw. Norge, G. Norwegen L. Norvegia), 
the country of the Norwegians or Northmen (A. S. Nor-wtsgas), 
from A. S. north id. wtBg, weg, a way. Norway was known to 
the ancients under the name of Nerigon. (See Pliny, lib. iv. c. 
16.) 

NORWICH (norridj), found written Nord-wic, Norht^wic, 
Nor-wic, North wick, Norwyck, and Norwic ; from A. S. north id., 
and wic a dwelling, bay. 

NOTTINGHAM is found written Snotenga- Snotinga- 
Snoting- Snottinge- Noting- Notinga- Nottinga- and Notyngc- 
ham ; and is derived by Camden from the dwellings here exca- 
vated in the rocks ; from A. S. snidan, snithan, to cut, ham a 
dwelling. " The caverns near Nottingham are supposed to have 
given to that town its name Snodengaham, ' the home of caverns.' 



192 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

There are under that town many caves, some of them of compara- 
tively modem date, hut others of considerable though unascertained 
antiquity. There are some caverns in the face of a cliff near the 
River Lene, west of Nottingham Castle, and some remarkable 
excavations at Sneinton, close to Nottingham. These are all 
probably artificial, or, if origiuating in natural caverns, have been 
enlarged and modified by human labour." (P. Cyc.) 

NOVA ZEMBLA, an island in the Arctic Ocean, called by 
the Russians Novia Zemlia, '' the new land ;" from noma (from 
Sans. nava)f new, and zemlia (Slav, semia, zemla, Lett, semme), 
land. 

NUDDY, in names of rivers in India, is a corruption of the 

Hind. ^ jj nodi, from Sans, id., a river. In the South of India, 

says Wilson, it implies also a river running from east to west. 
Mahanuddy means ''the great river" (Sans, mahd, for mahai, 
great). 

NUREMBERG (G. NUmherg), a city of Germany, is supposed 
to have been the Segodunum of Ptolemy, and its name afterwards 
changed to Nahrunsberg ; or to have been founded by Drusus 
Nero, brother of the Emperor Tiberius Nero, or by Tiberius himself 
when he led the Romans against the King of Thuringia ; others 
think it was the metropolis of the Norici, who built it for protec- 
tion against the Huns, and this opinion is confirmed by ancient 
charters which speak of Castrum Noricum, in Franconia, and a 
decree of the Emperor Frederick against incendiaries and pertur- 
bators of the peace, dated " in castro nostro Norimbercensi, anno 
1187." 

NYM'EGEN or NIM'EGUEN, a town in Holland, called by 
the Romans Noviomagus or Noviomagns Batavorum, and in O. G. 
found written Niew-megen, -meegen, and -magen ; also Nimmegen 
and Nimwegen. Noviomagus is the appellation of many cities of 
ancient Gaul, and means " a new colony or town." Magus is a 
Celt, word, and its primitive signification, "a field," and then 
" a colony or town iu a field :" Noviomagus, Niomagus, Nimagus, 
Nymagus, Nymagen, Nymegen. See Meuse. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 193 



0. 



O, OE, a termination of local names in Scandinavia, is the 
Dan. and Sw. i>, an island, islet (pi. Der) ; as Christianso, Chris- 
tian's isle ; Karlso, Charles's isle ; Sando, sand isle ; Storo, great 
isle ; Uto, outer isle ; Harto, Lepso, Rundo, Vigeroe, &c. 

OAKLEY, the name of several places in England, but espe- 
cially of one in Lancashire and one in Hants ; from A. S. ac, ac, 
an oak ; lea<^, leak, a meadow or pasture. 

OCHILTRE {o'kiltree), co. Linlithgow, and Uchiltree, in 
Ayrshire, Scotland, mean ''the high dwelling or hamlet," from 
the Anc. Brit, uchel, Corn, uhel, high, lofty, stately. There are 
also the Ochil Hills in Perthshire. See Tre. 

ODENSE (o'cTnsee), capital of the province of Funen or 
Fyen in Denmark, derives its name from Odin, by whom, accord- 
ing to popular tradition, it was founded, and whose sepulchral 
tumulus is shown near the little lake of the Noesbyhoved in the 
vicinity. 

ODES'SA, a city of Russia on the Black Sea, takes its name 
from Odyssora or Odyssos, an ancient Grecian colony that for- 
merly existed in the neighbourhood. (Duncan,) The name might 
now be appropriately changed to Gluck-stadt. 

OELAND, OLAND, or AALAND, an island in the Baltic ; 
from Sw. &, an isle, land, id. ; i. e. isle-land, or island. See 

6, Oe. 

OTEN, connected with Pesth, the capital of Hungary, by a 
bridge over the Danube, is called by the Germans " Ofen," i. e. 
the stove, either on account of its hot springs, or from there 
having been formerly numerous lime-kilns {kalk'ofen) in the 
neighbourhood. Its Hungarian name of Buda or Budin is said 
to refer to Attila's brother, Buda, who made the town his 
residence and enlarged it considerably. 

OFLEY, CO. Beds, formerly Offley, is said to take its name 
from King Offa, who had a palace there, and A. S. leag, a 

o 



194 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

meadow. " The king died here and was buried at Bedford, in a 
chapel without the town, standing upon the bank of the Ouse." 
(Mat. Paris,) 

O'HIO, a river in N. America, properly Iowa, an Indian word, 
signifying " land of all others," " the best land," or " this is the 
great land." 

OKEHAMPTON, co, Devon, named from iU situation at 
the junction of the East and West Okement or Oke rivulets. 
It was perhaps originally called Oke-ham, i. e. the dwelling on 
the Oke, and afterwards Oke-ham-tun. 

OKHOTSK (ok'hots^), a seaport in eastern Siberia, situated 
on a neck of land, watered on one side by the River Okhota, and 
on the other, by the sea. 

OLIFANTS RIVEB^ in Africa. Oli/ani is the D. for 
" elephant." 

OLMIUS, a sacred spring mentioned in Hesiod. Le Clerc 
derives the name from Phoen. hhoUmaio, sweet water, 

OLNEY, CO. Gloucester, formerly Olanege, from A. S. Olan- 
ige, the isle of Olan. See Bosworth, 

ORE, a termination of local names in Hindustan, as Vellore, 
Nellore, Coimbatore, Tanjore, properly, Vellur, Nellur, Kayam- 
batur, Tanja-iir, is a corruption of the Tam. 6r, oor, Tel. and 
Kam. ^rti, Mai. ^ra, a village, a town, a country. 

OREGON {orrygun). This name, as applied to both the 
river and the country, arose solely from the statement of the 
traveller Carver, that when, on the Upper Mississipi, he heard of 
a great river in the interior, flowing westwards, he called it 
the Oregon or Oregan, i. e. river of the West. Others say 
the Oregon territory derives its name from origano, a Spanish 
word for wild marjoram (the origanum vulgare of Linneeus), 
which grows abundantly on the western coasts of the American 
continent. 

ORELLANA (ohrel-gahnah), a river of S. America, named 
after its discoverer, a Spaniard. 

ORIEL COLLEGE, Oxford. Edw. III. having bestowed on 
this college a large messuage called La Oriole, the community 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 195 

remoTed to it. This, sajs Hallam, must have been distinguished bj 
some stately porch or vestibule of consequence sufficient to give an 
appellation to the edifice. The word oriel is found written in O. Fr. 
oriol; in O. Eng. oriol, oriell, oryal, oryall\ and in Low L. orio- 
lum, Nares says that as its primary sense was a pent-house or 
covered way, the name may be from Sax. over-helan, to cover, and 
that over-hell, by elision o'er-hell, is an established English word, 
meaning to cover over. Others derive oriel from L. aurea aula, a 
golden hall ; or from area, a yard, court, &c., thus, area, areola, 
oreola, oreol, Oriol. The Fr. aureole is a crown with which 
painters and sculptors adorn the images and statues of saints, 
from aureola, a crown of gold. 

ORKNEYS, a group of islands lying N. E. of Scotland. Pom- 
ponius Mela mentions them under the name of Orcades; and they 
are said to have received the latter appellation from a promontory 
in Caithness, which Ptolemy calls Cape Orcas. Armstrong de- 
rives Orkneys from Gael, orc-innis, " the isle of whales," from 
ore a whale, innis an island, and he quotes Milton, " the haunt of 
seals and ores, and sea-mew's clang." (Conf. L. orca, Gr. opyya.) 
See also Mela, lib. ii. c. 3, lib. iii. c. 6 ; Pliny, lib. iv. c. 16. 

ORLEANS (p/la-ong), a city of France. It takes its name from 
the Emperor Aurelian, who either founded or rebuilt it. ''La beaute 
et la commodity de sa situation engag^rent TEmpereur Aur6lien 
& augmenter cette ville, et & lui donner son uom. II l*6rigea 
m^me en cite, de sorte qu'on I'appela Aureliana Civitas ou 
Aurelianum, en sous-entendant oppidum*^ {Lamartinikre,) 

ORPHIR, a parish co. Orkney, Scotland ; formerly Orfer, 
said to be a word of Norwegian origin, signifying fire land, or 
mossy soil. 

ORPINGTON, in Kent, probably of Sax. orpin, the plant 
growing there in great plenty, and tun, a town. {Bailey,) 

ORTON, CO. Westmoreland ; a contraction of Overton, i. e. 
Scar-Overton. See Scar. 

ORWELL, a parish in Kinross, Scotland, said to take its 
appellation from a property on the banks of Loch Leven. It was 
formerly written Urwell, which some derive from Gael, ur, new, 

o 2 



196 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

green, baile a residence ; " a green or retired situation,*' an inter- 
pretation peculiarlj applicable to the property of Orwell, and the 
old situation of the church. (Stat, Ace. Scot.) 

OSBORNE, Isle of Wight. Carisbrooke Castle was formerly 
the residence of the Fitz-Osbomes, lords of the Isle of Wight. 
Perhaps Osborne House may derive its name from this family, 
who may have been originally from Osbom, formerly Ousborn, 
in Yorkshire ; or from some other bourne of the Ouse, the name 
of several rivers in England. 

OSTEND, i. e. the east end (of the kingdom); from Flem. 
oost east, einde end. 

OS'WESTRY, CO. Salop. On this spot, says Pennant, in 642 
was fought the battle between the Christian Oswald, king of the 
Northumbrians, and the Pagan Penda, king of the Mercii, when 
Oswald was defeated and lost his life. It is probable that the 
Britons bestowed on the spot where the battle was fought the 
name of maes Mr, or the long field or combat, from the obstinacy 
of the conflict. The Saxons for a considerable time retained the 
name of the place where the action was fought, with the addition of 
their own vernacular word /eld, or /elth, a field ; as Maser- 
field, Maserfelth, corruptly Masafeld, In after days, the name 
became entirely Saxon, and, from the fate of the king, was styled 
Oswald's Tree, now Oswestry ; by the Welsh rendered CroeS' 
Oswallt, " Oswald's cross." 

OTAHEITE {otahe'te) or TAHITI (tahe'te), an island in the 
S. Pacific Ocean. The name may come from ta-hi ta-hi i.e. 
alone alone, or sea sea, i. e. quite by itself, or all surrounded by 
the sea ; or from ta-ha ta-i a sea place ; or te-hi-to, old, 
ancient. 

OTTERFORD, OTTERTON, MOUNT OTTERY, OTTERY 
ST. MARY, CO. Devon, derive their name from the River Otter, 
which rises near the village of Otterford, and flows past Honiton, 
Ottery St. Mary, and Otterton. 

OUDE (ood or owd), more correctly Ayodh, from Sans. 
a-yodhyd, not to be warred against, a not, yudh, fight. That 
the Groths, Gotas, Godas, Gothi, Getee, Jutes, Iotas, lutas, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 197 

Gjtas, Geatas, Ytas, Wights, Wihts, Wyts, Guuihts were the 
same people, seems probable. Dr. Bosworth says the name of the 
Gotha implies ''braye warriors;" and Ttaty Gytas, "ravenous 
warriors" — the Jutes. All these words may come from Sax. 
ffuth, war, battle, fight, from Sans, yudh, yodh. From the same 
root we may have Goth-land, Gotha-borg, Jut-land, and Wight 
(Isle of). Goih-land is the name of the island and of that part 
of Sweden which the Goths took possession of. The northern 
Germans pronounce ^ as y ; thus they call Goth -land, yot-land. 
The Goths, Ytas, or Jutes landed in Jutland, which was first 
called Ytaland or Gytaland, since contracted by the Danes into 
Jylland or Gylland, pronounced yulland. The Jutes, Ytas, or 
Wights landed in the Isle of Wight, whence that island was first 
called Ytaland and Gytaland ; in L. Vecta and VectU, Anc. Brit. 
Gwith, A. S. Wed, also Wiht, Wiht-land, JFiht-ea, i. e. the 
land or island of the Wyts, Ytas, Gytas, or Jutes. Conf. Pers. 
khodd, God, lord, commander ; joud in Joudpore ; cad, in Cad- 
wallader ; Gael, cath, battle. Corn, cad, Jr. cath, G. cat, Basq. 
cuda, id. ; Heb. gadh, a troop ; Gr. a-yaS-oc, brave^ good ; 
M. Goth. Guth, Goth, God ; A. S. God, God, good ; Ice. Gud, 
Grod, ffudur, battle, good ; Eng. God, and good. It is not impro- 
bable that the primitive idea of God among the Goths was that 
of a warrior ; if so, good comes from God. 

OUNDLE, CO. Northampton, a corruption of Avon's Dale, 
" dale of the Avon." 

OUSE (ooze), the name of several rivers in England, but espe- 
cially of one in Northamptonshire ; from A. S. Usa, JFusa, cor- 
rupted from Anc. Brit, isca, water. See Isca. 

OVER, in local names, sometimes means a bank, as Brown- 
over ; from A. S. ofer, margin, brink, bank, shore, from o/er, 
over, above, the shore or strand being over or higher than the 
water. 

OVERYSSEL (— w'^eQ, a province of Holland, named from 
its situation on the other side of the river Tasel, which separates 
it from Gelderland. (D. over, over, beyond.) 

OWHYHEE', or HAWAII, the largest of the Sandwich 



198 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Islands, is a mass of lava, and contains several lofty Tolcanic 
mountains. The name may come from ha^o^a hot, va-i, water, 
liquid, or vahi place. Ha-va-i-i, ha^va-i-ki^ means a subterraneous 
place, hell. 

OXFORD, found written Oxnaford, Oxonaford, Oxeneford, 
Oxineford, Oxneford, Oxneforda and Oxeneforda. Some derive 
Ihe name from A. S. oxna of OTeUf ford a ford, from there having 
been a ford or passage for oxen across the Thames here ; and in 
confirmation it is said that the place was called by the ancient 
Britons Ridho/en, a word having the same import as the Saxon 
name. The name, however, is more probably a corruption of 
Ouse-ford or Usk-ford, i.e. the ford of the Ouse or Usk, from 
Anc. Brit. Mca, water. A small island in this river, called Osney 
or Ouseney, likewise takes its name from the Ouse. The Welsh 
call Oxford, Rhydyehen, ford of oxen, also Rhydwyag^ ford of the 
^jsg, or Ouse ; and Caer- JTysoy, &c. See Isca, Ouss, and 
Thames. 



p. 



PACIFIC OCEAN, so called because originaUy, but erro- 
neously, supposed to be free from storms. 

PADERBORN, a city of Westphalia, on the bourn or rivulet 
called the Pader, The origin of the terms Pader, Padera, Pada, 
or Padus, is treated at length by Gobelinus Persona, who thinks 
that Charlemagne, or perhaps the Saxons who followed him into 
Italy, where they had seen the River Padus or Po, may have 
given this name to the Pader, which has, like the Po, three 
sources. Lamartini^re says the Pader may have been named 
for the same reason as the Padus or Po, viz. from the trees called 
padi growing upon its banks. See also Plin. lib. iii. c. 16 ; 
Lucan, lib. iv. 134, and voc. Po. 

PADSTOW, a seaport in Cornwall. According to Borlase, a 
monastery was founded here in 513 by St. Petroc ; and in ancient 
documents this place is called Patrickstowe and Petrocstowe, 
whence the present name has been corrupted. Athelstan named 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 199 

the town after himself, Athelstowe> which name it retained until 
1552, when it resumed that of Padstow* 

PAiyUAy a city of Italy, from It. Padava, a corruption of its 
Latin name Patayium. See Batavia and Passau. 

PAISLEY (jtaze^-le), a town in Scotland. The name is found 
written Passeleht, Passeleth, Passelaj, Passelet, and Paslaj, and 
in a charter of David I. Passelith ; the latter heing the earliest 
form of the word. Some derive Paisley from Anc. Brit. pas-geU 
Ittith, ''moist pasture/' or bas-lech, Gael, btu-leac, ''the flat 
stone shoal/' a name supposed to have heen applied to a ledge 
of rock running across the channel of the river here. Mr. Wra. 
Kerr, of Paisley, says legh or ley is fallow ground, and pais peace, 
and pisa peas, whence Paislea or Paisley ^ the lea of peace ; 
Peselet or Pesley, the peas-lea. If the latter be the correct 
etymology, the name would signify " lea ground which had borne 
peas." Local names alluding to peas, wheat, barley, beans, and 
other crops, are found in ancient records, in combination with 
leghe or lay, and afford a curious illustration of the vegetables 
cultivated in early times. The only argument against the deri- 
vation from paiSy peace, is that history is silent respecting the 
conclusion of a peace at this place. See Stat, Ace, Scot* There 
appears to have existed a Paisley in Gloucestershire, another in 
Sussex, and other places in which Paisley formed the first part 
of the name. 

PALERMO, in Sicily ; a corruption of Uavopf^OQ, an ancient 
city that occupied its site. The name means " convenient as a 
harbour," from irav aU, every, opfiog road for ships, naval sta* 
tion, harbour. 

PALESTINE, the ancient Philistia or Palaestina; named 
from the Palestines or Philistines, who possessed a great part of 
it. In Heb. it is written nwh^ P^Usheth, which the Rev. Alfred 
Jones translates " the land of wanderers," from paldsh to roll, in 
Ethiop. to wander, emigrate. Gesenius says that the Greek name 
naAaioriyij was applied by most ancient writers to the whole land 
of the Israelites. 

PALL MALL, found written Pell Mell and Palle Maille. a 



200 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

street in London, so called from its having once been the place 
for playing the game called " pall mall/' a sort of game in which 
a ball is driven through an iron ring by a mallet. (/oAiuon.) 
From O. Fr. palemaiU paillemaille, or It. pallamaglio^ from It. 
pdlla from L. pUa, a ball ; It. mcUleo, from malleus, a hammer. 
" PaUmail, nos p^res appeloient ainsi le jea de mail." (Menage,) 
" Pell Mell (q. d. pellere malleo, to drive with a mallet), the 
place for exercising this game in St. James's Park, and also a 
street near it. Palle Maille, a game where a round bowl is with 
a mallet struck through a high arch of iron, standing at either 
end of an alley, as in St. James's Park." (Bailey.) 

PALMYRA, so called by the Greeks and Romans ; in Scrip- 
ture '' Tadmor in the wilderness ;" by Josephus, Palmira and 
Thadamor ; in the Septuagint copies, Theodmor and Thedmor ; 
by the Arabs and Syrians, Tadmor, Tadmur, and Tatmor. 
The origin of these names is uncertain. The author of the 
Description of Palmyra calls it Palmira, which he derives from the 
palms about it, and he supposes it to be the translation of a Heb. 
word importing a palm. Halley derives it from iraXfuuc* which 
Hesychius interprets a king or father, or from UaX[j.vni}Q, an 
Egyptian god. Seller disagrees, '' for what," says he, " had the 
gods of Egypt to do so near the banks of the Euphrates ?" He 
derives the word from iraXfiij a Persian shield, and with some 
authority and probability, rejecting the fantastic mythology 
of Matela, who says it was called Palmyra, $ia ro itaXai fLoi^av 
(palai moran) ysyea-Qon n/jv xwjxijv rw FaAiad, " because David 
slew Goliath there." The etymology of Tadmor is still more 
doubtful. Schultens says that in the text it is written Tamor 
and in the margin Tadmor. He considers Tamor to have been 
the usual name of this place for softness' sake, and that it 
refers to tamar, the palm-tree, with which it abounded. He 
supposes also, that originally iu Arab, it was not written Tadmor 
but Tatmor, and so he finds it in the Arab. Geo. Lex., as 
if one should say " palmiferous," palm-bearing ; the / being 
softened into d. The alteration of this name he ascribes 
to the Romans, who, on finding the place called Tadmor or 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 201 

Tadmur^ may at first have called it Talmura, and afterwards, in 
allusion to its palm trees, Palmura, whence Palmyra. (See 
Philo. Trans. No. 117, p. 85; No. 218, p. 161; Schultens 
Toc. Tadmor ; and Seller, Hist. Palmyra.) Gresenius says Tad- 

mor is still called by the Arabs ^jj tudmuvy probably for 

Heb. ID^n, ** city of palms," hence Gr. Iia,>^{)pot, and UaXfji^lpa, 
Palmyra. So, vice versd, the Arabs call Palma, a city of Spain, 
Tadmlr. 

PAMPLONA or PAMPELUNA, chief city of Navarra, in 
Spain, is said to have been built after the death of Sertorius and 
the defeat of his party, by Pompey, who called it Pompeiopolis, 
i. e, the iroAjc or city of Pompey. The Arabs, who took it in 
the beginning of the tenth century, corrupted the name to 
Bamblona, of which Pamplona is a further corruption. Strabo 
styles it Porapelon, " as though Pompeiopolis," and Pliny (viii. 3) 
calls its inhabitants Pompelonenses. 

PANJKORA, a mountainous district in Afghanistan ; from 
Pers. panj five, Pushto kor a house. 

PANTHEON, Paris, named after that at Rome; from Gr. 
Ttayieioy (leay all, Qeoq God), a temple or edifice dedicated to all 
the gods. The Pantheon in Paris is therefore more appropriately 
designated than that in London. 

PARADISE (Fr. paradis. It. paradiso, Sp. and Port, paraiso), 
from L. paradisus, Gr. ttapahitrog, a paradise, also a pleasure 

garden; from Arab, (j^^^^ji firdaws (pi. faradis), which 
Richardson translates a garden, vineyard, paradise, name of se- 
veral delightful places. Gesenius gives also Heb. DTiQ pheredes, a 
garden, a plantation ; Armen. pardes, a garden close to a house, 
laid out and planted for use and ornament; Sans, parade^a, 
paradi^a, high ground, well tilled, a region of surpassing beauty; 
and he says the Greek word is properly used for the plantations 
and menageries which used to surround the palaces of Persian 
kings. 

PARANA (para'na), one of the principal rivers which con- 
tribute to form the Rio de la Plata, in S. America. Parand, in 
Brazilian, means '' the sea ;" paranh octl, " the great sea." 



202 LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 

PARIS. The origin of this name is involyed in ohscurity. 
At a remote period, a wandering tribe, settling upon the banks 
of the Seine, boilt on the island now called La Cit6» a nnmber of 
huts, which serred as a natural fortress ; this they called Lutetia, 
from Celt. Umton-hezi "dwelling of the waters," and themselves 
Parisii. Some derive Paris from Celt, bar or par^ a frontier or 
extremity ; others derive ParUii from parys, from par, a sort of 
ship, gwya (in compos, ya) men, i. e. ship-men or sailors ; or from 
par and gwyt^ "one knows," "it is known," i.e. a clever people, 
skilful in navigation. " Ce people occupait les deux bords de 
la Seine, et, profitant de I'avantage de sa situation, il faisait un 
grand commerce par eau." (Bescherelle,) Lemon, quoting Clel. 
Voe,, says, in anc. Armoric, Paris was called JBarris^ from being 
the residence of the twelve judges, or the head seat of justice for 
a great district ; and bar means a place for the administration of 
justice, in Gr. fiapic is a court of justice. The 6r. fiaipic or 
fiapiQ has the following meanings: — ^An Egyptian vessel; a 
ship, yacht, canoe ; a tower, castle, palace, house. Ceesar (lib. 
vi. c. 3) calls Paris, Lutetia Parisiorum ; Strabo (lib. iv. 194), 
Lnteda ; Am. Marcellinus (lib. xv. c. 1 1), Lutecia* and Castellum 
Parisiorum; and it has also been designated Lucotia. The 
derivation of Lutetia from lutum, clay, loam, mud ; or of Parisii 
or Parrhisii frt)m Paris, son of Priam, is ridiculous. That Paris 
was named from its inhabitants, the Parisii, there cannot be a 
doubt ; and, indeed, in some Latin authors, the place itself is 
called Parisii. 

PAROPAMrSAN MOUNTAINS, in India. The name is 
said to be from par and pam, " hill " and " flat ; " the region 
around consisting of flat-topped hills (Monty, Martin), 

PARRET, a river in Devon and Somerset, is said to take its 
name from William de Perrot, who came over to England from 
Armorica in 95 7> and obtained some lands upon its banks ; but it 
was formerly called the Pedder, and in A. S. Pedreda, Pedrida, 
or Pedridan, whence probably its present appellation. Its A. S. 
name may have been derived from its original Celtic name. In the 
W., pedryd means a quadrate, pedrydan^ that which extends four 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 203 

different ways ; and this river may have been named *' Pedryd " by 
the ancient Britons, because it had four sources or four tributaries. 

PASSAU (passow), a town of Bavaria, on the Danube; in 
L. found written Patavia, Passavia, Patavium, and Passavium. 
Some authors derive the name from Teut. p<us a pass, passage, 
aw an isle ; but as the place was also called Batava Castra, the 
name is more probably derived from a cohort of the Batavi who 
fought with the Romans, and had a camp here. Batava, Batavia, 
Patavia, Passavia, Passawa, Passaw, Passau. 

PATAGrONIA, a district in S. America. Its native name was 
Chiqua. When Ferdinand Magellan, by whom it was discovered, 
saw the giant-like people at Port St. Jullien, he called the country 
Patagonia, or land of the Patagons. The Sp. patagSn is a large 
clumsy foot. See also Davity, Am^r. Merid., 143. 

PATAM, PATTAN, PUTTUN, P ATN A, in names of phices 
in Hindustan, is the Sans, pattanay a town, a city ; as Seringa- 
patam ; properly Sri-Ranja-pattanna, ** the city of the divine 
Vishnu." 

PATERNOSTER ROW, London, familiarly known as the 
Row, " so called, because of stationers or text-writers that dwelt 
there, who wrote and sold all sorts of books then in use, namely 
ABC, with the Pater noster^ Ave, Creed, Graces, &c." (Stow,) 

PATNA, a city of Hindustan. The Sans, pattana is a town, 
city ; " whence Patna in Behar, Puttun in Sindh, &c., as being 
the city, or one deserving the appellation." (Wilson.) 

PECKHAM (pekkum), Surrey, in Domesday found written 
Pecheham and Pecham. The historian derives the name from its 
situation ; from A. S. peac^ a peak, ham, a village ; ** a dwelling 
on the peak or summit of a hill." 

PEEL, PILE, PILLE, PIIL, PELE, PEYLL, PEILL, 
PAILE, in local names in Great Britain, means a fortification, 
properly of earth ; from Anc. Brit. Corn, and Gaul, pill, a strong* 
hold, fortress, secure place. Small towers, usually square, of 
several stories in height, existing in Scotland, chiefly in the 
counties bordering upon England, are called Piils. ' There is 



204 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

the PUe of Foudray (found written Pille of Foddray or Fouldrey), 
a castle in Furness, Lancashire ; and Peel Castle, Isle of Man ; 
Pill in Devon, &c., &c. 

PEERLESS POOL, St. Luke's, London. « Immediately 
behind this hospital," says Pennant, *' is Peerless Pool, in name 
altered from that of Perillous Pond, so called, says old Stow 
(Survaie, 18), from the number of youths who had been drowned 
in it in swimming. In our time it has, at great expense, been 
converted into the finest and most spacious bathing place now 
known, where persons may enjoy that manly and useful exercise 
with safety. Here is also an excellent covered bath, a large 
pond stocked with fish, a small library, a bowling green, and 
every innocent and rational amusement ; so that it is not without 
reason that the proprietor hath bestowed on it the present name." 

PEI-HO (pa' ho'), a river of China which rises near the Great 
Wall and flows east of Pekin. The name means *' white river ; " 
from Chin, pih, pet, white, clear, ho a river.) 

PE'KIN', the capital of China, from Chin. PiA-^hn^, "the 
northern court,*' in contradistinction to Nan-king (Nankin), *' the 
southern court.*' The Cochin Chinese call Pekin, Bac-kinh^ 
and Nankin, Nam-kinK Bac means north, nam south. 
Kinh is lit. great, and the Chin, king, great, lofty, extensive. 
Others say Nanking or ELiangning is situated in a valley watered 
by the great river of Kiang. Pekin is dirided into two parts, the 
Zin-Tcheou, '* city of the throne," the town of the Tatars ; and 
WaUo-Tcheou, *' external town," the town of the Chinese. 

PELOPONNESUS, in anc. geog. a celebrated peninsula, 
comprehending the most southern part of Greece, and now called 
the Morea. The original name appears to have been Apia, from 
King Apis. Peloponnesus (Us\oiroyyr}(roc) means " the island of 
Pelops," a hero, who, emigrating from Asia, took possession 
of the country and gave it his name. From UsXo^f Pelops, kijo-oc 
an island. 

PEMBROKE (pembrook), a county and town in S. Wales. 
Giraldus says "unde Pembrochia caput maritimum sonat," i. e. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 205 

says the historian, in W. Penbraich m6r " at the head of an arm 
of the sea,*' an explanation which Leland seems to adopt 
when he thus describes the site of the town : — ** Pem- 
broke standith upon an arme of Milford, the wich, about a mile 
beyond the town, creketh in so that it almost peninsulatith the 
toune, that standith on a yeri maine rokki ground/' George Owen 
says the name refers to the fertility of the soil ; from pembro or 
pen/ro, "the head or principal vale" (pen and bro). John 
Lewis, of Manamawan, is of opinion that the real name in 
W. was Penbroch, " the head of the foam," the pent-up tide of 
the estuary bringing along with it a mass of white froth or foam. 
Rees difiPers from Owen : he says the Brit, term bro means 
likewise a region or district ; and pen, " a head," '' the end 
or extremity of anything," and the compound word may be 
translated "headland" or "promontory," which is correctly de- 
scriptive of the locality. 

PEN, in local names in Wales, is the W. pen, an extremity, 
end, head, summit, as Pen Allt, the head of the woody ascent ; 
Pen Celli or Pen y Celli, the head of the grove ; Pen Derin or 
Pen y Daren, the head of the rock ; Pen Ll^ch, the end of the 
rock ; Pen M6n, the head or extremity of Mona ; Penmorfa, the 
head of the marsh ; Penmynydd, the summit of the hill ; Pen 
Pont, the head of the bridge ; Pentraeth, the end of the sands, 
&c. 

PEN, in local names in Ck)mwall, is a Corn, word meaning 
" the head," also " a hill," thus, Pendarves, the head of the oak- 
field ; Pendennis, the peninsula or fortified headland ; Penglaze, 
the green head, also nom. fam. ; Penhale, the head of the moor, 
also nom. fam. ; Penkevel, the horse-head, also nom. fam. ; Pen- 
nance, the head of the plain or valley ; Penpol, the head of the 
pool, well, pit, or lake ; Penrice, the head of the fleeting ground ; 
Penrose, the head of the valley. See also Penryn, et seq. 

PE'NANG, an island near the Straits of Malacca, formerly 
Puley Penang and Prince of Wales's Island ; from Mai. 
pulau or pnlo an island, pinang the areca nut ; Pijlau 



206 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Pdumg, areca-nat island ; Pulaa Pisang, plantain island ; Pdlaa 
Bdbi, hog island. 

PENDARVES, PENDENNIS. PENROSE, &c. See Pen. 

PENMACQNO, a Tillage in N. Wales, named from its 
sitoadon near the source of the River Machno. See Pen. 

PENMAENMAWR^ a mountain OTerhanging the sea, oo. 
Caernarvon, N.Wales. The name means '' a great pile of stone on 
the top of a hill," from W. pen a summit, wioen a stone, mutwr 
great. 

PENNSYLVANIA, one of the United States of America ; 
named from Wm. Penn, who settled there in 1681. 

PENRYN, in ComwaU; ''the head of the river, channd 
or promontory." (Com.) 

PENTIRE", a village in ComwaU ; '* the headUnd " (Cora.). 
The W. PenTir Uoegr means the " land's end of Eng^nd ; " 
Pen-tir Ceinion, Cape Clear, in Ireland. 

PENTREF, or PENTRE, in local names in Wales, is the W. 
pentrefy the head of a township, a viUage, a hamlet; also the out- 
skirt or suburb of a city ; from pen head, chief, capital, tref a 
dwellingplace, homestead, hamlet, township, town; as Pentre 
Rhyd Fendigaid, the village of the blessed ford ; Pentre Hobyn, 
Pentref D61 ; Pentre Voelas, &c. 

PENZANCF, a seaport of Cornwall; «nhe holy headUnd," 
from a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony, which formerly stood 
near the pier. Pryce translates it " head of the bay." 

PERA, a suburb of Constantinople, derives its name from 6r. 
itBpcf, beyond, from its position with regard to Galata, another 
suburb. The Turkish name is DUrt-ydl-dghse, which signifies 
the place where four roads meet. Tophan^, a third suburb, has 
its name from the cannon-foundry there ; from Turc. tSp-khdnah^ 
from tSp a cannon, kkdnah, a place. 

PERE-LA-CHAISE (pair-lah^hayz) takes its name from a 
French Jesuit, a favourite and confessor of Louis XIV. He died 
in 1 709» and the site of his house and grounds at Paris is now 
occupied by this beautiful cemetery. See Maillei ; also Qaydn^ 
Diet, Dates. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 207 

PEREKOP (penykop), the Isthmus of. This Slayonic name 
denotes a cut made through a place, and is applicahle to the 
ditch dug here, in remote ages, across the neck of land at the 
entrance of the Crimea, for the security of the place. The 
Tatars call it Or and Or Capi ; the Greeks Taphros or Taphrse. 
{Rees.) Ta(p^OQ is a trench, ditch. Pallas says the name is 
derived from a Russian word signifying an entrenchment of the 
Isthmus ; that the Tatars call it Or-kapi, '' the gate of the line 
or fortification ;" and that the only way into the Crimea hy land 
is over a hridge and through an arched stone gate, hoth erected 
at the side of the fortress. See also De I'lsle, Atlas ; and 
Ferrand, Crim. 

PERMESSUS, in anc. geog., a river of Boeotia rising at the 
foot of Mount Helicon. Its modem name is the Panitza. Ac- 
cording to some authors, it was named from Permessus, father of 
Aganippe, and was consecrated to the Muses, who are hence 
sometimes sumamed '' the Permessides." Le Clerc derives the 
name from Phoen. pheer^metzo, a pure fountain. Pausanias, and 
Tzetzes after him, write by mistake Termessus for Permessus. 

PERIGrORD (jperrj/gor), a province of France. Its ancient 
inhabitants were the Petrocorii or Petricorii, and their chief city 
was called Petrocorica, or Petricorium. Ptolemy, however, calls 
it Yesuna. The name of this people in the fifth century was 
changed to Petrocordii, and their city was called Petricordium, 
from which both Perigord and also Perigueux, the present name 
of the capital of this province, have been corrupted. 

PERSEPOLIS (Gr.) mentioned by Greek writers after the 
time of Alexander as the capital of Persia ; from UBpari^ Persia ; 
TfoXiQ a city. 

PERSHORE, a market town co. Worcester. The name is 
variously spelt Persore, Pearshore, and Pershore, and is sup- 
posed by Camden to be from Periscoran, in allusion to the 
numerous pear-trees which grew in the vicinity. 

PERSIA. Some derive Persia or Persia from the name of one 
of its provinces, Pars or Fars, which at one time constituted the 
dominions of the kings of Persia, and was called by the natives 



208 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

and by learned Muhammadan writers Iran. In the books of Daniel, 
Esdras, &c., Persia is called d^Q paras, which some derive from 

Arab, /jyy J /aras a horse. According to others Phars {Fars) is a 

proper name, and the person bearing it was the son of Arshan, a de- 
scendant of Shem. The original name of this country was pro- 
bably Pars or Paras, which the Arabs, having no /> in their 

language, converted into Fars. The Pers. has ^^ .\i fdrs, 

Persia, Parthia ; imj\j pdrs, a pard, also Persia. The province 

of Fars or Faristan, the ancient Persis, is one of the finest in the 
kingdom. It is divided into two distinct portions ; the one called 
(rarmsir, or the hot climate or country ; from Pers. ffarm, warm, 
hot ; the other called Sardsir, or the cold country ; from sard, 
cold. 

PERTH, a Scottish county and city, the latter situated on 
the right bank of the Tay, and found written Bert, Berth, and 
Bertha. The last, its most ancient name, may be from Grael. 
Bhar-tatha (pron. bar»ta), " the height of the Tay." See Bhar. 
PETERBOROUGH, co. Northampton; so called from an 
abbey and church erected there by Penda and Walpher, kings of 
the Merci, in honour of St. Peter. (Bailey,) 

PETERWARDEIN (—va/dine). Hung. Pitervdrad, a rock, 
built fortress on the Danube, in Hungary, is said to derive its 
name from Peter the Hermit, who on this spot marshalled the 
soldiers of the first crusade. (Hung, vdr, vdrad, a castle.) 

PETHERTON, formerly Pedderton, co. Somerset. Both 
N. and S. Petherton are named from their situation on the River 
Parret, anciently called the Pedder or Pedreda, and A. S. tun, an 
indosure. See Parret. 

PHILIPPI, in anc. geog., a town of Macedonia, first named 
Credinas, and afterwards Datus. Philip, father of Alexander, 
on its capture, named it after himself. 

PHILIPPOFOLIS, in anc. geog. a town in Thrace, recognised, 
according to Ptolemy, Philip son of Amyntas for its founder or 
restorer. From Gr. ^tXiinroc, Philip, iroXic a city. 

PHCENICIA. or PHCENICE, in anc. geog., a country of 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 209 

Syria. The Greeks called it also STropheniciai to distinguish it 
from the country occupied h j the Phcenicians in Africa. Bochart 
deriyes the name of the Phoenicians from Bene-Anak^ " sons of 
Anak," who are reported to have heen famous giants in Pales- 
tine ; others from Phcenix, a Tyrian, mentioned in fahle, or 
from one Phineas, a Hebrew. The most probable derivation is 
from (poivi^, the palm-tree, which abounded in Phoenicia.. The 
name Phoenicia is not found in Scripture in the books written in 
Hebrew, but only in those of which the original is in Greek, as 
the Maccabees and the books of the New Testament. The 
Hebrew always reads Canaan* See Philo, lib. i. 636 ; Syncell. 
152 ; Steph. Byzan. ; Matt. xv. 22 ; Bochart, Geog. Sacr. p. 349 ; 
also Calmet and Gesenius. 

PIACENZA (pe-a-chen'tsa), Fr. Plaisance, L. Plaeentia, a 
town of Italy. Cicero calls it Placentium Municipium. Lamar- 
tiniere says the inhabitants derive its name either from its 
delightful situation, or from its magnificent palaces and straight 
and spacious streets, which make it a pleasant abode. Plaeentia 
comes from placeo to please, delight; thus, placeo, placens, 
placentis, Plaeentia, Placenza, Piacenza. 

PICCADILLY, London. «• Whete Sackville Street was built 
stood Piccadilla Hall, where piccadillas or turnovers were sold, 
which gave name to the street." (Pennant.) A turnover is the 
name of the broad flat white linen band falling from the neck 
over the jacket, which succeeded in Cromwell's time to the ruffs 
of the preceding reigns. '' A pickadil," says Blount, " is that 
round hem or the several divisions set together about the skirt of 
a garment or other thing; also a kind of stiff collar made in 
fashion of a band; hence, perhaps, the famous ordinary near 
St. James's, called Pickadilly, took denomination, because it was 
then the utmost or skirt house of the suburbs." Others say 
that " one Higgins, a tailor, who built it, got most of his estate by 
pickadilles, which in the last age were much worn in England." 
'' The word pieardill,*' says Cunningham^ '' occurs in Ben Jonson 
and several of our old dramatic writers." According to Gifford, 
it is a dim. of pieea (Sp. and It.) a spearhead, and was given 

p 



210 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

to this article of foppery from a fancied resemblance of its 
stiffened plaits to the bristled points of a spear. 

PIEDMONT (peedmunt). It. Ptemonte, a district of Northern 
Italy forming part of the Sardinan States, is named from its situa- 
tion at the foot of the mountains ; from It. pi^ di monte, '* foot 
of mountain." 

FIERI A, in anc. geog., a district of Macedonia and birth- 
place of the Muses, whence they are called Pierides. Le Clerc 
derives Uis^la from a Phoen. word signifying '* tongue," " fruit- 
fulness." Hesiod (Theog. line 81) mentions the Pierian grove, 
and' makes Mnemosyne, which in Greek means memory ^ the 
mother of the Muses. 

PIKE, in local names in Lancashire, means a peak, summit, 
as Riyington-Pike, Clough-Pike. 

PILL, in Glostershire, means the mouth of a brook, as Horse- 
pill, Cow-pill, Oldbury-pill, all on the Seyem. See Ormerod, 
Arch. vol. 29, p. 10. 

PILLY, PULLY, a termination of local names in India, as 
Condapilly, may be another orthography of Poly, q. v. 

PIMLICO. " The derivation of this word is explained from 
the following passage in a rare (if not unique) tract, entitled 
Netoea from Mogadon, 1 598 : — ' Have at thee, then, my merrie 
boyes, and hey for old Ben Pimlico^s nut-browne.' Pimlico 
kept a place of entertainment in or near Hoxton, and was cele- 
brated for his nut-brown ale. The place seems afterwards to 
have been called by his name, and is constantly mentioned by 
our early dramatists. In 1609 a tract was printed, entitled 
Pimlyco, or Runne Red Cap, 'tis a Mad World at Hogsdon. 
Isaac Reed (Dodsley's Old Plays, ed. Colher, vii. 51) says, *A 
place near Chelsea is still called Pimlico, and was resorted to 
within these few years, on the same account as the former at 
Hogsdon.' Pimlico is still, I beheve, celebrated for its fine ale." 
{Rimbault.) " It seems, from a passage in Lord Orrery's Letters, 
that there was a place called Pemlicoe in Dublin. Pimhco in 
Dublin still exists, as will be seen by reference to Thom's Irish 
Almanac, where we find 'Pimhco, from Coombe to Tripoli. 



I »> 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGTi 211 

{Notes and Queries.) Opposite St. John's Church, Hoxton, is a 
long passage, leading to Hoxton Old Town, called *'Pimlico 
Walk." The name is prohahly a Celtic compound ; perhaps from 
pem-lec, " the five stones." 

PISA, a city of Tuscany. Polyhius, Ptolemy, and other Greek 
authors write Pissse, hut all the Roman inscriptions have Pisae. 
Straho and Pliny agree that Pisa was founded hy a colony from 
Uia-ay a city of Elis in Peloponnesus. The Piscei first called Pisa, 
Alpheus, after the name of the river upon which the Greek city 
was situated. Virgil (-^n. x. 179) says 

" Ho8 parere jubent Alpheae ab origine Pisae 
Urbs Etrusca solo." 

See also Plin. Hh. iii. c. 5 ; Polyb. lib. ii. c. 27 ; Ptol. Uh. iii. c. 1 ; 
Virg. Georg. iii. 19 ; -^n. iii. 694. 

PISEK (pese^), a town of Bohemia, named from its situation. 
Pisek is a Boh. word, signifying " sand." 

PISPORT, on the Moselle, in Germany, celebrated for its 
vineyards. The name is said to be from Pisonis Porta, " The 
gate of Piso." 

PIT is frequently found in local names in Scotland. In most 
instances it is the Gael, pit, pite, a pit or hollow (Ir. pit, 'W.pyd, 
D. put), from Sax. pit, or pt/t, from L. puteus, a pit, well, 
from puto, to clean out, from Sans, puth, to wound, to cut. 
Among other names are the following : — Pittencrief, Pitfirrane, 
Pitliver, Pitdinnie, Pitconochie, Pitcorthie, Pitreavie, Pitatherie. 
In the Grampian range b a tremendous hollow, which the pea- 
sants call Piht-an-diabhol, i.e., the devil's hole. Pitsligo means 
" a hollow shell," from pit, and slige a shell. 

PITEA, a sea-port on the Pitea Elv or river, in the N. of 
Sweden. Lulea, Tomea, Umea, and many other places in Scan- 
dinavia are situated on rivers of the same name. The last 
letter in these words is the Scand. aa, a river, rivulet, but per- 
haps the primary meaning was that of water. 

PL AS, PA LAS, in local names in Wales, is the W. plas, 

palas, a palace ; as Pl^ Gwyn, the white mansion ; Plds Newydd, 

the new mansion. 

p2 



212 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

PLINLIMMON, a mountain in Wales, between the counties 
of Cardigan and Montgomery. The name is found written 
Plymilimon and Plimillimon, corruptions of Pum-luman, " The 
five-peaked mountains," from W. pum for pump^ fire, Hum a 
point, peak, or cone. 

PLUMBE, PLUMP. A woody place, or a dump of trees, is still 
called " Plump " in the N. of England. See Plumpton Papers^ 
by Thos. Stapleton, 1839, Surtees Society; also toc. Lund. 

PLYMOUTH, situated at the head of a haven formed by the 
conflux of the rivers Tamar and Plym with the sea. 

PLYMPTON ST. MAURICE, commonly called Plympton 
Maurice or Plympton Earl, named from its situation on the 
Plym ; or rather on a brook which flows into that river. Near 
Plympton is Plymstock. 

PO, L. Padua, a river of Italy. Metradorus, a Greek author 
quoted by Pliny (lib. iii. c. 16), says this river takes its name 
from the trees growing near its source, which distil pitch, and 
which are called pculi in the old (jaulish language. 

POITIERS (pwoy'te-a), one of the oldest towns in France, 
and occupying the site of Lemonum, the chief town of a Celtic 
people called the Pictoues or Pictavi, mentioned by Caesar. The 
name was subsequently changed to Pictones or Pictavi, whence its 
present appellation, and also that of Poitou, the province. The 
Pictavi may have been the same with the Picts, in Grael. 
Piocaich, 

POL, in local names in Cornwall, is a Com. word, signifying 
the top, the head ; also a well, a pit, a pool, a miry place, dirty, 
clayey, &c ; thus, Poldew, black pool ; Polglase, Polglftz, the 
green top, or green pool ; Polgrean, Polgrene, Polgrouan, the 
gravel pits ; Polgueul, the top of the field ; Polwhele, the pool 
work. 

POLDER. In Holland and Belgium a polder is a tract of 
low land reclaimed from the sea by means of high embank- 
ments. (D.) 

POLGOOTH, POLGOTH, POLCOTH, in Cornwall. Some 
translate this " the old pool ; others " the old pits." (Corn.) 



LOCAL ETTMOLOQT. 213 

POLRUAN, in Cornwall, means the <* river-head," or " pool 
of the river ;" from Com. pol a pool, man a river. 

POLY, a termination of local names in India, as Trichinopolj, 
is a 'corruption of the Tam. and Mai. palUy a small town, a 
village. 

POMERA'NIA, a maritime province of Prussia; from its 
Slav, name Pomord ; po upon, more the sea. Conf. Armorica. 

PONDICHERRY, a town in the Carnatic, Hindustan ; pro- 
perly Puducheri, "a new village or town," from Tam. pudu 
new, chSri a town, village, hamlet. 

PONT, in local names in Wales, is the W, pont, a bridge, 
from L. pons, pontis, pontem, from Sans, panth&n a road, from 
path to go, patha a path ; as Pont &ber Gl&sUjn, the bridge at 
the conflux of the Gl&sUjn, or blue pool ; Pont y Pair, the 
bridge of the cauldron ; Pont 7 Glyn or Pont DifPwys, the bridge 
of the glen ; Pont j Mjnach, the bridge of the River Mjnach. 

PONT AUDEMER {pongt o'-demer), a small town in Nor- 
mandy. Lye writes Punt^Aldemar, Pons Audetnari; Le Pont 
Audemer sive Le Ponteau de Mer. Lamartiniere says it takes 
its name from the pont or bridge over the RiUe, and from having 
been built or improved by Audomer or Aumer, and that therefore 
it ought neither to be written Ponteau-de-Mer, nor Le-Pont-eau- 
de-Mer, nor translated in L. Ponticultu Maris, or bridge of the 
sea. See St. Omer. 

PON'TEFRACT, co. York, from pons a bridge, fractus broken. 
Camden says it was first called Kirby, and that it had its present 
name from the destruction of a bridge over a market-place near 
which the town principally stood. Leland observes, '< The 
ruines of such a bridg yet ys scene scant half a mile est owt 
of Old Pontefract, but I cannot justly say that this bridg stood 
fill on Watheling Streete." ''That there was a bridge some- 
where close to Pontefract is corroborated by an inquisition taken 
in the reign of Edw. IL, from which it appears that one John 
Bubluth had the 18th part of a knighf s see, 'juxta veterem 
pontem de Pontefract/ " (Rees.) 

PONTOISE (ponff'twaw/), a town of France, dep. Seine-et<» 



214 LOCAL ETTMOLOQT. 

Oise, derives its name from the pont or bridge oyer the Oise. 
Conf. OusE. 

PON'TUS, in anc. geog. a district of Asia Minor, near the 
Pontns Euxinus, or Black Sea. According to Bochart, this 
country abounded with filberts, and the Phcen. botno, a filbert, 
becomes bj permutation pontus, a name which was afterwards 
applied to the neighbouring sea, and in time to all seas ; but the 
reverse and common opinion, that the country borrowed its name 
from the sea, seems by far the most probable. The Euxine was 
called emphatically Pontus, or *' the sea,'* being the greatest 
sea known to the dwellers on its shores ; and the whole extent 
of coast-line, as Strabo informs us, was anciently called Pontus. 
See Bochart; Phaleg. lib. i. c. 10 ; Strabo I. xii. p. 372 ; and 
Univ. Hist. 

POOL, POOLE, POLE, in local names in England, is either 
the W. pwll. Com. pol, or A. S. pol, put (O. G. phul, Sw, pe>^ 
Ice. pollr a puddle. Fries, and Plat, pool; D. poel puddle, 
marsh ; Dan. pdl a marsh ; Arm. pout), a pool, from L. palus 
standing water, bog, marsh, pool. Thus, Liverpool, Flagpool; 
Bradpole, ** broad pool ;'* Poole, Dorset ; Reedypool, Brit. Radi- 
pole, from rhedeg-pwll, " flowing pool," or ** tide pool.'* 

POOR, PORE, a frequent termination of local names in India, 
is the Hind, jy pur, a town, city, from Sans, pura ; thus, 
Byzapoor, Juanpoor, Mulcapoor, Sholapoor, Cawnpoor, properly 
Khanpur, the city of a khan ; Chutterpore (Bundelkhand), which 
received its name from its founder ; Ghazipoor, the town of 
Ghazi; Joudpoor, the city of war (Sans, judh ioxjuddh or yudh, 
battle, war, fight) ; Nagpoor, the city of snakes, from Sans* ndga, 
a snake, a serpent-deity; Punderpore, properly Pundrapur; 
Serampore, properly Sri-rdm-pur, from Sans, sri, prosperity, 
fortune, wealth, goddess of prosperity, also a title of honour, 
and Rdma the demi-god ; Sultanpoor, city of the sultan, the 
name of several towns in India. 

POPOCATEPETL, an active volcano, and the most elevated 
mountain in Mexico ; from popocani smoke, teptl a mountain. 
See Teptl. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 216 

PORT, found in names of places in England, is the A. S. 
port, id., or W. porth (Fr. Ir. port. Arm. porz, It. porta, 
Sp. puerte), harbonr for boats or ships, a passage or gate, from 
L. portus, from the old poro, to carry, convey, bring ; Gr. iro^w, 
from Sans, bhrt, to bear or carry. Thus, Portbury, Portchester 
(Porchester), Portdown, Portishead, Portland, Portsea, Gosport, 
Langport. 

PORTO RICO (reko), capital of the island of the same name 
in the W. Indies; from Sp. puerto rico, "the rich port or 
harbour." 

P0RT8EA, CO. Hants, " the isknd of the port ;" from A. S. 
partes, of the port, and ea, iff, an island. 

PORTSMOUTH, co. Hants, found written Portesmutha, 
Portesmuth, Portesmue, Portusmouth, and Portesmouth ; in 
Latin authors called Ostium Port®. In the Sax. Chron. 
A.D. 500, it is mentioned by the name of Portesmuth, as the 
place at which Porta, a Saxon chief, landed, in order to assist 
Cerdic in the subjugation of the Belgic provinces in England. 
The name, however, may mean simply " mouth of the port or 
haven." 

PORTUGAL. On the S. bank of the Douro is the small 
market town of Gaya, supposed to occupy the site of the ancient 
Gale. The N. bank having been found more convenient for 
shipping, the modem Oporto was built there, and called Portus 
Gal, *' the harbour of Gal." This name, corrupted into Portucal 
and Portugal, was afterwards transferred to the kingdom at large, 
and the town was designated '' Oporto," (o porta, the harbour). 
See Gala. 

PRAGUE (prat/ff), the chief city of Bohemia ; G. Praff, L. 
Praffa, Boh. Praha. It was anciently called Marobudum, from 
a celebrated chief named Marobod. It was enlarged by Libussa 
in 723, and by him named Praha, from Boh. prah, a 
threshold. 

PRESTON, Lancashire, is a corruption of Priest's Town. 
£dm. Earl of Lancaster, son of Hen. III., founded an hospital 
for Gray or Franciscan Friars here, but from what foundation or 



216 LOCAL ET7M0L0GT. 

from what period it derived the name of Priest's Town is not 
known. (P. Cyc^ 

PAOM£ {proani)y a city on the Irawaddi, in Birma. It is 
called by the natives Pri. The Muhammadans corrupted Pri 
into Proii, which Europeans converted into Protne, 

PRUSSIA, formerly Borussia, i.e.> country of the Bonissi, a 
people said to have been originaUy from Scythia, near the source 
of the Don, and who took possession of this part of Europe 
after the Groths. Some say Pruuia is a contraction of Po-RusnOf 
i.e. next to Russia ; but if the first part of the name is the 
Slav, po, near, adjacent, the name has probably been formed thus, 
Po-Rusi, Borussi, Borussia, Brussis, Prussia. 

PRUTH {prooi)t a river of Hungary, said to be the 
Paraia of Herodotus. In Slav. jpHW is "a river;" but we 
have no evidence of the Slaves having been in Europe as early as 
Herodotus* 

PUNJAUB, or PUNJAB, aprovince of Hindustan, " thecountry 
bordering the Jive rivers which form the Indus," from Pers.|Niii;<S^, 

** five rivers ;" ^^ panj five, <— ^i db water. Pun; or panj is 

found in other names, as Punjsheer, a river and vale, and Punj- 
cora, a river, aU in Caubul. 

PURTLEET, CO. Essex, on the left bank of the Thames ; for- 
merly Pourtefiete or Portflete ; from A. S. port a port, haven, 
Jieoi a place where vessels float, a bay, the mouth of a river, &c. 
See Fleet. 

PUTNEY, CO. Surrey, in Domesday Putelei ; in all subse- 
quent records till the 16th century, Puttenheth or Pottenheth. 
Lysons calls it Puttenega Amcenum. The Putelei of Domesday 
is probably a mistake of the Norman scribes for Puttenheth. 
The place may have been first named Putten from its wells. The 
A. S. hath, heath, may have been added at a late period. A 
friend of Mantell suggests for the name of Puttenham, Surrey, 
a derivation which may corroborate this. Referring to a village 
near Ghent, called Puttenheim, i.e. the village of wells, he thinks 
Puttenham, being without a drinkable stream, may be named for 
the same reason. (Flem. pUtie, a well, pL pUtten.) 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 217 

A 

PUY-DE DOME (pwe), in L. Mons Dominant, a depart- 
ment of France containing a great nnmber of put/t or peaks, the 
chief of which are Mont- Dor and Puy-de-DCme. Puj is from 
Celt, pig^ a peak, or from the old Aquitanian word peek, puech, 
or puich. 

PWLLHELI ( pulled le), a sea-port, co. Caernarron ; ** the 
salt pool ;'* named from the small bay, on the eastern side of the 
great promontory of Llejn, on the shore of which it b sitnated. 

PYRAMIDS. Prom L. Pt/ramis, — idis, from Gr. Uvpai^ic, 
— iSocf which the Greeks derive from irvp, fire, from these monu- 
ments having the shape of flame ; but the Greek word is more 
probably from the Egyptian ; or from Heb. niD-1«l bar-moot, 
" pit of death." 

PYRENEES {pirryneezy Fr. peeraync^), the mountains which 
separate France from Spain. Some derive the name from Gr. 
Kvp, ifvpog, fire; in allusion to a great conflagration caused by 
the shepherds, who set fire to the forests which cover the moun- 
tains. Aristotle makes mention of this conflagration. 



Q. 



QUARR ABBEY, Ryde, Isle of Wight, is caUed, in old 
grants Quarraria, and is said to owe its name to a quarry in the 
neighbourhood, which supplied the stone for many of the eccle- 
siastical edifices in the southern counties of England. 

QUEBEC. It is said that the Normans, who were with 
Jacques Cartier at the first discovery of Canada, perceiving, at 
the extremity of the Isle of Orleans, a high cape jutting into 
the river, exclaimed in their patois •* QuS bee /" for ** Quel bee I" 
whence its name. (See Lamartiniere, vol. 8.) Others say it 
was called Quebec by the French, from a district of the same 
name in France. 

QUEENBOROUGH, Isle of Sheppey. On the site of a 
Saxon castle here, Edward III. erected a larger fortress, and 



218 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

named the town Queenborough, in honour of his consort 
Philippa. 

QUIMPER {kansf-pare), chief town of the French depart- 
ment of FinisterrCy and anciently the capital of the county of 
Cornoualles. In the Latin of the middle ages, the diocese esta- 
blished here was called Corisopitensis, from its inhabitants the 
Corisopiti ; but the town itself was called Confluentia. It has 
been successively called Quimper Odet and Quimper Corentini, 
the latter from Corentin its first bishop, and also Civitas Aquilse 
and Civitas Aquilonia. Its name in Bas Bret, is found written 
Kimper, Kemper, and Qemper. The old town is situated in an 
angle formed by the junction of the two streams called Benaudet and 
Odet, and is or was surrounded by ancient walls and towers ; accord- 
ingly some authors say Quimper in Bas Bret, means " surrounded 
with walls," whilst others again state that Confluentia is a trans- 
lation of its Celtic name, which showed its situation at the con- 
fluence of the streams in question. Rostrenen {Diet. Bas Bret,) 
is at a loss for an etymology, but thinks the name may mean 
" field of the eagle," from Celt, kamp or kemp, field of battle, er 
an eagle. Quimper may, however, be from Celt, cynmer^ mean- 
ing " the confluence of waters," which in Wales gives proper 
names to many places. 

QUITO {keto)i a province and city of Peru. The Peruvians, 
after several years' struggle, shook off the Spanish yoke. The 
name may therefore be derived from Sp. quito^ free. 



R. 



RAD'FORD, CO. Notts ; from A. S. hreod a reed, ford^ id. 

RADFORD and RADNOR, in Cornwall. Pryce translates 
Radford " the fern way," and Radnor " the fern land." (Com.) 

RAD'NOR, in Wales, may derive its name from the ferns 
growing in the neigbourhood. The W. rhedyn is a fern ; 
rhedynaw, abounding with fern, a place where fern grows. The 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 219 

Welsh call Old Radnor, Maes-yfed Hen ; also Ten y Craig^ 
'Uhe snmmit of a rock/' the charch being built upon a 
rock ; and New Radnor Maes-yfed Newydd. Maes-yfed is sup- 
posed to be deriTcd from Hyfaidd, one of the sons of Caradoc 
Vraic Vras, who formed Radnor into a countj. (W. maes^ a 
field.) 

RAJPOOTANA ( — tahnah), one of the largest provinces of 
India; so called from the natives, the Rajpoots, from Hind. 
rdjput, lit. a prince, the son of a rdjd, " the general designation 
of the races in the N. and W. of India, who pretend to spring 
from the ancient dynasties of the sun and moon" {Wilson); 
from Sans, rdjd a king, prince, jmtra a son. 

RAMSEY, CO. Huntingdon ; found written Rammesige, Re- 
mesege, Ramesie, and Rameseeie ; ** ram s island ;" from A. S. 
ranty ramm, a ram, ig an island. See also Mon. Angl. p. 232, 
1. 72 b, and voc. Ram sg ate. 

RAMSGATE, Kent, found written Ramesgate. According to 
some, Ramsgate is for Romans^ Gate, from it having been used 
as a port or landing-place by the Romans ; " but," says Hasted, 
" besides that its name was never so written in ancient writings* 
it may well be doubted whether, during the time the Romans 
frequented this island, there was here any way or gate at aU to 
the sea ; and it seems plain that it was dug first through the 
cHff, as the rest of the sea gates were in thb httle island [Thanet], 
for the convenience of the fishery, and no Roman coins, &c. 
have been ever found here, as they have at Bradstow (now 
Broadstairs), where the Romans, if they had any at aU, might 
have a station ; and the general opinion seems to be that it was 
called Ramsgate from the way or gate here which leads to the 
sea through the chalk cliff." Ramsgate may translate *' the high 
or great gate." Ram, rama, ramas, are very ancient words 
signifying great, noble, high, height, or elevation. Ram, rham, 
in the Brit, is " that which projects or is forward ;" rhama, " to 
project or go forward." Wachter says, " ram, robur, pars extrema 
rei, margo, terminus." Chalmers under Ram, gives " Ramsgate, 
in the face of a steep chff ; Ramsey, an arm of the sea in Essex ; 



220 LOCAL BTTMOLOGT. 

Bam and Ramhead, near Plymouth ; Ram Head, a point opposite 
to Portsmoath ; Ramsjde, on a point in Lancashire ; Ramsaig* 
on a point in Skje ; and Ram-asa, an isle in the N. of Lbmore." 

RANDAL'S FIELD (Bannockbum), " so called, because on 
the evening before the battle, Randal, Earl of Murray, and Sir 
Robert Clifford had a warm skirmish here." (Kohl.) 

RAPE, in Sussex, is a division of a county ; an inter- 
mediate division between a hundred and a shire, containing 
three or four hundreds ; from Ice. repp, or ripp, a tract or dis- 
trict. See Smith, de Rep. Angl. lib. ii. c. 16 ; Blaekstane; and 
Cowel, Law Diet. 

RATCLIFF (raflif), a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, near 
London. A stratum of red earth having been discovered here 
during recent excavations, it has been conjectured that RatcUff 
is a corruption of Redclijf, its former name. Ratcliffe is the 
name of several places in England. 

READING {reding), co. Berks, anciently written Rseding, 
Reding, Redingum, Redings, Readinges, and Redinges. Camden 
derives the name from Anc. Brit, rhed ferns, on account of the 
great abundance of ferns growing hereabouts ; Baxter, from Brit. 
rit or rhyd a ferry, cege or ige an island, q. d. rheadige, i. e. ford 
of the waters, or an insular ford ; Leland, " from the meeting 
together of other waters with the River Rhea." There is another 
derivation, from A. S. reh or hreh an inundation, ing a meadow, 
** an inundation of the meadow." 

RECULTER, a village on the coast of Kent. The name 
comes, through the A. S. and L. from a Celtic root. The A. S. 
has Raculf, Raculf-ceaster, Raculf minster. The Romans, who 
had a castrum here, called it Regulbium. Lambarde thinks the 
name may be from the Brit, racor, forward, because the place 
projects towards the sea; Harrison says, from one Racul/us, 
built a monastery here. Archdeacon Battely derives Regulbium 
from Brit, rhag before, gwylfa watching, or from rhag, and golen 
light ; " it having had very early a watch-tower, where no doubt 
lights were kept to direct ships in the night." Baxter derives 
Recuher from Brit, reg ol Uion, " the point against the waves." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 221 

" The castle also commanded a view, not only of the German Ocean^ 
hut of the mouths of the Thames and Medwaj ; on which account 
it was used as a watch-tower, to discover the approaches of an 
enemy, and also as a light-house to guide mariners, by fires 
kindled every night ; and this purpose used to be answered 
by the two steeples of the church, called the Sisters, or the 
Reculvers, which formerly served as a sea-mark for avoiding the 
flats or shallows in the mouth of the Thames ; but, by the shifting 
of the sands, they are now said to be no longer useful, and 
mariners rather depend on St. Nicholas' Church, or Monkton 
MiU." {Bib. Top. Brit.) 

REDAN', a fortification at Sebastopol. " Redan, sometimes 
written Redent and Redens, a kind of rampart in the form of an 
inverted V, having its angle toward the enemy." (P. Cyc.) 
** Redan, archit. milit., angles saillants vers la campagne qn'on 
pratique de distance en distance, dans les circonvallations, afin que 
toutes les parties de leur enceinte se flanqnent reciproque- 
ment " (Fr.) ; contracted from L. recedent-is, recedo, to recede, 
retire, to be separated or at a distance. 

REDRUTH, a town in Cornwall ; " the Druids' town," from 
Com. dre druith. 

REGENSBURG {ralgenshoorg), a city in Bavaria, named from 
the small river Regen, which falls into the Danube nearly oppo- 
site this place. Dr. Bosworth writes it in A. S. Regnes-burh, 
from burh a town, Regnea of the River Regen. Wachter says 
the Tent, regen means not only rain, but a river, and that 
anciently both ren and regen were in use, and he derives them 
from rinneny to flow. The French call this place, Ratisbonne, 
the Italians Ratisbona, the English Ratisbon. Lamartiniere 
derives Ratisbonne from bona ratis, " i.e. endroit propre pour 
I'abord des bateaux." The Romans at first called Regensburg, 
Reginum and Castra Regina, and afterwards Augusta Tiberii. 

REGGIO (redfeo), a city of Calabria, Italy, formerly Rhegium, 
and so called, it is said, because Sicily was here severed from the 
mainland by the force of the sea ; from Gr. pijyyujxf, to break, 
rend. 



222 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

REGIS, in local names in England, means ''of the king," 
" king's," from L. rex, regis, a king. Thus Lyme Regis, for- 
merly Lime Regis, " King's Lyme ;" Melcombe Regis. Bere 
Regis, CO. Dorset, is situated on the river Bere ; and a little 
stream, perhaps anciently called the Lyme, runs through Lyme 
Regis. 

REI6ATE (ry — ), formerly Reygate, Surrey, is called in 
Domesday Cherchefelle, *' Churchfield," which appellation 
Salmon thinks it may haye received from the church or churches 
erected hy the Saxons soon after their conversion to Christianity. 
Camden says that the name, if borrowed from the ancient 
language, may mean ''the course of the stream," while 
Bray and others consider it to be derived^ and with great 
probability, from the Sax. rig, ricg, hric, a ridge, and gate, from 
a gate or bar placed across the road skirting the high ridge of a 
hill now called Reigate Hill. Bray b also inclined to think that 
the gate existed as early as the Saxon Stane Street, and he says 
there are many other places in the vicinity, the names of which 
terminate in a similar way, and all seemingly derived from a hke 
circumstance. It acquired the name of Reigate about a century 
after the compilation of Domesday. 

REIKJAYIK (rike'-yo'vik), the modern capital of Iceland ; 
named from some hot springs near it. ReiJgavik translates 
" steam-town ; " from Dan. rbg steam, vig a bay, ford, dwelling. 

RENTREW, the name of a parish and county in Scotland, 
appears to have belonged originally to the site and neighbourhood 
of the present town. Chalmers says Renfrew is a Britbh name, 
derived from Gael, rinn or W. rhyn, a point of land, and frew 
(W./raw), a flow of water; "the point of land near the flow or 
conflux of the rivers Clyde and Gryfe." The writer in the Stat. 
Ace, of Scot, says this is an appropriate description of the locality 
of the burgh, and was still more so when these rivers spread out, 
as they formerly did, and made the lands around the burgh appear 
like a point amidst the waters. 

RETH, a termination of local names in England, is perhaps 
the A. S. rithe, a water-reservoir, well, fountain, river, as 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 223 

Brandreth> which HalliweU translates, *' a walled fence round a 
well;" Meldreth, Camhridge; Shepreth> Kent; Raureth, near 
Rochford, Essex. Rith is a river. 

REVEL (in Russ. Kolivan) takes its name from two small 
islands near the h&rhour, which were formerly called Reffe^ i. e* 
sand-banks. {Tooke,) 

RHAIDRy found in local names in Wales> is the W. rhaiadyr^ 
a waterfall, cataract, which Owen derives from rhuy ** that which 
forces or drives onward." Rhaidr Du, " the black cataract/' on 
the River Gamlan j Mawddach ; PistyU Rhaidr, " the spout of 
the cataract ;" Llanrhaiadr, ** the village of the cataract ;" Rhaidr 
Cynwyd, " the source of mischief," near Corwen. The village of 
Gjnwyd was named on account of the courts formerly held there to 
settle the disputed boundaries. 

RHEIMS {rainff, Eng. reenui), a town of France, in the 
department of the Mame. It is mentioned by Csesar, in whose time 
it was the capital of the Remiy one of the most considerable 
people of Belgic Gaul, and remarkable for their adherence to the 
alliance with Rome. 

RHINE, a river in Germany; L. Rhenus, G. Rhein, Gael. 
Rein, Goldast derives Rhine from G. rinnen, to run, to flow ; 
others from rein, clean, pure. The W. has rhin, a great channel 
(Com. ryne, rine, rin and ruan, a river) ; hence, says Webster, 
the Rhine, The most reasonable derivation is that of Armstrong, 
"from Gael, reidh-an, 'the placid water,' a name which well 
accords with the general appearance of this river." 

RHODES, an island in the Grecian Archipelago. Most 
authors agree in deriving the name from Gr. pohg, a rose, for 
which flower it may have been celebrated, and in confirmation 
they say that the ancient coins of the country have a rose on their 
reverse. Bochart says this island was first called by the Greeks 
Oipiova-a, on account of the serpents with which it abounded ; 
that the Chaldeans and Syrians called a serpent Tll^ jarod, which 
the Phcenicians abbreviated to rod, calling this island Gezirath 
Rod, i. e. island of serpents, which the Greeks changed into 
Po^oc ; and that the Phoenicians afterwards called it Teadia, 



224 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

''desolate," which the Greeks coirupted to Sra^ia. See also 
StrabOf Pliny, Hesychitu, and Diodorus, 

RHYL (rt/), CO. Flint, N. Wales. About two miles to the north 
of Rhyl is Rhjddlan (rhudd-llan), or the red shore, so named from 
the colour of its site ; and Rhyl maj possibly be a contraction of 
Rhyddlan. The W. rhyle means an upper place, a superior 
station ; rhydle, a place of passage, a fording place. 

RIALTO (re^wtto) a celebrated bridge over the Grand Canal 
at Venice ; contraction of Rivo alto, the name of the isle which 
this bridge connects with the isle of San Marco. Rivo alto 
means " deep stream." 

RICHMOND, Surrey. Its ancient name was Sheen. Henry 
Yll.y who rebuilt the royal palace, which had been burnt 
down in 1499, called the place Richmond from his having borne 
the title of Earl of Richmond, in Yorkshire, before his accession. 
The first Earl of Richmond built the castle (in Yorkshire), who 
called it Riche-mont, either from a castle in Brittany, or from 
its being situated in the most fruitful part of his territory. 

RIETI {re-a-te), chief town of a province of the Papal States, 
the ancient Reate, one of the principal towns of the Sabines, 
which is said to derive its name from Rhea, otherwise Cybele, 
the patroness of the place. 

RIGA takes its name from a small arm of the Duna, called 
Rige or Ryghe, afterwards converted into the Reising*8 Canal. 
(Tooke's Rtusia.) 

RIGHI (r^ghe), an isolated mountain in the canton of Schwyz, 
in Switzerland. Its ancient name was Mons Regius or Regina 
Montium, of which its present name is a corruption. 

RING'ERIG'ET, a chain of mountains in Norway, said to be 
named after King Ring (Ringa Rege), an ancient petty sovereign 
of this part of the country. 

RINGS' END, Dubhn. "The explanation of this apparent 
* bull,' rings' end, is very simple. Previous to the formation of 
that portion of Dublin which is now called ** Sir John Rogerson's 
Quay," there were great piles of wood driven into the sand, and to 
each of these piles were attached large iron rings for the convenience 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 225 

of Ibe shipping moored there. The outermost of those piles having 
a ring was called ringa^ end, that is, the end or last of the 
rings ; hence the name g^ven to the place at the end of Sir John 
Rogerson's Quaj. Sir John Rogerson^ the maker of the quay, 
was at one time lord mayor of Dublin, and my information as to 
the derivation of the name Rings* End was received from old 
Jemmy Walsh, a Dublin pilot, who remembered seeing the ships 
moored, and their ropes run through the rings of the wooden piles 
on the river." (N. & Q. 2d S. ii. 315.) " The proper name of 
this place is Bin- Ann, i. e. ' the point of the tide,' a term very 
applicable to its situation, but now corrupted into Rings-end" 
(Seward, Topog. Hibem.) "Ringsend or Rinksen, perhaps a 
northern word, signifying a sewer, which the Biver Dodder is to that 
part of the county." (Lascelles, in Lib. Minor., part v., p. 142.) 

RIO BRANCO (rtf'o), a river of Brazil. Rio brdnco means 
" white river." (Port.) 

RIO DE LA PLATA, a river in S. America; "river of sUver ;" 
said to have been so named by Diego Garsias, in 1527, because 
the natives brought him silver, which had not hitherto been 
imported from this part of the continent. 

RIO DE JANEIRO (—han'o'e^ro, Eng. jane' ro),h cityof BrazU, 
situated on a river (Sp. rio), or rather an arm of the sea, called 
Janeiro, probably from the circumstance of its discovery by Solis 
on the feast day of St. Januarius (the 1st day of January.) The 
province and the river are called by the natives Genahara. 

RIO NEGRO {nay'groj, the name of several rivers in S. 
America, means the " black river," (Sp.) 

RIPON, CO. York, found written Ripum, Hripum, Ripun, 
Rypon and Rypoun, situated on the River Aire or Ure, and 
said to derive its name from L. ripa, the bank of a river. 

ROCHESTER, Kent, is supposed to have been founded by 
the ancient Britons, who, as some say, called it dwr-hryfy i.e. a 
swift stream, in allusion to the Medway. Camden derives 
the name from Celt, dour water, briva a ford or bridge. The 
Romans converted dwr-hryf, or dour-briva, into Durobrivse 
and Durobrivis. A Roman castrum or camp having existed here. 



226 LOOAL STYMOIiOGT. 

the Saxons imported eeaster into the name, which became Hrof- 
esceaster, Hrofeceaster, Hroneceaster, Rhovecestre, Rouecestre, 
Bouoeastre, Roveeestria, Royecester, and Roibisceaster, whence its 
present name has been corrupted. Bede deriyes the name from 
eeaster the city, Hrofee of Hrof, a Saxon chieftain ; and Sonmer 
from hrof, covered, because enclosed with hills, or ro/, eminent. 

RODE, a termination of local names in Grermany, as Elbinge- 
rode, Osterode, Wemigerode in the Hartz, Attenrode, &c. Rode- 
land, Rott-land, in G. means " deared ground," fh>m roden, to 
dig up. See Rotd. 

ROERMOND (roor^motut), a town of the Netherlands on 
the right bank of the Maas, at the influx (G. vnmde, mouth) of 
the Roer or Ruhr. 

ROESKILDE [nutkild), a town of the Danish island of Zea- 
land, said to haye been founded by King Roe, who chose the 
spot on account of the fresh-water springs that abound in 
the neighbourhood, whence the name Roee-kUde ** Roe's well." 
The Dan. kilde is a fountain, spring, source. In L. the name is 
found written Fone Roearum ! 

ROME. The building and name of this city have bemi 
variously accounted for. Some state that a body of Trojan fugi« 
tives were driven upon the eoasts of Tuscany, and at last anchored 
in the Tiber, and that their wives bmg unable any longer to bear 
the hardships of the sea, on the proposal of ^* Roma," one supe- 
rior to the rest in birth and prudence, the fleet was burnt ; that 
the Palatine Hill was afterwards selected as a site, and a city built, 
which they called Roma. Others say Roma was daughter of 
Italus, or of Telephus son of Hercules, and related to JSneas. 
According to others, Rome was built by Romanus, son of Ulysses 
and Circe, or by Romus, son of ^mathion, whom Diomedes sent 
from Troy, or by Romus, king of the Latins, after he had expelled 
the Tuscans. Even those who assert that the city had its name 
from Romulus, are not agreed as to his extraction. Thej inform 
us that he and his brother Remus were brought infants into Italy, 
that aU the vessels were lost except that containing the children, 
who were saved beyond expectation, and the place after them 



LOCAL ETTKOLOOY. 227 

called Rome. There is still another suggestion, that the Pelasgi 
settled here, and on account of their strength in war, named the 
city Pwjxij. If we could suppose Rome to have heen huilt hj a 
Phoenician colony, the name might translate "a high place." 
The Heh. D*)1 r^m signifies «'to he high, lofty," also ''height, 
elevation." Ramoth, signifying "heights," was the name of a 
town in Gilead; Rimmon, ''very high," a town of the Simeon- 
ites ; Rum&h, " high," a town in the trihe of Benjamin ; and 
according to Bochart, Maro, a mountain in Sicily, derives its 
name from the Punic tnaron, signifying " a high place." 

ROMFORD (rum'/iird), a town in Essex, takes its name from 
a Roman ford across the stream which flows through its west 
side. Lysons derives Eom/ord from A. S. r^m hroad, ford a 
ford ; '' a broad ford." 

ROMNET (runi^ne), a town in Kent, situated in a marsh 
near the sea. Lye writes the name Rumen-ea, " the spread- 
ing water or marsh," from rume wide, spreading, ea water : *' the 
island in the flat or marsh, a spot sufficiently elevated from the 
surrounding marsh to be dry, being termed an island by the 
Saxons." (P. Cyc.) According to others, this isle was first 
called Romany, *' isle of the Romans," because they first landed 
here. 

ROMSDALEN, a district of Norway ; " the dale or valley 
of the River Rauma." (Dan. dal a vale, valley, dale ; daUen the 
dale.) 

ROMSET {rum'ge)^ co. Hants, from A. S. Rumea^ege^ or ige, 
from riim roomy, ig^ ige, an island, spatiosa insula. Baxter writes 
Romes-eg, q. d. Romana insula. 

ROSAS, a seaport town in the province of Catalonia, Spain, 
formerly called Rhode, from having been founded by Rhodian 
emigrants. 

ROSCOMMON, a town and county in Ireland. The town is 
said to derive both its origin and its name, which was formerly 
Ros-Coeman (Coeman's Marsh), from the foundation here of an 
abbey of Canons Regular, by St. Coeman, or Comanus, about 
the year 540. 

Q 2 



228. LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

ROSE, ROS, in local names in Cornwall, is the Corn, rose, 
r68f a valley ; as Roskilly or Rosgilly, the grove in the valley ; 
Rosevallan, the apple valley; R6screw or Roscreece, the cross 
in the valley ; Rdsvean, the little valley ; Rdsmean, or Rosm^n, 
the stony valley. 

ROTH'ER, the name of several rivers in England ; especially of 
one in Yorkshire and of another in Sussex, whence Rotherhridge 
and Rotherfield. Some derive the name from 6. roth, rothen, red ; 
but Whitaker, with greater reason, from Celt, yr-odre, a Hmit, 
boundary. Rotherwas, on the Wye, co. Hereford, may, however, 
mean " red water." (G. rothes-wasser*) 

ROTH'ERHAM, co. York; "the ham or dwelling on the 
River Rother." It was called in Brit. Tr Odar (from which 
Bother has been corrupted), " the boundary," obviously reflected 
in the Roman name of this station, " Ad Fines.*' See Rother. 

ROTH'ERHITHE, a parish in Surrey, near London, and 
bordered by the Thames ; from A. S. Rethra-hythe, from hyih, 
a port, haven, or wharf, rethra, or rothra, of sailors. Others 
translate Rotherhithe ** The port of the boundary" between the 
people of Kent and the Trinobantes, and they derive Bother from 
the Brit, yr odre or odr, a boundary, hmit. (See Rother.) 
Rotherhithe is frequently called Bedriff, and this pronunciation 
appears to have prevailed as early as the thirteenth century. 

ROTTEN ROW, a carriage-drive in Hyde Park, London, may 
have been called either Route du Boi (Fr.), as being appropriated 
solely to the king*s use, or Routine Row, as the scene of religious 
processions. Some say that old or rotten buildings stood along 
the thoroughfare. 

ROTTERDAM takes its name from a dyke or dam erected at 
the junction of a small stream called the Rotte with the Maas. 
Conf. Amsterdam, (Amstel-dam), Schiedam, Zaandam. 

ROUEN (roo'-ow^), the chief town of Normandy, m A. ^.Rothem, 
was originally called Rothomagus, afterwards Rothomagum, and 
then Rothomum, whence its present name; thus, Rothomum, 
rothein,rouem, Rouen. Although the name Rothomagus is Gaulish, 
and the city appears to be of very ancient origin, neither Csesar 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 229 

nor any of the Roman writers make mention of it. Ptolemy 
is the first who has noticed it. Berosius says Magus, son and suc- 
cessor of Samothis> first king of the Gauls, laid the foundations of 
the town, and called it, after his own name, which in Celt, signifies 
" huilder ; " hut this does not account for the first syllahle roto. 
According to others, Rhomus, son of Allohrox, seventeenth king of 
the Gauls, enlarged the town, and prefixed his own name to that 
of the founder, whence Rhomomagus, Rhotomagus. Others derive 
the name from an idol called Roth or Rothon, anciently worshipped 
here, and Camden from O. Gaul, rith, ** a ford or passage of a 
river;" hut, says Huet, if this he so, the place must have heen 
first called Rithomagum ; and Lamartiniere douhts whether any 
ford has existed here, and he considers the name compounded of 
Boto, for Rotoheccum, the L. name of the little river Rohec, 
which has its source in a neighbouring hill, and Celt, tnafftu or 
magum a town ; thus Rotomagus, '' town on the Rohec." 

ROUMELIA formerly comprehended all the countries which the 
Greek emperors possessed in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Roumelia, 
or rather Roumtti, is a Turkish corruption of Romania, and at 
present signifies all the country which the Turks possess in 
Europe, especially Thrace and Bulgaria. Lamartiniere derives 
Roumelia^ which he translates " Romanic Grecque," from Rum, 

and 'EAXijy Greek. The Arab. ^ . . rum is used to designate 

alike Rome, Greece, the Turkish empire, Roumeha, and Asia 
Minor. 

ROUSSILLON (rootfee-yong), an old province of Fhmce, 
takes its name from the ancient town of Rusdno, a Roman colony, 
and capital of the Sardones. Ruscino is supposed to have stood 
about two miles from Perpignan. 

ROVEREDO (rwarc^dJ), a town in South Tyrol ; It. Rove- 
retOy G. RovereitJh L. Bobaretum and Raveretum; from It. 
roverito, a place planted with male oaks ; from rdvere, the male 
oak, from L. robore (robur), probably the red or scarlet oak. 

ROYD, ROTDE, ROD, RODE, in local names in England, 
as Huntroyd, Holroyd, Murgatroyd, Ormeroyd, Ormerod, 
denotes "land lately reclaimed and thrown into cultivation" 



230 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

(synonymous with essart, assart). These names are from the 
provincial verb rid to dear or grub up. Terra rodata, rode land, 
was so called in opposition to terra bovata, Le. ancient enclosure 
which had been from tune unmemorial under the plough, and was 
measured by the quantity which one ox could plough in a season. 

ROTSTON, CO. Herts, supposed to have had its origin in the 
reign of William the Ck>nqueror, and to derive its name from a 
cross erected in the highway by the Lady Boysia, countess of 
Norfolk. A monastery having been established here shortly 
afterwards by Eustachius de Mere and others, which led to the 
erection of houses, the place acquired the appellation of Royae*s 
town, whence its present name. 

RUABON or RHUABON, a small town in N. Wales, ntuated 
upon a hill, at the junction of the roads fipom Oswestry and 
Llangollen. Li W. it is written Rhiuhaboth from rAt'io, a slope 
or side of a mountain, and Avon or Abtm, the name of a small 
river on which it stands. BMw forms the names of many 
places in Wales, as Rhiwlas, green slope; Hhiwfelen, yellow 
slope, &c. 

RUD or ROOD, in Persia and India, is the Pers. ^jj rid or 

rddf a river, torrent, especially a river which loses itself in sand. 
Ispahan stands on the Zindarood. Richardson interprets " zin- 
dahy alive, living, life, great, huge, terrible, name of a river which 
flows through Ispahan." 

RUDSTON, CO. York, named from a large red stone fbund 
there ; from A. S. red, reod^ rude, red, stan a stone. 

RUGEN (rergen), an island in the Baltic, belonging to Russia, 
and the last asylum of Slavonian idolatry. The name may 
be in some way connected with Rughevit, an idol fbund in this 
island, and supposed to have represented the god of war. One of the 
highest eminences is called Mount Rugard. The Su-Ooth. ruga 
or ruka. Ice. hruffo^ is a heap, pile. 

RUHR'ORT, a town of Prussia, at the conflux of the River 
Rohr with the Rhine. G. ort a place. 

RUNHAM, CO. Norfolk, may have been formerly called Run- 
holm, from Ice. rutm or Annul, a bush, holm an isle. The first 



LOCAL BT7M0L0GT. 231 

syllable in Runhall and Ronton, in the same county, mity also 
come from the same root. Rollesby may be from Hrolf or BaiUo^ 
and Dan. hy^ a town, borough ; Thrigby, (pron. trif/he) ftrom 
Tn/ggve, the son or father of King Olave the Saint. (There is 
Saint Olave's Bridge near Tannouth.) Billockby (pron. bUU/'be) 
may come from Dan. bUag^ an enclosure, or may be in some way 
connected with the A. S. form, balg a bulging, belly. The hundreds 
called East and West Flegg, were formerly one island, almost diyided 
in two by a chain of lakes now called *' Broads.'' Flcgg is pro- 
bably connected with D. vlak flat, or Dan. Swiss and G.Jlekke, an 
unwalled borough. Yarmouth was so before the Conquest. {Eev. 
Edw. Gillett, Vicar of Runham.) 

RUNNEMEDE (ruTiny— ), between Stames and Windsor, the 
spot where Magna Charta was signed ; found written Running- 
mead, Runemed, Runemeid, Rendmed, Redmede, and Rennemede. 
Some derive the name from A. S. Him a letter, also council or 
deliberation, nued a meadow. " Rennemed, quod interpretatum 
Pratum Concilii, eo qu6d antiquis temporibus ibi de pace, regni 
saepius concilia tractabantur." (Matth. Westm,) ** It may mean 
' the bushy meadow ;' from Ice. runn or hrunn, a bush/* (Rev. 
Edw, GUleii.) 

RUSSIA. Some derive the name from rosaeia^ a local term . 
signifying that the country had been peopled by various nations. 
The Rev. Alexander Jones, under R6sh (wvkS) head, chief, says 
that in Ezekiel our version has regarded this name as an appeUa^ 
tive, and accordingly transcribed it *' chief prince," but the 
Septuagint and other versions took it for a proper name, and 
therefore rendered the passage (See Ezek. xzxviii. 2) *'the 
Prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal," and that most probably this 
is to be understood of the Russians. Gresenius under Roth, tells 
us that the Russians were mentioned by Byzantine writers 
in the 10th century, under ol *Pa;£, as dwelling to the N. of Taurus. 
According to Bochart, the Arabs call the River Araxes, RhoM^ 
and the name may have been applied to the settlers on its banks 
and to the neighbouring district. He says further, that the Rus- 
sians and Muscovites may be the same as the Rhos and Meshech 



232 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

of Ezekiel, and that the Rhos or Russians, having crossed the 
Araxes and occupied the Tauric Chersonese, first called it after their 
own name, Rhos. The Roxolani of Pliny, without doubt refers to 
the Russ or Russians. Bochart says Roxolani or Rhoxolani is 
a compound of Rtu>9 or Rhox and AUtni (Alauni), and that they 
were so called, from dwelling about the Lake Mseotis, between the 
peoples called the Tauri and the Alani. By some Arabic writers 

the Russians are said to be referred to under ^j^j^j rUs, See 

Bochart, Greog. Sacr. ; Oeog. Nub.; Ezek. xxxviii. 2, 3, and 
xxxix. 1.; Fosslan's Bericht uber die Riissen, p. 28, Petersb. 
1823. Conf. Von Hammer, Orig. Russ. Petersb. 1827, who also 
compares the nation Ross mentioned in the Kuran, sur. 25, 40, 
50, 12. 

RUTHIN, N. Wales. The castle was called Rhudd Din, " the 
red fort," from having been built of stone of a brick-red colour. 

RUTLAND, in Domesday Roteland, is considered another 
rendering of Rode-land, *' cleared ground ;" or of Rutt-land, a 
country with deep valleys and abrupt undulations of surface. 
With regard to the western district around Oakham, Uppingham, 
and Glaston, which is said to have been called Roteland or Red- 
land before the Norman Conquest, it may be observed, that the 
red loamy soil which is supposed to distinguish it, is observable 
also in other parts of the country. There is a ridiculous fable 
that one Rat cleared the whole county in a day. See Rode 
'and RoYD. 

RYD£, a seaport town in the Isle of Wight, situated on the 
shores of the Solent. Ryde is a corruption of its ancient name. 
La Rye, which may have meant the place " on the bank of the 
river." See Rye. 

RYE, CO. Sussex, in L. records called Ripa, and considered by 
some to be the Portus Novus of Ptolemy. Camden derives the 
name from Norm, rive (L. ripa), a bank ; others from A. S. 
rhee, rhe, ree, or Brit, rhy, a river or bay, and they instance 
St. Mary Overie (Overy), Southwark. Teake says "it may 
mean the place where the rivers Rother and Ree were yet 
fordable, or the situation of the town in the bottom or middle of 



LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 233 

a bay made by the sea, between the cliff at Beachy and that at 
Folkestone, whence the sea oyer against Rye, and near the shore, 
is still called Rye Bay ; nor will I affirm that the name came 
from the rivulet Rie running by the foot of Winchelsea Hill, nor 
from rhe or ree sometimes used for a river ; though the river of 
Rother on the east, and the creek of the sea like a river, running 
up on the west, into the country between Peasmarsh and Udimer 
— meeting together with the said Ree, and running out to sea at 
the south-east (and formerly more south) side of the town — 
might be supposed to have occasioned the name." The late 
Mr. Curteis derives the name from Gr. peou, to flow; Hol- 
loway says its most ancient name Rie or Rhie^ Latinized into 
Rhia or Ria, is from n>, a bank of the sea, a bank adjoining to 
water : the original word very well applying to a rock in the 
midst of the waters, and the Sax. ree, rhe, rey, a river, being 
inappropriate, as at that period, the sea at all times of tide, 
flowed round the base of the rock, and no river was visible, the 
Rother and Exden having flowed into the ocean at Lyma, and 
the Brede with the TilUngham, much higher up the country. 
Nor does he deem the Brit, rhy, a ford, applicable, as no ford 
existed in those early days, while the word bay would not be so 
descriptive of the nature of the spot, as rie, a bank or cliff, which 
it really then was ; it being in its original state a rude isolated 
rock, having its base at all times washed by the sea. 



s. 



SAALFELD (sal^ — ), a very ancient town in the midst of the 
Thuringian Forest in Saxony, named from its situation on the 
River iSaa/, and 6./e{(f aplain. There is also Saalfelden, near 
Zellam-Zee, in Austria. 

SAARDAM (ear' — ), sometimes written Zaardam and Zardam^ 
a town of Holland, near Amsterdam, remarkable for the hut in 
which Peter the Great lived in 1696, while working as a common 



234 LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 

shipwright. The correct appellation is Zaandam, Le. dam of the 
Zaan. It stands at the junction of the River Zaan with the T. 

SACT FOREST, go. Northampton; for Sakey, from L. 
saHeetum, a place where willows grow ; from salixg a willow tree. 

SAFFRON HILL, Holhom, London, was formerly a part of 
Ely G^ardens, and deriyes its name from the crops of saffiron 
which it bore. ( Cunnif^ham.) 

SAFFRON WALDEN, co. Essex, so called from the great 
store of saffron growing there ; from sqfi'ron, wall, and Sax. den a 
dale. {Bailey.) Walden is more probably from A. S. weald a 
wood, den a valley. A great quantity of the saffiron plant was 
formerly reared either in this place or in its vicinity, but the cul- 
tivation has been long abandoned. 

SAHAGUN (sc^hahun), a smaQ town near Yalladolid, in Spain, 
derives its name and its celebrity from Saint Facundus, who was 
martyred there in the second century. The name may have come 
thus : — San Facundo, phacundo, hacundo, hagundo, hagun, San- 
hagun, Sahagun. 

ST. ALBANS (awlbuns), co. Herts, named after Alban, an 
eminent citizen, who suffered martyrdom in the persecution under 
Diodesian. In his honour, a monastery for 100 Benedictine 
monks was erected in 793 by Offa, king of Mercia. 

ST. ASAPH, CO. Flint, N. Wales. According to Bishop 
Tanner, Kentigem, Bishop of Glasgow, being driven out of 
Scotland, founded an episcopal seat and monastery here, about 
the middle of the sixth century, and became the first bishop. 
Upon his return into Scotland, he made St. Asaph his successor, 
and from him both the church and place have since been called 
St. Asaph. Situated on the slope of a pleasant eminence between 
the Rivers Clwyd and Elwy, it was first called Llan Elwy, i. e. 
Church Elwy. 

ST. BEES, Cumberland, so called from St. Bega, an Irish 
virgin, who lived a solitary life there. {Bailey,) 

ST. CLOUD {cloo), near Paris, derives its name from Chlodo- 
valde, one of the three sons of Chlodom^re, king of Orleans, who, 
having embraced a monastic life, retired here in the sixth century. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 285 

This prince was afterwards canonized, and his name, corrupted to 
St. Cloud, was given to the town where he passed his life and 
was huried* 

ST. DENIS (dc^nee), formerly St. Denjs, near Ptois ; a con- 
traction of St. Dionjsius. It was ancientlj only a small hamlet, 
called Cathuel, or Yicus CatuUiacus, from a lady named Gatulla, 
who collected and interred here the remains of SS. Denis, Eustique, 
and Eleuthdre. On this spot the Christians afterwards huilt a 
commemorative chapel, and upon its ruins, St« Gr^nevi^ve, about 
the year 469, caused a church to be erected in honour of St. 
Denis. See Lamartiniere, quoting Piganiol, Descr. de la 
France. 

ST. GILES'S, CRIPPLEGATE. On approaching Cripple- 
gate, says Pennant, *'ia the church of St. Egidius, St. Giles. 
That name always imports something of beggaiy ; accordingly, 
this gate received its name from the number of cripples and beg* 
gars with which it was haunted formerly. St. Giles was their 
patron ; he was a noble Athenian, and so charitable as at length 
to give away the very coat he wore on his back, which he 
bestowed on a sick beggar, who no sooner put it on than he was 
restored to health. The same legend relates also to St. 
Martin." 

ST. GRAAYENZANDE {sfrm^nMon'da), a village situated 
in a sandy district near the Hague. It was formerly the residence 
of the Qraaoen or Counts of Holland, who, according to the una- 
nimous opinion of the old writers, kept their court here before 
William founded a palace in the Hague. (See Hedendaagsche^ 
Hist, van Tegenw. Staat, &c., vol. 16, p. 514.) D. ^raq^an ear), 
count, zand sand. 

ST. HELIERS {heryert), the chief town of Jersey, takes its 
name from one of its churches, which was either dedicated to, or 
founded by, St. Hilarius. 

ST. HONORAT, a small island near Toulon, is named from 
the celebrated convent founded there in 410 by St» Honoral^ the 
ruins of which are still to be seen. 

ST. IVES, CD. Cornwall, originally St. Jie's, from Jia^ ''a 



286 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

woman of great sanodty, who came hither from Ireland about the 
year 460." 

ST. IVES, GO. Huntmgdon : " St. Ives, Sancti Iwmis, a pkce 
in Huntingdonshyre, not farr from Ramsey, wheare lyved some 
tpne Ivon, the Byshop of Persia, or els was buried in that place, 
or both." (Lambarde.) 

ST. KITTS, one of the West India Isles, properly St. Chris- 
topher's, from Christopher Columbus, who discovered it. 

ST. MAL'O, a seaport of France ; from St. Malo or Madow, 
a disciple of St. Brandan, and who, according to the French 
writers, in the sixth century embarked at the port of Aleth» near 
St. Malo, in order to discover La ffrande Isle (the New World). 
But see Jomandes, de Orig. Goth. ch. 1 ; Mir. du Mond. p. 2, 
ch. 5 ; and L'Esprit des Joumaux, t. vii., 1781. 

ST. MARY OVERY, Southwark, formerly Overie, i. e. " over 
the rie," over the water or river, with respect to London ; from 
A. S. rhee, rhe, ree, rey^ Brit, rhy, a river. 

ST. OMEB ((Mnare'), a town of Artois, in France, anciently 
Sitieu, took its present name in the ninth century from a monas- 
tery founded there by Saint Audomarus, bishop of Terouenne, 
who was buried in the church of Notre Dame. The name Audo- 
marus has been since corrupted into Omer. 

ST. PETERSBURG, named after Peter the Great, by whom 
it was built (G. bury, a castle, town). 

ST. POLTEN, a town situated on the high road between Linz 
and Vienna. The name is contracted from St. Hippolytus, and 
is found written Sampoltanum Oppidum, i.e. Sancti Hippolyti 
Oppidum. 

ST. THOMAS'S MOUNT, in the British district of Chin- 
gleput, Madras presidency. '* According to tradition, the hill 
called Little Saint Thomas's Mount was the scene of the mar- 
tyrdom of Saint Thomas, whose apostolic toils are thought to 
have extended thus far." (Thornton.) 

ST. TROND, a town near Tirlemont, in Belgium; from 
St. Trudon, who founded a monastery here, and gained great fame 
by the working of miracles. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 237 

SAHA'RAy or the Great Desert, a vast region in central 

Africa ; from Arab. \ ^ sahrd, a large plain destitute of herbage, 

a desert. Sahr, sahar, signifies extending wide (a place). 

SALISBURY (sawlz'—), co. Wilts, found written Searburh, 
Searsburh, Seareberi, Sseresberi, Sserbyria, SearesbTrig, Seares- 
biri, Saresbjria, Sarisbury, Salesbiria, Salesbirig, Salesbiri, Salis- 
biri, Salusbury, and Salusbery, and called in L. Sorbiodunum, 
Sir R. Colt Hare (Anc. Wilts, vol. i. p. 223), derives the name 
from A. S. sear dry, byrig a town; "a dry town;" and, says 
Bailey, '' the old town stood upon a hill where no water was, but 
it is now situate in a valley, and a little brook runs through the 
streets." Lye derives the name from Brit, sdr-isc a bitter stream, 
and burh a town. 

SALON'IKI, a city of European Turkey, formerly Therma. 
Cassander, in honour of his wife, a sister of Alexander the Great, 
changed its name to Thessalonica, which was afterwards abbreviated 
into Salonica, and has since been corrupted by the Turks to Saloniki. 
SALOP (sal'up), in L. Salopia ; from Slappes-burie, a Norman 
corruption of Scrobbes-burie, i.e. Shrewsbury, q. v. 

SALTHILL, near Eton, Bucks, probably named from the 
money collected by the boys at the Eton Montem, called " salt 
money." 

SALZBURG (salt/burff), a town in Austria, on the Salza, a 
river probably so called from rising and flowing through salt-mine 
districts ; from G. sah salt. 

SAMARIA, Gr. ^aix,apBia, in anc. geog. a country and city 
of Palestine, between Judea and Galilee, is said to be named from 
Shomr6n, a hill between Tabor and the Lake of Gennasareth. 
Shomr6n is supposed to have been named from its owner, 
Shemer, of whom it was bought by Omri, King of Israel, for two 
talents of silver. " Omri built a city, and called it after the name of 
the hill, and from his time it became the metropolis of the kingdom 
of Israel. In after ages the name of this capital was accepted as 
the name of the kingdom." Samaria, however, being mentioned in 
the Second Book of Rings, half a century before the time of Omri, 
it is more reasonable to presume that, as p'lDU^ shomrdn means a 



238 LOCAL BTYMOLOGT. 

watch-tower, watch-height, this hill was named on that account, 
from the yerh shamar, to watch ; whence also Shemer may have 
received his name. 

SA'MOS, one of the Sporades, in the Grecian Archipelago. 
This island was in anc. geog. called Samos of Ionia, to distinguish 
it from Samos, commonly called Samothrace (and now hj the Turks 
Samothraki), near the Dardanelles, and Samos in CephaUenia. 
According to Straho, it was called Samos from a hero, who was a 
native of the country. Other authors, quoted hy Strabo, say that it 
has its name from the Sase, a people of Thrace, who settled here. 
As, however, the island is full of eminences and precipices, it was 
doubtless named on that account. The Phoenicians, who first 
introduced colonies into Greece, caUed all high places Samos or 
Samoi. Bochart says there were four places of this name in 
Greece, and that they were all in high situations. He says the 
Carthaginians called the heavens, samen, and the Hebrews called 
them samajun, and he derives both from the Arab, soma, to 
project, to be prominent, to be high. Richardson translates the 
Arab, samd-a, heaven, altitude, eminence, and wtmd signifies to be 
high ; samdmin, high. 

SAN DON, CO. Kent, from A. S. sand sand, and Am a town; 
" a sand town, or sandy town." 

SANDWICH (sandwidj), co. Kent, found written Sandwic, and 
Sondwic. It was anciently called Lundenvic, as being the port of 
landing for London. The name was afterwards changed to Sand- 
wic, i.e. the sandy town, whence its present name. 

SANTAN'D£R, a seaport town of Spain ; ftrom SatU Andero^ 
i.e. St. Andrew. 

SANTAREM, a town of Portuguese Estremadura, situated on 
the Tagus ; from SarU Irene, a virgin and martyr, whose body 
was miraculously found here, and whose anniversary is celebrated 
on the 20th of October. 

SANTIAGO (eant-e-d'ffo), in S. America, for Sant logo, 
i.e. St. James. 

SARAGOSSA, a city of Spain ; Fr. Saraffoue, Sp. Zaragoza. 
It was a flourishing place under the Romans, and being colonized 



LOCAL ETYMOLOQT. 239 

by Augustus, was called Cesaaieti, and Cssarea Auguifa. The 

Arabs converted C€e8area Augusta into ^UuJ^ Sareusta, which 

the Spaniards corrupted into Zaragoza. 
SARAI9 in local names in Turkey and the Crimea, is the Turc* 

f^\j^ sardi, a palace ; as Saleh Serai, Ak Serai, the white palace ; 

Bagdtcheserai (q, v.). 

SARAWAK', a province of the island of Borneo ; from Mai. 

^^j^ ferdk-an a creek, bight, cove, confined part of a river ; 

from 9er(ik^ to enclose, confine (particularly water). 

SARCA, a valley in S. Tyrol, named from the River 8arca — 
the Sarraca of Ptolemy — which flows through it. 

SARDIN'IA, an island in the Mediterranean. According to 
some authors, Sardinia, or rather its Greek name Sap^o;, was 
derived from Sardus, son of Hercules. Others say it was called 
Saradoby the Carthaginians, from Heb. saadtk footstep, on account 
of its resemblance in form to a foot covered with a sandal. Hence 
also, Timseus called it Sandaliotis, from o'aySaXoy, a sandal ; and 
Solinus and Capella, copying Pliny, gave it the name of Ichnusat 
from ix'foc, a footstep* 

SARREBOURG (jm/boarp), m France, '' town on the Sarre.*' 

SARREBRUCK {uif^ brook), in Germany, «' bridge over the 
Sarre." 

SASKATCHEWAN, a river of British America ; '' the swift 
current.** 

SAVE {sa9\ a river of Hungary ; G. Setu, L. Savui, Hung. 
S^dvm. See Thames. 

SAXONT (G. Saeksen), the country of the Saxons, whose 
name is variously derived from setuf, a short sword which they 
carried ; from Tent, sehaeh, robbery, as indicative of their pur- 
suits (Goldaaiwi) ; from their reputed original settlement, Saees, 
on the Indus ; fVom sassen, settled, in contradistinction to those 
German tribes who led a nomadic life ; and from O. G. $099, 
9asse (A. S. 9€et), a planter, possessor {Adelwng), The Saxons, 
however, are with greater probability descendants of the Sacse, 
a Scythic people mentioned by Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny, who 



240 lOeAL ETTMOLOGT. 

do not^ howeverj agree as to their locality. Pliny calls them 
the Sacassani, and Straho calls their territory Jloucxcrlyrj, and 
'2a)ca(n}yy}, Diodorus Siculus, speaking of the Scythians, says 
they distinguish themselves by particular names ; some are called 
Sacse, others Massagetes^ and others Arimaspes. Sharon Turner 
derives " Saxon " from Sakai-wna, " sons of the Sakai " (Sacae). 
See Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 43; Strab. lib. ii. and lib. zi. ; and 
Plin. lib. vi. cc. 9 and 17. 

SCANDEROON', ASCANDEROON', or ALEXANDRETTA, 
a seaport in the N. of Syria, at the head of the Golf of 
Scanderoon ; a corruption of Alexander (the Great), by whom it 
was founded. 

SCANDINAVIA, the general term for Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark Proper, is merely an extension of the original name, 
which in the middle ages was written Scanza, Scanzia, Scantia, 
and Scandia. The following derivations have been suggested, but 
are not satisfactory : — ^Teut. scanzen or sehanzen^ castles, intrench- 
ments, because the inhabitants converted into fortresses, the 
steep rocks of the country ; eee^kante^ the sea-coast, showing 
its maritime position ; and Scanieus, the name of a mythical 
Roman soldier ; nor will econ-eg^ " beautiful island," as the name 
is found written in A. S., afifbrd a solution. The most reason- 
able supposition is, that Scandia has its name from its inhabitants, 
the Scandi, like Dania (Denmark) from the Dani, Germania from 
the German!, and Gallia from the Galli. This is the opinion of 
Wachter, who derives Seandi from Gr. oxijyccrrau, i.e. inhabitants 
of tents, from o^ijyoa;, to pitch a tent, dwell ; and he says that the 
Laplanders, the ancient inhabitants of Scandia, and driven by 
the Saxons into the interior, also live in tents ; and that this 
etymology explains why those of the Grothi who emigrated 
from Scandia, or Scanzia, called the nearest Grerman places, Groti- 
scanzia, that is, because they there fixed their tents. Wachter 
derives the termination '' avia " from Teut. av, terra, and says 
Scandinavia means " the land of the Scandi." The name may 
have come thus, Scandi, scandia, scandau, scandauia, scandavia, 
Scandinavia. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 241 

SCAR, SCARR, SKARR, SKIRE, in local names in the N. of 
England, as Scarthwaite, &c., mean a rocky clifF, a bare place on 
the side of a steep hill, from which the sward has been washed 
down by rain ; from A. S. carr, or Dan. skier, skicer, Sw. skar, 
a rock, cliff. 

SCARBOROUGH, co. York ; " a fortified rock, " from A. S. 
earr a rock (Dan. skier, skiier, rocks, clifiPs), burh a fort. 

SCHAFFHAUSEN (shafhow'zn), a town of Switzerland, was 
formerly called Schiffhausen, i. e. a house for ships, from G. schij^ 
a ship, haus a house. " In the eighth century, it consisted of 
nothing more than a few storehouses built to receive goods conveyed 
along the Rhine, and thence transported by laud to some distance 
below the cataract, where boats could not pass." {Coglan.) 

SCHLANG'ENBAD, a little bath place in Nassau, Germany, 
so named from the great number of snakes, quite harmless, which 
not only abound in the neighbourhood, but even haunt the springs 
themselves ; from G. seMangen, serpents, bad, a bath. 

SCHLESWIG (slesvig), a town of Denmark, named from its 
situation on the little river Schle and Sax. ung a bay, ford, &c. 

SCHOTTWIEN (shotve'an), situated in a narrow defile at the 
foot of the Semmering mountain in Austria ; from G. Schotte a 
Scotchman, Wien Vienna. A colony of Scottish monks settled 
here as missionaries in the middle ages. 

SCHWALBACH {shvoWah), a small bath place in Nassau, 
Germany; "the swallows' brook," from G. wAira/^e a swallow, aeh 
a brook. 

SCILLY ISLES, situated near the Land's End, Cornwall. 
They were known to the Greeks under the name of the Cassiterides. 
Ausonius is the first writer who calls them "Sillinse Insulae." 
Some derive Sillina, of which they say Scilly is a corruption, from 
sifya, the Corn, for "conger;" others from sulleh, a Brit, 
word signifying "the rocks consecrated to the sun." The 
latter derivation, says a late writer, will be probably adopted by 
the traveller who has beheld these islands from the Land's End by 
sunset, when they appear as if they were imbedded in the setting 
luminary. Solinus, however, calls them Silura, whence it has 



242 LOCAL BTTMOLOGT. 

been inferred that they were at one time inhabited and reoeived 
their name from the Silores, a nation of Iberic origin. 

SCINDE, SINDE, or SIND, a part of Hindustan watered 
hy the Indus or Sindus. Gilchrist says sind, nndhoo, are very 
old Hind, words signifying the sea ; that seam, te'ah, mean dark, 
nud, a water, river, &c., and that he can easily develope se ahund, 
se'anCnud in Sind, See Indus. 

SCOTLAND, " land of the Scoti or Scots." See Scythia. 

SCU'TARI, a suburb of Constantinople, on the Asiatic shore 
of the Bosphorus; from Pers. uskuddr, an envoy, messenger, 
courier. '< Scutari was in remote periods what it is at this day, 
the post-station for Asiatic couriers, the great rendezvous of all 
caravans proceeding from Europe, and the spot whence all tra- 
vellers from Constantinople to the East commence their journeys.'* 
(^Murray,) Scutari in European Turkey is the ancient Scodra. 

SCYLLA, a dangerous cluster of rocks between Italy and Sicily; 
named from a fabulous sea-monster, oxuXXo, or, says Bochart, 
from Pun. scol, '* destruction, deadly misfortune." 

SCYTHIA, in anc. geog. Its inhabitants, the SxuSoi, Scythae, 
are considered as identical with the Scoti, and to have been named 
from their great skill in the use of the bow, their principal weapon. 
In the O. Tent, teutten, or scuthen, signified *' archers," and was 
doubtless derived from the same root as the Gael, scioi, an arrow, a 
dart. Armstrong considers the Gael, tciot a Celto-Scythian vocable, 
and the root of the word Scytha, Scythians, lit. archers. According 
to Yallancey, upon whom not much reliance can be placed, the 
ancient Irish called themselves Aiteac-Coti and Aire-Coti or 
Cuti, ''noble shepherds;" and from Coti or Cuii the Greeks 
probably formed Scutha and the Irish Scoti, s being a common 
servile in Irish. See Isid. lib. xiv.; Oros. lib. i. c. 2 ; Claud, de 
4 Consul. Honor, lib. v. c. 33 ; P. Mela, lib. iii. cc 4, 5 ; Plin. 
lib. iv. c. 12, lib. vii. c. 2 ; Herodot. lib. iv. cc. 6, 20 ; Justin, lib. 
ii. ; Ptol. lib. vi. c. 14 ; Ludan, Tox. ; and Hippoc. de Aere et 
Aquis. 

SEBASTOPOL, a Russian port in the Crimea ; *' sovereign 
city," or "most sacred city;" from Gr. trsPatrtOQ, superl. of a-ifiac 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 243 

sacred, ttoXaq a city. The Greeks rendered the L. title Augustus, 
" sacred," " that inspires reverence or respect, venerable," by 
a-sfiaaroc, which became an epithet or title of the Greek rulers at 
Constantinople. 

SECUN'DERABAD, SECUN'DERPOOR, towns in Hindu- 
Stan. Secunder is a corruption of Alexander, Both names 
mean ** the town or city of Alexander." See Abad and Poor. 

SEETHING LANE, city of London ; corruption of Sydon 
Lane. 

SEINE {8ane\ a river in France ; L. Sequ&na. Armstrong 
says, from Gael, seimh'an, " the smooth river," and that a more 
descriptive name could not be given. 

SELEJRK, a town of Scotland, is called in old charters Seles- 
chirche, Seleschirke, Seleschyre, and Selchire, which some trans- 
late " the great or good church." Sir Jas. Dairy mple derives 
the name from two Celt, words, aehelch, greek, meaning ** the 
kirk in the wood or forest ;" and a late writer observes, that this 
part of the country was formerly covered with wood, and formed 
a royal chase. 

SEN^EGAL, a large river of Africa. It is related that when 
Lan9arote discovered this river, he called it Sanagii or Canag^ 
afler a Moor whom he landed here. According to others, it was 
not the name of the Moor, but that of his nation, the Senhaji or 
Assanhaji, in our maps the Zenhaga, and the Sanhagse of Edrisi 
and Abulfeda, who inhabited its northern bank. 

SENEGAM'BIA, a country of Africa, named from its situation 
between the rivers Senegal and Gambia. 

SERINGA PATAM', Hindustan, from Sans. Sri-Ranga- 
Pattana, *' the town of Sri Ranga," an Indian deity to whom 
there is a pagoda in this town. See Patam. 

SEVENOAKS, Kent, is called in ancient records Seovanacca, 
from seven oak-trees which once occupied the eminence on which 
it stands. From A. S. seqfan seven, ae, €ec, an oak. There was 
formerly a Sir Wm. de Sevenoke ; and that much-snubbed family. 
Snooks, derives its name from Sevenoaks, provincially ae^nux. 

SEVILLE, Sp. Sevilla, a town of Spain. Bochart derives itH 

R 2 



244 locjll ettmologt. 

L. name Hisptl, Hispilis or Spalis, from Pboen. rr«nr ^^^ or 
sfph^la, a pbdn ; and he quotes Cynllas, Hieronymns, Eusebius, 
and others, to prove that it was built in a flat or open ooantij. 
The Arabs converted Hispalis into Asbilia or Isbilia, which the 
Spaniards corrupted to SebiDa, and Sevilla. 

SEVRES («i'rr), a town of France, the anoent Vilhi 
Sarara. The department of France called Deux Sevres, is nmined 
from two rivers, the Sevre-Nantaise, and the SeTre-Niortaise» 
which traverse it. 

SHAFTESBURY (4kaf[4—\ co. Donet, in A. S. found 
wntten Sceftesbyrig, Sceaftesbyrig, Sceftesburgh, Sceaftesborh, 
Sceflebyrig, Scaftesbyrig, Schaitesbirh, Schafiesbury, Schaftis- 
bnrvy and in Domesday Sceptesberie ; from A. S. sceefi a shaft, 
bufy a town. Camden calls it Spire Steeple. Another writer 
savs the Saxons named it Sceafles-bvrv, ''the shaft or arrow 
stronghold ;" but the Brit, name b said to have been Caer-pell- 
fhddurr, " the stronghold hr from water," and if so, the Saxons 
might have mistaken Caer-peH^o-ddwcr for Ca^r PaJadr, which 
would mean Shaft-bury, though the « would seem to betoken 
that tceafl was a proper name. It is sometimes called Shaston, 
and Shaflon. See Stralsukd and Strklitz. 

SHANNON, a river in Ireland ; from Ir. tkean, for 9ean, old, 
ancient, amhun a river ; Chalmers says from Celt. Jen, great, 
grand, and slow ; first changed to smen, then to ^kenem^ and 
finally to Shannon. 

SHAW, in local names in Kent and Sussex, is a thicket, small 
wood, or grove. In the Scottish dialect it means a copse, wood : 
" shaws, foliage of esculent roots.'* {Jamieson,) From A. S. 
seua, Mcuwa, The Dan. 4koc, is a wood, forest, grove ; ^hfpye, 
Sw. skugga, a shade, shadow. 

SHEEN, near Richmond, Surrey, found written Syenes, 
Schenes, and Schene, is said to have received its name from the 
bright or splendid appearance of its ancient palace ; from A. S. 
sciene, scene, beautiful. Shakespear uses sheem for " to shine." 
Conf. Schonbrunn, near Vienna. 

SHEFFIELD, co. York, named from its situation. The 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 245 

ancient castle was built in the angle which the River Sheaf 
makes with the Don. (A. S. feld, pasture, plain, open country.) 

SHEITAN DEREH', " the devU's vaUey," is traversed by 
the road from Constantinople to Erzeroum, and was so called, 
perhaps, from its being the resort of banditti. 

SHEPPEY, formerly Sheepy, and found written Scheapige, 
Sceapege, Scepige, Scepeye, Sepeige, Schepeye, an isle in Kent ; 
from A. S. Seeap-ige ; sceap sheep, ig an island ; " from sheep 
that abundantly multiplied therein, called also Ovina from L. 
avis, a sheep." (Bailey,) 

SHERBORNE, found written Scire-bume, Schirebum, Schir- 
burn, a town in Dorset, from A. S. scir-bum, " the clear brook." 

SHERWOOD FOREST, perhaps a corruption of "sear wood," 
*' Sherwood, q. d. sheer wood." (Bailey.) See Sherborne. 

SHETLAND ISLES, found written Schetland, Hethland, 
Hetland, Hialtland, Hialtlandia, Yealtaland, and Zetland. Shet- 
land or Hetland may be from Hojdland or Hoietland, *' the high 
or lofty land." 

SHIRE (shire, in compos, sher), in local names in Great 
Britain and Ireland, as in Shropshire, Lancashire, &c., is a 
division of territory, otherwise called a county ; from A. S. scir, 
scire, scyre, a division, from sciran, to divide. 

SHIRVAN^ a province of Georgia, named after Khusru 
Nushirvan, a monarch of Persia, who conquered this and the 
neighbouring provinces. 

SHOOTERS' HILL, Blackheath, Kent, '' so called from the 
thievery there practised." (Philpot, Will. Cant. ed. 1776, 
p. 135.) See Gad's Hill. 

SHOREDITCH, found written Sewersditch, Sowersditch, 
Sorsditch, Soerditch, and Soersditch. ** Soerditch, so called more 
than 400 yeares since, as I can prove by record." (Stow,) " I 
read of the king's manour, called Shoresditch Place, in the 
parish of Hackney, but how it took that name I know not. This 
house is now called Shore Place. The vulgar tradition goes that 
Jane Shore lived here, and here her royal lover used to visit her ; 
but we have the credit of Mr. Stow that the true name was 



246 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Shoreditch Place> and 'tis not unlikely to have been the place of 
a knight called Sir John de Sordieh, a great man in Inward 
the Third his days, who was with that king in his wars in 
France^ and b remembered in our annals in 14 Edw. III. He 
was owner of lands in Hackney as well in demesne as in service, 
which he gave to Croston his chaplain. This Weever notes ; 
who thinks Shorditch to be named from the said knight*** 
Strype, b. iii. p. 53. It is more than probable that Sir John de 
Sordich derived his name from Soerditch, and that the latter 
meant " Sewer ditch." 

SHOREHAM, co. Sussex ; from A. S. Scoreham, Le. a habi- 
tation or town on the sea-shore (score and ham). 

SHOT, SHOTT, a termination of local names in EngUnd, as 
Aldershott and Bagshot, Surrey ; Calshott, Hants ; may be a 
corruption of A. S. kolt, a grove. 

SHREWSBURY, co. Salop, found written Scrobbes-burh, 
Scrobbes-byrig, and Scrobbes-burie ; from A. S. burh a fortress, 
scrohhes of a shrub ; *' a city near which there were many shrubs." 

SHROPSHIRE, found written Scrobbes-byrig-scyr, Scrob-scir, 
Scrobscire, Scropscire, Schropshyre, is a corruption of ScrohbeS' 
hurh'scyre, "the shire of Serobbes'burh" It has also been 
called Salopschire. See Shrewsbury. 

8IAM, a kingdom in the farther peninsula, or India without 
the Ganges. The appellation Siam is unknown to the natives ; 
they call themselves Thay, but by the Malays, and by some of the 
neighbouring nations they are called Zeam or Zam, whence, 
according to some, Siam. Others say this kingdom was called by 
its inhabitants Meiiang Syonthia, and that Europeans have cor- 
rupted Syonthia into Siam. The Cochin Chinese call Siam, Xi6m, 
Xi^m la, and Nuoc Xi^m, i.e. kingdom of Xiem ; the Chinese, 
Seen-lo-kwS, commonly read Ts^en-lo. 

SIBERIA, a part of the Russian empire in Asia, is said to take 
its name from the ancient Siber, situated on the banks of the 
Irtisch, and the remains of which are still to be seen. 

SICILT, an island in the Mediterranean, was anciently called 
Trinacria, from its triangular form. Ainsworth derives its present 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 247 

name from L. scissa, because cut off from Italy, to whicli be sup- 
poses it was formerly joined ; and otbers from tbe Sieuli, a people 
of Italy, who, passing over in formidable numbers, drove the 
Sicani, its inhabitants, mto the southern and western parts, and 
kept possession of the richest tracts in the country. (SeeThucid. 
Pelop.War, lib. vi., and Sil. Ital. Hb. xiv. vers. 33, 37.) Bochart 
thinks Sicily may have been named by the Phoenicians Wp^tt^ 
iielul, *' of perfection,'* it being the finest island m the Mediter- 
ranean ; and he quotes Strabo (lib. ii.), " Htec omnium in mari 
nostro insularum maxima est atque optima.*' He suggests ano- 
ther Phoenician etymology — ^eculaja or tegulaga, *'of clusters of 
grapes," the Carthaginians buying both wines and grapes of the 
Sicilians. See also Statins, lib. zi. ; Virgil^ and Hesyehius, 

SIDCUP, a hamlet near Foots Cray, Kent, named from the 
Sedcopp family, who formerly possessed a large estate in the 
neighbourhood. Thomas de Sedcopp was owner of this estate in 
35 Henry VI., as appears by his deed. 

SIDMOUTH (iidmuth), co. Devon; "mouth of the Sid," 
a little river only six miles in length. 

SIDON, in anc. geog., a celebrated city of Phoeniciai situated 
on the sea-coast, northward of Tyre, and now by the Turks 
called Said&. Its foundation by Sida, daughter of Belus, or 
by Sidon, eldest son of Canaan, is doubtful, and it was more 
probably named from the abundance of fish found in its waters. 
Trogus derives the name from sidon, a Phoen. word signifying a 
fish. Justinius (lib. xviii. c. 3) says it was called h pUcium 
ubertate. The Rev. Alfred Jones translates pr>V inydhdn, 
** fishing" or "plenty of fish," and says it is the intens. of 
isdyidh, hunting, prey taken in hunting or fishing, from the 
root tsudh, to lay snares. See also Joseph. Antiq. lib. i. c. 7, 
Trogus, and Bochart, 

SIERRA (se-et^'ra), in local names in Africa, Spain, and 
Spanish America, is used to designate mountains whose summits 
or peaks resemble the teeth of a saw ; from Sp. and Port. sUrra, 
lit. a saw, from L. terra for segra, from seeo, to cut. Thus 
Sierra Nevada (Spain), " the snowy mountains ;" Sierra Leone, a 



248 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

place on the coast of Africa, situated iii a mountainous district 
abounding in lions. (Sp. lean^ a lion.) 

SILESIA, G. Schlenen, Pol. Szlask, Slav. Slhko, a province 
of Prussia. Some writers think the Silesians are the Elysii 
of Tacitus ; an opinion, says Lamartiniere, which shows an 
ignorance of the origin and migrations of these people. Silesia 
derives its name from the Siusli, or, as some authors style them, 
the Sliusli, who, during the reign of Charlemagne, conjointly 
with the Bohemians and Slavic tribes, attacked the frontiers of 
the kingdom. Ditmar de Merbourg, when speaking of a canton 
called Pagus Pilensis, refers to Silesia. 

SIMPLON (saimp-lohng), a celebrated mountain on the 
borders of Italy and Switzerland, one of the highest of the Italian 
Alps. In Fr. it is also called iS>/. Plomb ' in G. Simpelen ; 
and formerly Simpelherg and Sampion ; in It. Sempione, and in 
L. Mons C<epionis or Seipionis and Mom Sempronius. Simplon 
has been probably corrupted from Sempronius. 

SINAI, a mountain in Arabia Petrcea, said to have been so 
named from the appearing of the Lord to Moses, in the bush. The 
Rev. Alfred Jones translates the Heb. ^^D xiyndy, ** bush of the 
Lord," from ineh a bush, and ^ yodh, the sign of the Divine 
name. Stanley derives Sinai from Heb. sincih or aeneh, the 
acacia-tree. 

SINGAPORE', an island in the Indian Sea, named after its 
chief town Singhapura, '' lion-town." (Hind, nngk, Sans, sink 
or sinha, a lion.) See Poor. 

SINOPE (sino'pa), a town of Asiatic Turkey on the Black 
Sea, celebrated as the birthplace of Diogenes, who is thence 
called Sfvanr£uc. The derivation from Gr. avyow to hurt, injure, 
co^ the eye, can only rest on the supposition that the winds here 
were formerly injurious to the sight. Sivwir/c, red ochre, rather 
owes than gives its name to the place from which it was ex- 
ported. Hoffman refers to one of the Amazons called Sinope, 
and to Sinope, daughter of Asophus, '' quam Apollo raptam in 
Pontum traduxit." Again, we read of one Sinope, a courtesan, 
80 noted that her name passed into a proverb. This is curious. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 249 

as the Arabs call this place " the island of lovers." Eostathius, 
however, says that the river near the town is called Sinope ; and, 
if this be so> the town was doubtless named from it. There 
is a river in Normandy called Sinope. The name of these 
rivers may be of Celtic origin ; perhaps from Gael, scan old, 
ancient, ab, aba, water ; whence seanab, sinub, Sinope. The 
Turks have corrupted Sinope into Sin^b and Sindb, See 
Polyb. lib. iv. c. 57 ; Strab. Ub. zii. 545 ; Cellar. Geog. Ant. Ub. 
iii. c. 8 ; Zenop. lib. vi. ; Diod. Sic. lib. xiv. c. 32 ; Cels. v. 6 ; 
Diosc. V. 65 ; Vitruv. vii. 7 ; Plin. xxxvi. 6 ; Val. Flac. v. 109 ; 
and Ortelius, 

SITTINGBOURNE, Kent; according to one writer, the 
"seething bourn," i.e. the boiling rivulet, rivus fervent out 
bullieTis ; but Sittingboume, formerly Satung-bumay means 
rather a hamlet on the banks of a rivulet, from A. S. aahtng, a 
holding, or inhabiting of a place, from nttan, to sit, dwell, &c., 
bum a brook. 

SIUE-LING, a mountain range in China, with a considerable 
number of snow-capped summits ; from Chin, teue snow, ling a 
mountain. 

SIVAS or SIWAS (ae-vas') a city of Asiatic Turkey, formerly 
Sebastia. From root of Sebastopol. 

SKAG'ERRACK, a wide arm of the North Sea, separating 
Norway from Denmark, and communicating with another arm 
called the Elattegat. The name is more properly applied to a 
sandbank extending from Cape Skagen, at the northernmost point 
of Jutland, far into the sea. Skagerrack may therefore be a cor- 
ruption of Skagen' s Ri/, Skagen Beef, and it is found so written 
in old maps. It was probably named by the Dutch, as was the 
Kattegat, which the French translate " Trou du chat." The reef 
was named from the Cape, and the latter, as also the neighbouring 
village of Skagen or Skau, from the Su-Goth. tkaga, an isthmusy 
promontory, from skaga, to bend, project, extend. 

SELAREN (skee/n), the name given to the rocks and rocky 
islands on the coast of Sweden ; from Sw. skar a rock, Dan. skier, 

SLACK, of frequent occurrence in local names in Lan- 



250 LOCAL BTTMOLOQT. 

cashire and Westmoreland ; as Witherslack» &c. " Slack, slak, 
flake, an opening in the higher part of a hill or mountain, where 
it becomes less steep, and forms a sort of pass ; a gap or narrow 
pass between two hills or mountains." {Jawne^an.) 

SLADE, in Staffordshire, means moorland ; some say a slope, 
** a yalley, ravine, plain." (Haliwell.) In Northamptonshire, the 
name is sometimes applied to a flat piece of grass, and to a border 
of grass round a ploughed field. Moor calls it <'a small open 
banging wood." Brockett, ** a breadth of green sward in ploughed 
land, or in plantations." The A. S. sked b a plain, open tract of 
country ; the Ice. tUed, a valley. 

SLANET, a river in Wexford ; Slaan, a river in Cork ; from 
Crael. eaac'lan, '* the fuU water." 

SLANG, in local names in some English counties, is a narrow 
strip of land. It is sometimes called a slanket, 

SLAVONIA, a province of the Austrian dominions, which, 
though incorporated with the kingdom of Hungary, is still styled in 
official documents the kingdom of Slavonia. Some authors deduce 
the name Slavoman from alava, glory, and in confirmation, refer to 
the usual termination of Slavonian names, in Mkn, as Stanislav, 
establisher of glory ;" Vladislav, " ruler of glory ;" Taroslav, 
furious for glory." Others maintain that the name of the Slavo- 
nians, which is often written Slovenie, instead ofSlavenie, is derived 
from alovo, *' word,'* and *that the Slavonians, being unable to 
understand the language of the nations with which they came in 
contact, called them Niemetx, that b, ** mute," an appellation 
which is given to the Germans in all the Slavonian dialects, whilst 
the latter call themselves Slovenie, that is, ** men endowed with 
the gift of the word." The Byzantine writers changed Slavoman 
into Selaben or Sclav, and hence the appellation Sclavonians 
adopted by the western writers. Procopius caUs the Slaves 

SMERWICK, a bay on the coast of Kerry, Ireland, was proba- 
bly named by the Scandinavians, and it may mean ** the butter 
haven ;" from Scand. smdr butter, Sw. vik, cove, creek, Dan. viig, 
vig, bay, ford. See Chalmers, 



€€ 
€€ 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 251 

SMITHFIELD, London ; from A. S. smethCf smoeth, smooth^ 
/eld, a field ; " a smooth field." 

SMYRNA, a city and seaport of Asiatic Turkey ; from Gr. 
^ILvpva^ myrrh, for which it was formerly celebrated. The Turks 
have corrupted Smyrna into Ismir. 

SNAPE or NAPE, a frequent termination of local names in 
Lancashire, as BuUsnape, Fairsnape, Haresnape, ELidsnape. Nape 
or knap may sometimes mean ** the top of a hill ; " primarily a 
protuberance or swelling; from A. S. cfueby a knob. Nape, in 
Deyon is said to signify ** a hollow fracture ; '' and snape, 
a '* spring in arable land." 

SNOWDON, a mountain in Caernarvon, N. Wales, was named 
by the Saxons, from snato snow, dun a hill. The Welsh call it, or 
rather the cluster of mountains that lie in this county, Creigiau 
yr Eryriy " the snowy cliflfe." 

SODOR, the name of a village m the island of Icolmkill, one of 
the western isles of Scotland. It was formerly a bishop's 
see, which comprehended all the islands, together with the 
Isle of Man. The Bishop of Man is now called the Bishop 
of Sodor and Man. Bishop Wilson says the name of Sodor was 
taken from the cathedral church in lona, dedicated to our Saviour, 
m Gr. ^wrrjp. Others derive the name of the village from that 
of the islands ; and they say that the thirty islands constituting 
the bishopric of Sodor went by the name of the Sudereys, i. e« 
southern isles, another group to the north (the Orkneys and 
adjacent isles) being called the Nordereys, i. e. the northern isles. 
They were named either by the Norwegians or the Danes. 

SOHO SQUARE, London. Pegge says this square was 
originally called Monmouth Square, after the Duke of Monmouth, 
who resided there, and he mentions a tradition that after the 
duke's death, his admirers changed the name to Soho, being the 
word of the day at the battle of Sedgemore. This, however, is a 
mistake ; the square never having been called Monmouth Square, 
although it was at one time called King's Square. It was built 
in 1681, but the ground on which it stands, was called^ ** Soho " 
as early as the year 1632, and, says Mr. Cunningham, in 1636 



252 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

people were liying at the " brick-kilns near Sohoe," and *• the 
fields about So-Hoe " are mentioned in a proclamation of April 7, 
1671, whilst the battle of Sedgemore was not fought till 
1686. " * So ho,* or *so how/ was an old cry in hunting 
when the hare was found." See Pennant's London, and Cun- 
ningham. 

SOKEN, in local names in England, as Tkorp-en-le-Soken, 
Essex, may be the A. S. socn, socna, socne, the liberty of 
holding a soke or court — curia domini. Webster says soke is a 
district in which a particular privilege or power is exercised. 

SOMERSETSHIRE, from A. S. Sumer^ete-gcir, named from 
Sumer-tun. See Somerton and Dorsetshire. 

SOMERTON, found written Sumer-tun, Sumur-tun, Snmerton, 
and Somortone, chief town of Somersetshire, under the West Saxon 
kings ; from A. S. turner, sumor, summer, tun a town. Somner 
says the name of this town denotes a summer residence, but 
whether it received its name from the mildness of the air, the 
fertility of the soil, or from what other cause, he cannot say. 

SOMME (eom), a river of France, in Picardy ; formerly called 
Somona and Sumina ; corrupted from Samara, its ancient name. 
Samara may be derived from Celt. Ts-am-garw, "the rough 
or rugged river " — ^thus, ysamgarw^ samgara. Samara. Wachter 
says the Sambre, in Grallia Belgica, was also formerly called the 
Samara. Its present name may have come thus : Samara, 
sambra, Sambre. 

SOMNAUTH, or PUTTAN-SOMNAUTH, a maritime town 
in Guzerat, Hindustan, famous for its temple, and anciently one of 

the principal places of Hindu pilgrimage ; from Pers. culjc*.^ 
sdmandt, an idol. 

SONGA'RIA, the N. W. portion of the Chinese empire. The 
name is derived from the Songarees, one of the great divisions of 
the Kalmucks. 

SOONDA, a town in Canara, Madras presidency, Hindustan ; 
called by the natives Sundha, and in Sans. Sudhapura, 
(Thornton.) Suddha is pure, clear, bright ; pura, a town, city. 

SOP> a termination of local names in England, as Worksop, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY, 253 

BlinkiDsop, Kirsop, Trollop, Wallop, Diinlop, may be a corrup- 
tion of the O. £ng. word hope, " a sloping plain between hills." 

SORBONNE (sorbon'), a theological college at Paris, named 
from Robert de Sorbonne or Serbonne, almoner of St. Louis, who 
took his name from the village of Sorbonne (diocese of Rheims), 
where he was born. Strabo, lib. i. mentions \i[^yri 'S.e^fiwyig 
which Rabelais (ii. 23) calls '' Lac de Sorbonne." 

SOUTHAMPTON, co. Hants ; in the Sax. Chron. Hamtune ; 
in Domesday Hantune, Hantone, and Hentune ; named from its 
situation on the river Ant^ or Anton (the Southampton Water). 
The historian says there is no evidence of any town existing, in 
the time of the Romans, where Southampton now stands ; but it 
is not improbable that a village or station of some kind was 
situate at Northam, and that when a fortified post was established 
on the Hard, the epithet South might be applied, in contradis- 
tinction to this more ancient village. Hampshire takes its name 
from Hantune. Ant may be a corruption of Gwent, which in 
the W. means a fair or open region, a champaign (from gwen, 
white, fair). Hampshire was anciently called Gwent or Y Went, 
a term said to be appropriately applied to this county. 

SOUTHWARK, a division of London, extending along the 
Surrey bank of the river, and supposed to have been named from 
a military work or fortification; from A. S. mth south, and geweore, 
a work, fortress. From its being a fortification, it was also called 
the Burg (Borough). 

SPA {spaw)y a bath town near Li^ge, Belgium ; from espa, 
which in the old language of the country signified a fountain. 
The principal spring is called Pouhon, from Wal. pouher^ to 
draw. 

SPAIN, in Sp. Espdha, It. Spagna, Fr. EspagnCf 6., Dan., and 
Sw. Spanien, D. Spanje, W. Tspaen, Turc. Itpdniyd, L. Hispania^ 
Gr. J.Tfayia and 'ItntoLvla,. All the modern names of this country 
spring from the classical word Hispania, which some refer to His- 
pan, son of Hercules, and others to Pan, "lieutenant of Bacchus," 
prefixing Teut. his west, q. d. the west country of Pan. According 
to Astarloa, Etpaha is pure Basque> and means ** lip or extremity," 



254 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

which Humboldt disputes. Bochart gives a Phoenician origin. 
He says the Phoenicians who first touched at the ports of Spain* 
and colonized there long before the Greeks, named it Sphanija or 
Spanija (pron. sphan'-e-ya^ span' ^-y a), which he translates "full 
of rabbits ;" and he derives the Phoen. word from Heb. ]hm, saphan, 
a rabbit. And indeed on the reverse side of a medal of the Empe- 
ror Adrian (given by Scheuchzer, tab. 235) Spain b represented 
as a woman sitting on the ground with a rabbit in her lap. (See 
Addison on Medals, dial. ii. series iii.) There seems, however, 
to be some doubt as to what animal the aaphan really was. 
The Rabbins render it '* coney ; " the Septuagint, in three places 
** fnu8 jaeulus *' (the jerboa of the Arabs) ; Parkhurst, a sort of 
animal hke a rabbit; Gresenius, a ruminant quadruped, which 
lives gregariously on rocks, and is remarkable for its cunning. 
See Varro, de Re Rustica, lib. iii. c. 12; Gralen* de Alim. 
lib. iii. ; iBlian. de Animal, lib. ziii. c. 15 ; Plin. lib. viiL c. 58, 
lib. iii. c. 5 ; Strab. lib. iii. 144 ; and Catullus. 

SPINNEY, in the midland counties of England, is a wood 
or coppice, and may come from L. spinetum, a place full of thorns 
or briers, a thicket of thorn-bushes ; from spina, a thorn. 

SPIRES, a celebrated Grerman city on the Rhine, in G. Speyer 
Fr. SpirSy It. Spira, and called by the Romans Civitas Nemetum 
and Noviomagus. Bishop Roger, in the 11th century, surrounded 
it with walls, and changed the name to Speyer, from the rivulet 
called the Speyer-bach, by which it is watered. 

SPITALFIELDS, London, an abbreviation o£ Hospital Fields. 

SPORADES, certain islands scattered over the Archipelago ; 
from Gr. oitopaS^g scattered, from tnesipw to scatter. 

SPURNHEAD, a promontory in Yorkshire. " The present 
name of Spumhead, called in O. Eng. chronicles Spurenhead, is 
certainly derived from the Sax. spyrian or spyrigean, to look out, 
watch, explore." {Allen.) "To the name of Promontorium, in 
Ptolemy, is joined Ocellum, dim. o£oculus, an eye. This agrees well 
with the site of the place, and, no doubt, in the time of the Romans, 
a watch-tower was built here, not only to overlook the mouth of the 
Humber, but as a guard to these coasts. Camden, when speaking of 



LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 255 

Spomheady says the little village of Kilnsea plainly bespeaks 
this to be the very Ocellum of Ptolemy^ for as^Kellnsey is derived 
from Ocellum, so is Ocellum from y-kill, which signifies in 
Bnt. a promontory^ a narrow tract of land." (Drake, Hist. 
York.) It is certain, adds Allen, that Ocellum was the name 
of the district now called Holdemess. The name from its 
derivation may fairly mean the eye, or exploring place, and Bax- 
ter agrees with Camden that Ocellum means Spurn-head, or 
protensum caput in Parisis, ** the projecting head in Parisi." 

STAFFORD, found written Staefford ; in Domesday Statford 
and Stadford. From A. S. attsf a stafiP, ford a ford ; ** k vado 
fortk baculo transmeabili." (Somner,) 

STAINES, CO. Middlesex ; from A. S. ttdn, a stone, from a 
boundary-stone placed here to denote the extent of the jurisdiction 
claimed by the city of London on the River Thames. (Camden.) 

STAMBOUL. The Turks call Constantinople J^UL.\ 
TstdmbSl, or StdmbSl; the Greeks Istdmpoli; said to be cor- 
rupted from Gr. eic t^v Koy^v, *' towards the city." Elieffer says 
the Turks now call this city Isldmbol instead of Istdmbol, 
** nom controuv^ dans ces demiers temps pour perdre Torigine 
du premier nom. On donne k ce second le sens forc^ de heu oil 
abonde la vraie foi. Toutes les monnaies des Sultans Moustapha 
lY. et S61im lY. portent ce nom. Celles de Mahmoud 11. portent 
Coethanthinu^*** 

STAN, a frequent termination of local names in Persia and 

India, is the Sans, sthdna, site, place, station ; Pers. ^ULo stdn^ 

place, situation, country, as Hindust&n, the place or country of 
the Hindus. After a consonant Utdn is used ; as Gulist&n, a 
rose-garden. (See Forbee.) Richardson says the Pers. etdn or 
istdn is the participle of istddam^ istddan, to stand, reside, 
dwell, place, fix, &c. Among many local names compounded of 
stduy istdn, we find Moghulistan, Khuzbtan, Daghistan, Laristan, 
Faristan, Afghanistan, Gurgistan, Cafiristan, Beloochistan. 

STAMFORD, co. Lincohi, from A. S. stdn-ford, stone ford. 

STANG, STANK. Stang, in local names in the N. of Eng- 



256 LOCAL ETYMOLOGT. 

land, means a pond or pool, from L. Btagnum ; thus, Grarstang, 
CO. Lancaster, for Garri-^tangy '* the pool or pond of Grarri,** a 
Saxon name. Stank means a boggy piece of ground. See 
Whitaker's Craven, 422 ; also Whitaker's Richmondshire. 

STANIZA, in Russia, is a district composed of seTeral 
Cossack farms. 

STANLEY, name of seyeral places in England, firom A. S. 
nidn a stone, leag a field, place ; "the stony field or place." 

STANWICK, CO. Northampton, from A. S. Mtdn-weg, 
" stone way." 

STAPLE INN, London, is traditionally reported to haye been 
a sort of exchange or meeting-place, called Staple Hall, for the 
wool-merchants or staplers. (Herbert.) 

STAR CHAMBER. The Star Chamber, a court of criminal 
jurisdiction in England, abolished during the reign of Charles I., 
was named, says Cayley, from the gilded stars which orna- 
mented the ceiling of the apartment in which it was held ; others 
say, from the government contracts called starra, which were 
made with the Jews, and kept in a box in this court. 

STARGARD or NEW STARGARD, a city in the Prussian 
government of Pomerania. The name means ''ancient city," 
from Slav, star old, and gard or grad. See Go rod. 

STEAD, STED, in local names in England, generally signifies 
" a place," from A. S. eted (Dan. id., G. statt, D. stede) from 
Gk)th. stade, contraction of L. status, from sto, to stand. In 
names of places situated on a river or harbour, it may be from 
A. S. stathe, border, bank, shore. 

STELVIO. Monte Stelvio, called by the Tyrolese Stilfser 
Joch, takes its name from the village of Stilfs. 

STEPNEY. This tract, says Pennant, had been a manor in 
the Saxon times called Stibben-hedde, i.e. Stibbenheath. The 
Bishop of London had here a palace, as appears from ancient re- 
cords — "Given from our palace of Stebon-hyth, or Stebonheath.*' 
(See Ncwcourt, i. 733 ; and Pennant, ii. 425.) Stepney is also 
found written Stebenhethe and Stebunhith. The name is 
variously derived from two A. S. words meaning a timber wharf; 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 257 

from the Christian name Stephen ; and from A. S. steb a boll^ 
trunk, and heihe a heath. 

STETTIN, or ALT STETTIN {atetteen'), found written 
Stetin ; capital of the province of Pomerania, as well as of the 
govern nient of Stettin. The Sidini anciently inhabited this and 
the neighbouring territory : Sidini, sitini, stitini, stetin, Stettin. 

STEYNIN6 {sten'ing)^ a parish and town in Sussex, " was 
called in Saxon times Steningham, from ttaen (stan), a stone^ 
either because the place was stony, or because some conspicuous 
ruins encumbered the same." {Dallaway,) The Steyne Street, 
or ancient Roman road from Arundel to Dorking, passes through 
this place. (A. S. ing, a meadow.) 

STIRLING, a town and a county in Scotland, found written 
Strivilin or Stryviling, and Styrling. On an ancient seal the castle 
is called Castrum Strivilense. The Rev. Mr. Stirling, minister 
of Port, says the ancient name was Strila, which he derives from 
strighy strife, lagh, the bow^ bending the bow ; strighlagh, the 
strife of archery. 

STOCKHOLM was probably named from the foundations 
of the houses being supported by stakes or timbers driven into 
the earth ; from Sw. stocky timber, beam, stock, stake, holm, an 
isle formed by a river. Hans C. Andersen says a certain king 
Olaf endeavoured to enclose another king OlaPs fleet here with 
a stockade and boom across the mouth of the Malar Lake ; and 
that the city may thence derive its name. 

STOKE, STOCK, in English local names, as Stoke, Stoke 
Newington, Bishop's Stoke, Basingstoke, is the A. S. stoc a 
place; thus, Woodstock means a woody place. In Adstock, 
Odstock, Stock Gayland, Stockton, and Stockwood, we trace the 
A. S. stoc, stocce, a stock, trunk, block, stick. 

STOKE NEWINGTON, Middlesex, in ancient records is 
called Newtone or Neweton ("the new town"), whence New- 
ington. See Stoke and Newington Butts. 

STONEHENGE, an assemblage of upright and horizontal 
stones on Salisbury Plain, England, generally supposed to be the 
remains of an ancient Druidical temple. Mr. Kemble's deriva- 

s 



258 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

tion from stdnkenpena, ** the stone gallowses/' seems the most 
reasonable. See N. & Q. 2d S. iii. 2. 

STOR» STORA, in local names in Scandinavia, is the Scud. 
sior, great, as Stor Fiord and Storhammer, in Norway; Stoim 
Logdan £lv or river, Stora Aby* Stor Sjon, ** the great lake," in 
Sweden. Sior is also found in local names in Rnland. 

STOUR, the name of several rivers in England, as the Greater 
and Lesser Stour in Kent ; the Stonr in Dorset ; from Anc. Brit. 
Ts dwr, '* the water." But see Ister and Thames. 

STOW, in local names in England, as Barstow, Walthamstow, 
is the A. S. stow (Fries. «/o. Ice. sid)^ a place, habitation. 

STRA'HOW, a monastery at Prague, on the site of an old 
watch-tower, the supposed remains of a strong fortified castle ; 
from Boh. strahawdni a station, guard (sirakowaii to guard). 

STRALSUND, a port of Prussia, said to derive its name from 
A. S. stral an arrow, sund a narrow sea or strait. The town 
arms are three arrows. But see Strelitz. 

STRAND, a street in London, so named from lying on the 
strand or bank of the Thames ; from A. S. strand^ bank of a 
river. 

STRASBOURG, a town of Alsace, France, formerly Siraia- 
burgum ; from L. stratus spread out, scattered. Low L. burffus^ a 
town, fort, castle. See also Greg, de Tours, hb. x. ch. 19. 

STRAT, STREAT, in local names in England, is the A. S. 
stnete^ strete (G. strasse, D. straat, Dan. strtsde^ Sw. strat. It. 
strada, Sp. estrada, W. ystrydf)^ a street, road, from L. stratum^ 
a paved street, lit. strewed, scattered, laid upon, paved, from 
stemoy to strew, from Sans, stri ; thus Stratton, Stratford, 
Streatham. Most places whose names are compounded of strata 
streat, are situated on Roman roads. 

STRATFORD, co. Essex, formerly Stretford, from A. S. strate 
a street, way, &c,,/ord, id. See Strat. 

STRATH, found in many local names in Scotland, as in Strath- 
earn, Strath-more, is the Gael, srathy sratha (Ir. id., Com. and 
Sco. strath)^ a mountain valley, the bottom of a valley, a low- 
lying country through which a river rolls ; the low inhabited 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 259 

part of a country, in contradistinction to its. hilly ground ; a dell ; 
rarely marshy ground. See Armstrong, 

STRATTON, a small town in Cornwall ; according to Pryce, 
" the hill full of fresh springs of water.'* Others say Stratton 
is a corruption of Strettun, i.e. street town. The Saxons called 
the old Roman roads streets, and places situated on such roads 
Stretton, Streatham, &c. 

STREATHAM (stretfm), Surrey, m A. S. means a dwelling 
or habitation situated on a Roman road. See Strat. 

STRELITZ, a city of Germany. The Strelitzers (the famous 
old Russian life-guards) derive their name from the Slav, strelec 
or strelitZf a darter, shooter, from strela or striela, an arrow, 
bows and arrows having been anciently their only implements of 
war. The word is probably of Icelandic origin. Conf. Ice. 
stridliy a ray of light, Dan. straale, a ray, Sw. strdle, a ray, 
beam, A. S. stral, an arrow, dart, missile of war. Wend, strela. 
It. strale, an arrow, and voc. Stralsund. 

STROM'BOLI, one of the Lipari Islands, Sicily, named from 
its round form ; corruption of Strongyle, its ancient name, from 
Gr. arpoyyvXoi round ; from (rrpoLyyu), to squeeze, press. 

STURMINSTER, Dorset ; " minster on the River Stower or 
Stur." 

STUTGARD, capital of Wurtemberg, has its name from the 
stuts or stallions formerly kept there for purposes of war. 
Stutgard translates " the stallion enclosure " from stut andgard. 
(See GoROD.) Lamartiniere, in his description of this place, 
speaks of a ** grande cour, couverte de sable, pour les combats k 
cheval, avec des lices et des carri^res pour courir la bague." 
The arms of the city are a mare suckling her colt. 

STYRIA, G. Steiermark, a part of Austria deriving its name 
from its chief town, Steyer (the Austrian Sheffield), which 
again takes its name from its situation at the junction of the 
River Steyer with the Enns. Some say Steyr or Steyer is the 
ancient Astir, Asturis, or Casturis. See Stour and Asturia. 

STYX, in anc. geog. a cold poisonous spring or fountain in 
Arcadia, which afterwards becomes a river or lake ; in fable a 

8 2 



ZJK 








MD^ Soxlicjcvc ; fivm 
A >^ AJ-t «rasi>^ fc ml jsmxii i£r em Immi or y Imrn dy—'* the 
jorri>c?T auuvi . "" oc r-:Qt tmri iisixzk. mod rice a kingdoiiiy ms 

3ir»rr;?<:^ ^v 32» sarszaaoi ircx tvsiks to IGddleaex and the 

« 

^^JjTT Vrwatt %rT:r,-o« ; w frwt mii amxh, and riik a nwtr — 
^ :V*«; »Lrs ^y" Lnxki^x: v)a£^ b» c« the S, »de of the rircr.*' 

SI T["lOX, naspf •V far^Ynl piacn m Fnriand ; from A. S. 
je**** r*--*. soskV. r^'^wT^ >.l* NorroE fr«n north hra, Dorth town. 

SWAKIA. oc Sr ABIA. G. .^.-ira^4n^ one of the ten cindes 
ir r,"* »>.i^ii iWrsai-T w» formeriT diriied. Schmmheaner derives 
S,^U:viiv, « $«:ft^:k frosn O. H. G. A«i {p\. nmb^), "the wise, 
thr v.>Tt'^lu?KsU « fy^rsoQ full ot understtDding and discernment,'* 
fVv^r.> MMrKp«« t;" ^tCTCc^i^, QiKkr»taz»d. know, comprehend ; but 
the «iKSM\t Soh«:ftben, which was more extensire than the modem 
oiTv)c. >»;»* nKMf pTvKthly named ftv»m the Sucvi, a people of 
Nortbcni iVrmanv. who immicrafed thither. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 261 

SWALE, a river in Yorkshire ; a river in Kent ; a channel 
called East Swale^ between the Isle of Sheppey and the coast of 
Kent. Some derive the name from Gael, siuiil, small, or 9ual, 
famous. Chalmers says neither of these terms is applicable to 
the rivers in question, and he thinks the Swale, the Swily in 
Gloucestershire, the Swelly, and the Swilly and Loch Swilly in 
Donegal, may have been designated from the nature of the 
countries through which they run ; and he derives all these names 
from Brit, ys-toall, " a sheltered place," ** an inhabited or culti- 
vated country." 

SWAN RIVER, a river of New Holland discovered by Ylaming, 
a Dutch navigator, who named it the Swan River from the 
number of black swans he observed on its banks. 

SWANAGE, CO. Dorset, found written Swanwich, Swannage, 
and Sandwich ; in the Sax. Chron. called Swanawic ; by Asser 
Menevensis, Suanavine and Gnavewic; in Domesday Swanwic 
and Sonwic. Two Danish fleets perished here in a storm in the 
year 877, one fleet having been first defeated by Alfred. The 
historian of Dorset thinks the Danish general might have been 
named Suene, and the place called after him Suene-wic, from 
A. S. wic, a reach of a shore or river ; but the name might also 
translate the '* habitation of swans." See also Asser's Life of 
Alfred, ed. Wise, p. 29 ; and Sax. Chron. a.d. 877« 

SWANSCOMB, a parish of Kent, said to derive its name 
from SweyrCs Camp^ from the Danish king Sweyn having erected 
a fortress here to preserve a vrinter station for his ships. 

SWANSEA (swon'ze), co. Glamorgan, S. Wales, called by the 
Welsh ** Abertawy," from its situation at the mouth of the Taw or 
Tawy, which here falls into the Bristol Channel. It derived the 
name of Swinesea or Swinesey, according to Camden, from the 
number of porpoises with which this part of the channel abounded. 

SWEDEN, Fr. Su^de, It. Svezia, Sp. Suicia, G. Schweden, 
D. Zweden, Sw. Sveriga, Dan. Sverrig, L. Suedia and Suecia. 
According to some authors, the Suevi, who anciently inhabited a 
large part of N. Germany, called after them Suevia, received their 
designation from their wandering character, or from a king or hero 



262 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

named Suevus. CluTerias thiDks the Suiones (Swedes) and 
Suevi agree in name with Mount Sevo and the River Suevus ; he 
does not, however, inform us which appellation is derived from the 
other. Again, others assert that the Suiones were the descendants 
of the Suevi, and that Suiones is a contraction of Sueviones. The 
most reasonable conjecture is Wachter's, viz. that the Suiones derive 
their name from Sax. swein (swan) a boy, youth, tyro, and that 
they were called Suiones because the first colonies in Scandinavia 
were a German youth. Somner gives Sweon^ the Suiones, 
Sweoland, Suecia> Suedia. Ihre says the Swedes are called in 
A. S. monuments Sioeon, and the country Sweoti'land, In Ice. 
the Swedes are named Smar ; the king of Sweden, Svia kongur ; 
the kingdom of Sweden, Sma velldi. Lye gives Sveo- vel Sveod- 
land, Swede-land ; Sveon, Suiones, Swedi. The Sw. Sveriga is a 
contraction of Sveehrike, i. e. the kingdom of Svea or Sweden. 
See also Cluv. Ub. iii. ; G. Ant. c. 41 ; and Tacitus. 

SWINDON, Wilts ; " town on the River Swin." See Swine. 

SWINE, the centre mouth of the River Oder in Germany. It 
was called in L. Suevus and Suebus, and Spener therefore concludes 
that the name is connected with the Suevi, who anciently inhabited 
this part. Swine or Swin is the name of several rivers, aud may 
be derived from Celt, swyn, holy, enchanted (W. dw/r swyn, 
holy water). See Le Mans and Swindon. 

SWINEMUND (sfnna''moond)9 a town of Prussia ; " mouth 
of the Swine" (G. mund, mouth). 

SWITZERLAND, G. Schwyz, Schweiz, Fr. La Suisse, It. 
Smzzera, Switzerland ; Low L. Suiceri, Suicenses, Suitenses, 
Suitones, the Swiss. The ancient name of Switzerland was Hel- 
vetia, and of its inhabitants, Helvetii. The three forest cantons, 
Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden, were the first to assert their inde- 
pendence of Austria, and in the beginning of the fourteenth 
century, their population began to be known as the Schwyzem or 
Schweizem, a name said to have been first given to them by the 
Austrians. Schwyz, the name of the wealthiest and most populous 
of these three cantons, has since been applied to the whole con- 
federation. This, docs not, however, account for the name of the 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 263 

canton of Schwyz, which was doubtless deriyed from that of its 
inhabitants. Wachter says Suiceri means '' dwellers in valleys/' 
and he deriyes it from sveii, which in the Runic Lexicon is inter- 
preted " a valley habitation surrounded by mountains," and he 
thinks Helvetia had very nearly the same meaning. Others derive 
the name of the Suiceri from their leader Schwyter ; or from Sued, 
i. e. the Swedes. It is more than probable, however> that the 
only etymological part of Sch'wyz and HeUvet-ia (Hel-uet-ia) is 
uits, uit, and that the Swiss were originally a tribe of the Uits, 
Uihts, JFihts, Ttas, or Juies. See also voc. Oude ; Csesar, B. 
G. Ub. i. c. 9 ; Tac. Hist. Ub. L c. 67> and Germ. c. 28 ; Fest. 
lib. xiv. ; Stumpf. Chron. Helv. fol. 178 ; and Wachter, Gloss. 

SYDENHAM, Kent, formerly Cypenham. See Chipping. 

SYRACUSE, Sicily, was named from a marsh in the vici- 
nity called Syraco, which Bochart derives from Phoen. seraeh, 
or sarach, to stink. He says, however, that the Carthaginian 
name of Syracuse was Sor-cosja, ** quasi Ti/rum latentem dicas." 
Thucydides, speaking of Syracuse, says the Sicilians first named 
it Zancle, because in shape it resembled a scythe, which they 
called zanelum. According to Bochart it was called Zancle, from 
its curved shore, from Phoen. Mlibt zalgcu 

SYRIA, the name of a province of Asiatic Turkey, is the L. 
form of the Gr. Su/Jto, i. e. Souria or Soria, a name which it 
received from the city of Tsor or Sor, i. e. Tyre. It was caUed 
by Orientals, Aram. Some of their historians, however^ style 
it Souristan or Soristan, i. e. the 9tan or country of Souna or 
Soria. 



T. 



TABOR, in anc. geog. an eminence in the plain of Esdraelon, 
near the Jordan, "iiin tabMr may mean a lofty place, or a stone 
quarry, from bardr, to sever, &c. See also Polyb. Ub. v. c. 70 ; 
Joseph. Ant. lib. v. c. 2 ; Matt, xvii., Mark ix. 2. 

TABOR, a town of Bohemia, remarkable as the stronghold of the 



264 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

Hussites, who founded it, and who are supposed to make a 
tural allusion in its name, inasmuch as the hill behind the town is 
called " Horeb," and a pond, not far off, the *' Jordan." The name^ 
however, is more probably derived from Boh. tdbar, a camp 
(castra). The word is also found in Hong., and in Pol. it 
translates *' the camp of a nomadic people ; a place fortified with 
waggons of such a camp ; camp of the Turks and Tatars." 

TABREEZ, a city of Persia. Richardson says the name 
Tabriz, or T&briz, is conjectured to have been given to this place 
on accoimt of its healthiness of situation ; the first word imply- 
ing '< dispersing a fever," or " resisting an infection," but that 
as this country was famous for the adoration of fire, the name 
may refer to that circumstance, for tdb-riz may be interpreted 
"scattering heat, diffusing splendour." The Pers. tibriz is a 
table, sofa, bench ; tab^ a fever ; t&by strength, heat, splendour ; 
the Arab, tabrizf causing to come forth, &c. 

TALAVERA, the name of several cities of Spain, but espe- 
cially of Talavera de la Reina, on the Tagus. It received the 
adjunct ** de la Rema," from Alonso XL, who gave it as a dowry 
to his wife. Dona Maria. Some writers assert that it was 
foimded a.m. 2066, by King Bri^e, who named it Talabriga; 
that the Romans afterwards colonized it and called it Libera 
Ebura, but that the Muhammadans, becoming masters, named it 
Tahareda, on account of the fogs prevalent in the neighbourhood, 
whence its present name has been corrupted. The Moors, how- 
ever, never called it by any such name. Its original appellation 
was doubtless Tala, to which was afterwards added that of briga, 
to denote a town. Indeed, the Romans called it Ebora Talabriga, 
as the inscriptions found in its territory show ; and its present 
name has been corrupted from Talabriga. 

TALGARTH, Brecon, Wales, properly Tdl y Garth, "the 
front of the hill." 

TAMWORTH, co. Stafford, found written Taman-weorth-ege, 
Tame-wordina, Tameweorde, Tameworthe, Tamesworthe, Tame, 
worth, Thameworth : " Worth on the River Tame." See 
Worth. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 265 

TARSHISH^ mentioned in the Old Testament in connexion 
with the commerce of the Hebrews and Phoenicians. Tarshisb, 
or Tartessus^ is supposed by some to have been a city of Cilida in 
Asia« the modem Tarsoos ; others^ with more probability^ place it 
near the mouth of the Baetis^ now the Guadalquiviry in Spain, 
and they assert that Tartessus was also the most ancient name 
both of the surromiding region and of the Baetis itself. Those who 
confound Tarshish with Tarsus, refer to a fable of the winged horse 
Pegasus, who is supposed to have lost the hoof of his foot there, 
and they accordingly derive the name from Gr. rapa-osi sole 
of the foot. The Rev. Alfred Jones translates tt^ann tarshiysh, 
''breaking, subjection," i.e. of enemies, fromro^Ai^A "to break/' 
It is not at all improbable, however, that both Tarshish and 
Tarsus may derive their names from their inhabitants, who may 
have been called the Tursh or Tursci. See also Strabo, 140, 151 ; 
Herod, iv. 152 ; Mela, iii. 6 ; Stephens, Byz. ; Curt. iii. 4 ; 
Lucan iii. 225 ; Dion. Perieg. 868 ; and voc. Tuscany. 

TARTARUS, the classical name for the infernal regions. 
Cooke (Notes on Hesiod) says, *' Tartarus is said to be brought 
forth with the Earth, because it is feigned to be in the inmost 
recesses of the Earth." Le Clerc derives the name from Phcen. 
tarahhtarahh, from Arab, tarahh, ** he created trouble." The 
name may have some etymological connexion with the Hind. 
dhdr-dMra, signifying the boundary formed by a stream, from 
dhdr or dhdrd a stream, dhura boundary. 

TARTARY, " the knd of the Tartars," properly Tatars. The 

word j\j\j Tdtdr^ according to Abul-Ghazi (Hist. Mongh. and 

Tart.) and other Muhammadan writers, is the designation of a 
tribe descended from a prince of that name, who, with his 
brother Monghol were descended from the race of Tourk. Some 
Oriental writers have advanced that the word T&t&r is derived 
from the name of a river, the banks of which were first inhabited 
by this tribe ; but they all agree in applying the name to a 
particular body of people, and not to a race. The writers of the 
thirteenth century changed this word to Tartar, because, perhaps, 
it has nearly the same sound as their word Tartarus, a corruption 



266 LOCAL ETTMOLOOY. 

whicb seems to coincide in some measure with the terror that 
was inspired by the incursions of Jenghis Khan and his de- 
scendantsi The word Tartary is therefore not only vagae and 
undefined^ but also badly applied. See Davidsy Gram. Torke ; 
Remusat, Recherches sor les Lang. Tart. tom. i. p. 1. 

TASMANIA, takes its name from Abel Janssen Tatman, a 
Dutchman, one of the greatest navigators of the seventeenth 
century, who first discovered this island in 1642, and called 
it Van Diemen*s Land, in honour of the Gk)vemor-6eneral of the 
Dutch East India Company, Anthony van Diemen, by whom he 
had been commissioned to proceed on a voyage to ascertain the 
extent of the Australian continent. Of late years, it has been 
found much more convenient, especially in commercial affairs, to 
call it Tasmania. 

TAUNTON, anc. Thonodunum, co. Somerset; named from 
its situation near the river Tone. 

TAURUS, in anc. geog., a great chain of mountains which 
extended nearly due £. and W. from the shores of the .^Sgean to 
those of the supposed Eastern Ocean, and divided Asia into two 
parts, Asia within the Taurus, and Asia without the Taurus. In 
modem geography, the whole chain, from the S. W. of Asia 
Minor to Ararat, bears the name of Taurus. The name is 

Latinized from Arab. . ^ tenor, tiar, a mountain. The Arabs 

still call it Tiir, and they style the people who dwell in the 
vicinity, Tuwara. It is also called Alidagh, from Turc. aUtagh, 
high mountain. 

TAVISTOCK, CO. Devon, found written Tafing-stock, Teaui- 
stoke, Tauestoke, Tavistoke, Tavestok, and Thauistoke ; named 
from the river Tavy, Taw, Tau, or Tay, which flows past it, and 
A. S. stoc, a place. We find also Peter and Mary Tavy, North, 
South, and Bishop's Tawton, and Tawstock, in Devon, aU situated 
on the Taw or Tavy. 

TAY, Gael. Tath (pron. ta), a river of Scotland ; Tay, a river 
in Waterford ; Tay, a loch and a river in Perth ; Ta Loch, in 
Wexford ; Taw, a river in Devon ; Taw, a river in Glamorgan ; 
Taw or Tau, the name of several rivers in Great Britain. Tacitus 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 267 

calls the Scottish Tay, Tavus; Ptolemy writes Taoua. We find 
Tatha in several local names^ as Broughty ; from Bruieh Taiha, 
" the sloping ground or brae of Tay ;" Kincarathie> from Cean- 
car-tatha, " the head or turn of Tay ;" Abdie, from Ahbey-tatha, 
"the abbey of Tay;" Dundee^ &c. Chalmers says Tay is 
merely the £ng. pron. of the Brit. Taw. See Tivy and 
Thames. 

TEDDINGTON, on the Thames, co. Middlesex, in ancient 
records written Todynton and Totynton. Some have supposed 
the name to denote the ending of the tide, which does not flow 
above this village ; Tide-end'toum, in Sax. Ti/d'end'ion. There 
can be, says Lysons, no other objection to this etymology, than 
that the place is called Tot3mgton in all records for several 
centuries after its name first occurs. Baxter supposes Tote to be 
a corruption of theoda, " the people ;" Bedwell derives Totenham 
from toten, " to wind like a horn ;" Parkins (Hist, Norfolk) 
conjectures Tot to be the name of a river ; but Teddington may 
be from the same root as Totnew, and may mean the "fox- 
meadow-town." See ToTNEss. 

TEIGNMOUTH (tin'muth), Devon ; " mouth of the Teign." 
In old maps it is called Tingmouth ; Bailey writes Teiguemoth. 

TEMESWAB {temeshvar^, a town of Hungary, on the river 
TemeSi which falls into the Danube near Belgrade (Hung, vdr^ 
vdrad, a castle). 

TENBURY, CO. Worcester, formerly Temebury, named from 
its situation on the south bank of the River Teme. 

TENERIFFE (ten-erif), Port. Tenari/e, Teneri/e, the largest 
and most important of the Canary Isles. Tenerife is a cor- 
ruption of Chiner/e, the name which the original inhabitants, 
the Guanches, caUed it. The most western part of the isle is 
called Punta de Tena ; the highest ground is designated Teyde^ 
from its native name Echeyde^ which is said to signify " hell." 

TEPETL, terminating names of mountains in some parts of 
America, is an Aztec word for a mountain. Some of the highest 
mountains between the capital of Mexico and the little towns of 
Cordova and Xalappa, are Popocatepetl, from popocani, smoke ; 



268 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Citlaltepetl, ** a mountain which appears as brilliant as a star,'* 
from citaline^ a star (it is said that when the peak of Orizaba is 
seen at a distance throwing up fire, it looks like a star) ; 
Nauhcampatepetl, from ncmheampa, ** a square thing," in allasioii 
to the form of the little porphjritic rock at the top of the moun- 
tain of Perotte, which the Spaniards have compared to a coffer. 
There is another mountain in the neighbourhood called Iztaoci- 
huatl> from iztae white, duatl woman. (See Vocab. Lang. 
Azt^ue, by le P. Alonzo de Molina, p. 63* Mez. 1571.) 

TEPLITZ, a town of Bohemia, renowned for its hot springs ; 
from Boh. teplice (pron. teplttse), warm baths, from ieple, warm 
(ieplet, calescere, calefieri ; iepUt, calefacere), from Sans, tmp^ 
to make hot, to bum, whence the L. tepidus. 

TER'MONDE, formerly Dendermonde, a town of Belgtam, 
named from its situation on the Scheldt, at its junction with the 
Bender (Flem. monde, month). 

TERRA DEL FUE60 (Joo-a-go), an island at the southern 
extremity of S. America, abounding in volcanoes ; from Sp. iurra 
del fuegOy ** land of fire." 

TERRACINA {terratehtfna), a town of Italy, formerly Tar- 
racina. Strabo writes TappaKlvrj ; Stephens, the geographer, 
TappoK^Ya. The name refers to the position of the town ; from 
rpaxivTjf from '*'pot>X^^> rough, rugged, rocky. ** II 6toit sur des 
roches blanches, et on le voyoit de loin, k cause de son ^l^vation, 
et de la couleur 6clatante de ces roches." {L€unartini€re.) livy 
mentions a river of Italy called Tarradna. Archdeacon Williams 
derives Terracina from W. tir land, and kin, kan, or ke% which 
he says are Gaelic forms of the Cymric pen^ the head, the 
end. 

TEWKESBURY, co. Gloster; from Teuk, and Sax. birig, 
a town, q. d. the church of St. Teuk, a hermit. {Bailey.) 

Thames (temz), a river in England, which rises in Wilts and 
flows by London ; the Tame, a river in Cheshire ; the Tam^ in 
Cornwall and Devon, whence Tamerton or Tomerton ; the Tame 
in Stafford, upon which Tamworth stands ; the Tema, which 
joins the Ettrick in Selkirk ; the Teme in Worcester ; the Temes 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 269 

in Hungary, which falls into the Danube near Belgrade, whence 
Temes-v^. Csesar calls the Thames, Tamests or Thamesis ; 
Tacitus and Dion Cassius> Tamesa ; Ptolemy, ld[ji.y}(roL ; in some 
MSS. Ia[ji,6(rauc ; and in some editions liinc^roL, In A. S. it is 
Temese, Tenuese, and Tetnis. Some authors state that the name 
of this river is properly the Isis until it arrives at Dorchester, 
Oxon^ where it receives the waters of the Tame or Thame, when 
it attains the compound name of Tameiis, Thamesia, or Thames. 
Dr. Pughe gives, as the W. name for the Thames, Tain, which 
he translates, *' that is of a spreading quality.'' Others assert 
that ThameaU in Celt, means '^ winding water,*' or may be 
derived from Anc. Brit, tavuy, ** a gentle stream." Lipscombe 
thinks ** there is no necessity for referring to the Anc. Brit., as 
the word tame, in our tongue, derived from the Saxon, is suffi- 
dently expressive of a placid quiet current." Chalmers derives 
Tame from Brit, tarn, tern, " expanding," " spreading," from ta, 
taw, *' what expands or spreads." But none of these derivations 
accounts for the final 9 or ens, which is most probably a corrup- 
tion of the Brit, isc, Gael, uisffe, water, and perhaps the first 
part of the word. Tarn, was the earliest name both of the River 
Thames and of the Tame or Thame which falls into the Thames 
at Dorchester ; indeed. Lye says " Temese, Tsemese, ita dictus, 
ut vulg6 creditur, k concursu Tamae et Isidis ; potiiis taraen k 
Brit. Tarn isc, i.e. aquarum agmen, aquae tractus." We have 
not, however, arrived at the etymology of Thames without dis- 
secting the first syllable Tame or Tarn, The Celts undoubtedly 
made use of am, as well as an, for a river (from Gael, amhainn, 
or L. amnis,), and au, aw, ab, as well as dwr for water, and per- 
haps yt and ya were used indiscriminately for the definite article. 
If so, we at once get at the derivation of many names of rivers ; 
thus, Ys-au, Sau, Savus, Save ; Ys-dwr, Ister ; Ys-dwr, Stour ; 
Ys-am, Sam, Sam-ara, Sambre ; Yt-au, Tau, Taw, Tav, Tavy ; 
Yt-am, Tam, Tame, Tam-ese, Tamesis, Thames. Isis or Ouse, 
which appears to have been another name for the Thames above 
Dorchester, is merely another form of Uc or uiage, which has also 
been corrupted into ash, usa, use, tousa, oise, ys, is, es, ese, wis. 



270 LOCAL BTYMOLOOY. 

esk, usk, wisk, ax, ex, oxe, ux, wax, wax, waxe. Conf. Ibca, 
Ou8E> Oxford, Tay, Tivy. 

THEBES, in anc. geog. a city of Egypt, called by Plinj and 
Juvenal Thebe ; in Gr. Orf^tj, G^jSoi ; in anc. Eg3rp. Tdpe ; in 
one dialect of the Copt. pron. Thaba. In hieroglyphics it is 
written Ap, Ape, and with the fern. art. Tdpi, signifying *' the 
head," Thebes being the capital of the country. Ap, Ape, Tfip6, 
Thaba, Thebe, Thebes. But see Tattam, Egyp. Lex. 

THEISS (tice), a river of Hungary ; G. Theies and Tkeisee, 
L. Tibiscue, Hung. Tisza, Walach. Tied, On an ancient inscrip- 
tion it is styled Tibissus ; Pliny calls it Pathissus, and an 
anonymous writer, Tibisia. Theiee is a corruption of Tibiecus, for 
Tabiecus or Tauieeue ; from Celt, ab, au, water, river, then the 
name of a river, with the prefix or article yt, and tec, water. 
Thus, au, yt-au, Tau, or ab, yt-ab. Tab, Tab-isc, Tibiscns, Tiisc, 
Tils, Teis, Theiss. See Thames. 

THERMOPYL^, a celebrated pass in Greece, takes its name 
from the hot springs in the neighbourhood ; from Gr. Oc^/xi; 
warmth, heat, irv\y^ a gate, pass, passage. 

THETFORD, co. Norfolk, from A. S. theod, people, or Theot, 
the river Thet, ford, id. 

THIBET, TIBET, a country of Asia, found written Thupo, 
Tobut, Tobot, Tubet, and Tebet. The name has been corrupted 
from Thu-pho, signifying the country of the Thu, a people who 
founded an empire on the Northern Thibet in the sixth 
century, a.d. 

THORNEY, CO. Cambridge, found written Thomeg, Thom- 
^ie, Thom-ey, Thom-ig, from A. S. thorn, thorn, ig an island ; 
" thorny island." Dr. Bosworth says Thorney was the ancient 
name of Westminster, which went into disuse because of Thorney 
m Cambridgeshire. 

THORP, THORPE, in local names in England, as Thorp, 
CO. Northampton ; Thorp-en-le-Soken or Thorpe-le-Soken, co. 
Essex ; Thorparch, co. York, is the A. S. thorpe, a village, 
synon. with Piatt D. dorp. Fries, theorp, a village, torp, teorp, 
cultivated ground, G. dorf, Dan. torp, and Ice. thorp, town. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 27 1 

village. Adelung gives the root in G. trupp, a troop» from a 
gathering together, a heap, and refers to Ice. thrypinff, congre- 
gatio, tnrba ; at thyrpaz, congregari. The W. has tor/, a multi- 
tude, troop. The root of all may be the L. turba, a troop, a 
multitude assembled, numbers, lit. tumult, confusion, crowd, 
from Gr. rypjSij, tumult, disorder, uproar. 

THURGAU (toor'ffow), a canton of Switzerland, takes its 
name, according to some writers, from a people called the 
Tigurini, celebrated in Roman history, whose territory this 
canton formed part. Others connect the name Thurgau with 
Turig or Zurich ; but this country was rather designated from 
the Biver Thur, which crosses the central part of it from east to 
west. Thurffau means " district of the Thur." 

THURLE, the name of an alley in Oxford ; from A. S. thyrel, 
thyrU a hole, aperture. 

THURROCR, the name of three parishes in Essex, called in 
Domesday Turrock, and distinguished from each other by the 
additional names of West, Grays, and Little. These parishes 
received their name from their former proprietors, the Thurrocks 
or Tiirrocks. Wright, the historian, says, from similarity of 
sound, the name Turrock is supposed to be from Turold, who 
held S. Okendon under Geoffrey de Mandeville ; but it is more 
reasonably conjectured to be a corrupt pronunciation of taums, a 
bull, the arms of the Turrock family being a fesse between three 
bulls' heads couple. Grays or Greys — sometimes called Great 
Thurrock — received its appellation from the noble family of 
that name who were in possession of it above 300 years. 

THURSO, a parish in Caithness, Scotland, was named from 
the River Thurso, a compound of Thor, the Scandinavian deity, 
and Ice. aa a river ; " Thor's river." 

THUSIS (too'ns), a town of Switzerland, near the Via Mala. 
According to some, Thusis is merely Tuscia (changed in the 
Romansch dialect), " the country of the Tuscans," who first 
colonized this part of the country. 

THWAITE, a termination of local names in parts of Lanca- 
shire, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, as Comthwaite, Mickle- 



272 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

thwaite (A. S. mid, much), Salterthwaite, Apple-treethwaite, 
Scarthwaite, denotes ''land grubbed up, freed from roots of 
trees, and converted to tillage.'' (See Nicholson and Bum, 
Hist. Westm. & Cumb. ; Baines, Hist. Lancash. vol. iv. 710.) 
Whitaker says thuxxUe means ** stubbled ground," but the Rev. 
J. Ingram derives it from A. S. thwate, a watery washy place, 
from thwean^ to wash. 

TIBER, found written Tiberis, Tibris, and Thybris, in It. 
Tevere ; a river of Italy, said to have been originally called 
Albula, on account of the whiteness of its waters, and afterwards 
Tiberis because Tiberinus, king of Alba, was drowned in it. (See 
Liv. ; Oo. : Feat* ; and "Virg. ^n. lib. viii. 330.) Tyberis is 
more probably a corruption of BDii^^piQ, the name of a river in 
Sicily (See Hesyehitut), Bochart derives the Thymbris of Theo- 
critus (Idyll. 1), or rather Thymbrin or Thumbrin, from Fhoen. 
iehum bahar or thehum baharin, '* abyss of the sea or seas." 

TIEN-TSIN, a city of China, on the River Pei-ho. •' Its 
Chinese name signifies lit. * heavenly spot,' and in the time of 
Marco Polo, when it is supposed to have been much larger than 
at present, it was called Cittk Celeste, and it is said to have a 
claim on this appellation from its situation in a genial climate, 
fertile soil, dry air, and serene sky." (Rees.) The name means 
lit. *' a serene clear sky," from Chin, tden heaven, tnny clear, 
pure, tranquil, bright. Tien {tden) is a common prefix of local 
names in China ; as the towns of Tienchang, Tiencheu, Tienpe, 
Tienbo ; the fortresses of Tienchin, Tienciven ; the isle of 
Tienheng; the mountains of Tiencang, Tienchung, Tienlu; 
Tienul, " heaven's ear ; " Tienmo, " heaven's eye." There is 
also a lake named Tien. 

TIFLIS, TEFLIS, or TIBILISI, capital of the Russian pro- 
vince of Greorgia, has been chiefly indebted for its celebrity to its 
warm baths ; and its Georgian name, Tphilisk Alaki, is equiva- 
lent to " warm town." Parrot says its name is derived from the 
Georgian word tbiliy warm, which may have been given to it 
either on account of its warm springs, or from the contrast of the 
great warmth of the climate of Tiflis with the preceding residence 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 273 

of the Greorgian kings at Mzchet, which lies on the decliTitj of 
the Caucasus and has a much cooler temperature. Tbili, Tphiliak^ 
are from the same root as Teplitz, q. y. 

TILBURY, a parish in Essex, takes its name from one TUiel, 
who, jointly with Tedric Pointel, anciently owned the land, and 
A. S. burig^ a town, fort. Tilburg is the name of a town in 
Holland in the province of N. Brabant. 

TILSIT, the chief town of Prussian Lithuania, more correctly 
Tilse or Tilzele (pron. iiUhelS), named from its situation at the 
confluence of the Tilzele with the Memel. 

TINNEVEULY, a district forming the S. E. extremity of the 
peninsula of India ; corrupted from TrinavtUU one of the names of 
Vishnu. 

TINWALD MOUNT, Isle of Man, a circular barrow about 
eighteen feet high, where the local legislative assembly meet ; from 
Ice. tingy a court of justice, from tinga to speak, and v<Uld a hill. 

TIVERTON, Devon ; in Domesday Tunvertone ; in the 
Nomina Villarum, Twyverton ; contracted from A. S. tun-ford- 
tun, " the town having two fords," it having been formerly 
approached by two fords over the Rivers Exe and Loman. 

TIVY, or TEIVI, a river in Cardigan, S. Wales ; the Tavy or 
Theve in Devon ; the Teviot or Tiviot in Roxburghshire ; the 
Tave in Glamorgan and Pembroke. All these names may he 
traced to the same root. Chalmers says tav^ in Anc. Graulish 
was applied to a water or river ; teivi or iavi in Brit, signifies 
'* what expands or spreads," '* what has a tendency to expand or 
spread;" tevig, ''expanding," "spreading over;" and that these 
streams have a tendency to spread. He gives the root in the 
Celt, ta, tau, " what expands or spreads." But see Thames. 

TOBOLSK, the metropolis of a province of the same name in 
Asiatic Russia, is situated on the River Irtisch, near the influx 
of the Tobol. 

TOD, in local names in Lancashire, as Toddington, Tod- 
morden, is an O. Eng. word for a fox. 

TOLEDO {tola!do)i L. Toleium, a city of Spain. Its origin 
is attributed to some Jews, who migrated to Spain during the 

T 



274 LOCAL BTTMOLOGY. 

period of the second temple in Jerusalem, and who called it 
Toledoth, i.e. genealogies, because they reviewed their family 
genealogies when they assembled to dig wells and found the 
city. In support of this opinion, many towns are pointed out 
in the province of Toledo which retain to this day the names 
given to them by their Hebrew settlers ; such as Escalona, 
from Ascalon ; Noves, from Nove ; Maqueda, from Megiddo ; 
Jepes or Yepes, from Joppa, &c. (See P. Cyc.) Mellado says, 
'£s probable que los judios fundaron esta ciudad 340 anos 
antes de la era cristiana llam&ndola Toledoch, que significa 
*madre de pueblos,' y todavia se conserva en Toledo una 
suntuosa sinagoga de los judios." The Heb. nyibn toledoth sig- 
nifies generations, families, races. 

TOMSK, capital of the government of the same name in 
Siberia, stands on the River Tom. 

TONGRES (tonffr), a very ancient city of Belgium, has its 
name from the Tungri, a people of Gaul, mentioned by Pliny and 
Tacitus. According to the latter historian, they were the first 
German tribe who, crossing the Rhine, expelled the Gauls, and 
settled in their country. 

TONQUIN (tonkin!), capital of the empire of the same name ; 
from C. Chin. Dikg-kinh (Chin. Tung-king), the eastern city ; 
from dong east, and kinh, lit. great. See Cochin China. 

TOOLE Y STREET, London, named after the parish church, 
Saint Olave ; thus. Saint Olave, St. Olav, St. Ooly, Tooly, Tooley. 

TORR, in local names in Devon, as Torr Abbey, Torr Com- 
mon, Torr Mohun, is the A. S. tor, torr, tur, a tower, rock, 
high hill, peak ; from L. turris, from Gr. rvppig, rvpa-ic, or rupo-oc, 
a tower or turret, from root of Taurus, Tyre, and Syria. 

TORRINGTON, co. Devon, named from its situation near the 
river Torridge. 

TOT, a frequent termination of local names in Normandy, as 
Yvetot, Hotot, Langetot, Pr^tot, Valletot, Toumetot, Bouquetot, 
Franquetot, Grastot, H^tertot, Crestot, Brestot, Cailletot. Huet 
thinks tot may be the Sax. to/ta (found in the Monasticum 
Anglicanum). Whitaker {Whalley) says toft was a messuage 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 276 

inferior to a farm-house, and superior to a mere cottage, or a 
cottage with a croft or other small portion of land annexed to it ; 
and in Craven, he says tofts were insulated dwellings surrounded 
by tufts of trees, ** touffe de bois,*' with a croft or field adjoining. 
' * Toft, io/ium, a messuage, or rather a place where a messuage 
hath stood." {Cowel,) The word io/t frequently occurs in deeds, 
and is probably from the Danish, which has also to/te, a lea. 

TOTNESS, Devon, in ancient records Totenais, Toteueis^ 
Toteneys, Totonie, Totton, and Tottenes ; in Domesday, Totneis. 
Some say Totnesa means ** town of foxes ;" if so, the name may 
be from O. Eng. tod, a fox, A. S. tumc, a point of land. 

TOULON {toolony'), a city of France, in L. Telonium, Teio, 
and Telo-Martius, named after Telo-Martius, a tribune who 
colonized it. Telo, Telonium, Toulon. 

TOULOUSE (tooloo:/'), a town of France in the Haute 
Garonne, named Tolosa by Csesar ; Tolosa Cobnia by Ptolemy ; 
Urbs Tolosatium by Sidonius Apollinaris; Civitas Tolosatium 
in the Notice of Graul ; in inscriptions both Tolosa and Tholosa ; 
and in later times, Toulouse and Thoulouse. It may take 
its name from its inhabitants, the Tolsatii, i.e. Dol^atas^ 
"the valley-dwellers" (Celt, dot, a valley). Conf Dorset- 
shire. 

TRALEE', a seaport of Ireland, derives its name, Traigh-lee, 
" the strand or shore of the Lee," from its position near the 
outfall of the little River Lee or Leigh, into the Bay of Tralee. 
Tramore means "the great strand" (Ir. traiffh strand, mor 
great). 

TRANSYLVANIA, a principality of the Austrian empire, 
so called by the Hungarians as being beyond their woody 
frontier — ** partes Transylvanus" Trans across, sylva a wood. 

TRASTEVERE {trasta-very), the part of Rome situated on 
the right bank of the Tiber; tras, from I^ trans, across, and 
Tevere, from L. Tiber. 

TRAVEMUNDE (trav-e-moonde), a seaport of Northern 
Germany, situated at the mouth {mund) of the Trave. Trave 
may be another orthography of Drave, Drau (Hung. Drdva, 

T 2 



276 LOCAL ETTMOLOOr. 

L, Dravus, Drtnu), a river of Hungary, and Drau may be from 
6r. v$wpf water ; or from Celt* dwr-'ou. See Thames. 

TR£, the most common prefix of local names in ComwaU, is 
the Com. tre, a town, Tillage, dwelling, gentleman's seat. It has 
the same signification in Wales, Cornwall, Armorica, and Ire- 
land ; occurring frequently in Wales, as Tre-Newydd, new town ; 
Tre-Taliesin, *' the town of Taliesin," a celebrated bard, who was 
buried here. It is sometimes affixed, as Uchil-tree, Ochil-tree, &c« 
TREBIZONir, Turc. IHrdbMn, a town of Asiatic Turkey ; 
a corruption of Tpaictja'ovQ, its ancient appellation, and so named, 
it is said, because built in the shape of a trapeiium ; from 6r. 
tparsl^ov, a figure with four unequal sides, lit. a small table, 
from r/Tftirsta a table, from nrpac four, ire^ (from «ovc^ 
a foot. 

TREF (trev), found in local names in Wales, is the W. tref^ 
a dwelling-place, homestead, hamlet, township, town, from ire, 
homestead, hamlet, town ; as Tref Asser, the town where the 
celebrated Asser Menevensis was bom ; Tref Gam, ** the town 
of the rock ;" Trefecca or Tref Fecca, or Becca, " Rebecca's 
mansion ;" Uchil-tref in Anglesea, and Uchel-tref in Merioneth, 
both signifying " the high dwelling." 

TREFFOREST, a village on the Taff Vale Railway ; " the 
forest village,*' from W. tref a village, ffore9t a forest. 

TREGONHAY, TREGONICK, TREGONIN, ComwalL 
Pryce translates tre-g^n-hay^ tre-g^-hay, tr&^oniek^ tre-gomn, 
the dwellings enclosed on the common ;" and treyany (jtre-gu-ny), 
the dwellings on the common near the river." (Cora.) 
TRELAWN, Cornwall, " the wool town," or " the open or 
dear town." Trelawny, "by the water." (Com.) 

TRELECH, CO. Monmouth, named from three upright stones 
called Harold's Grave ; from W. tri three, Ueck a stone. 

TREMADOC, near Caemarvon, Wales, a town of modem 
origin built by the late W. A. Madock, Esq., whose name it bears, 
with the W. trCi a town or village, prefixed to it. The fiunily 
name, Madock, may be derived from that of a place, perhaps 
Mawdd^aeh, " the slow stream ;" or from madawg^ goodly, from 






LOCAL ETYMOLOGT. 277 

mad, good. Madawg is also an epithet for a fox« eqaivalent to 
Reynard. 

TREMATON, Cornwall, "king's town," or "royal town." 
(Corn.) Trematon Castle belongs to the Duchy of ComwalL 

TREMAYNE, Cornwall, "the town on the shore or sea- 
coast;*' or from tremyn, a passage. Tremaine, "the stone 
town," or " the river or passage town." (Com.) 

TREMENHERE, Cornwall, " the long stone town," or " the 
long passage." (Corn.) 

TRENT, G. Trient, It. Trento, a city of South Tyrol. Trient 
ia a contraction of Tridentum, its former name. Some authors 
affirm that it was called Tridentum from the trident of Neptune, 
to whom the city was consecrated. This opinion took its rise 
from an ancient marble discovered here, on which was a Neptune 
holding his trident. Others derive the name from three streams 
and torrents that fall into the Adige, near the dty ; or from three 
high rocks in the neighbourhood, which appear like three teeth, 
tres dentee* 

TRENT, found written Trenta, Treonta, Trehenta, Treenta, 
a river in England, from Brit. TroUent, said to have been named 
from its winding course. Qu. W. dirwyn to wind. 

.TREPORT (trc^por), the port of Eu, in France, anciently 
called Veteris Portus, Yeterior Portus, and Ulterior Portus. 
Thus, Veterisportus, terisportus, tresport, Treport. {Minage*) 

TREVES, G. Trier, the most ancient dty of Germany, for- 
merly called Trevirorum Civitas, from its inhabitants, the Treviri. 

TREYETHAN, Cornwall, "the town among trees," "the 
meadow town," or " the old town." Trevethen» " the birds' 
town." (Com.) 

TREYILLION, Cornwall, "the dwellmg of the seaman." 
(Com.) 

TREYISO {tran^zo), found written Trevisi, and Trevisio ; a 
tovm situated between Trent and Yenice ; the andent Tarvisinm. 
There is a tradition that Osiris reigned ten years in Italy, and 
that having, on the death of Dionysius, inherited the kingdpm of 
Egypt, he went to take possession of it, but did not return to Italy ; 



278 LOCAL BTTMOLOGT. 

that after his death the Egyptians adored him as a god, under 
the form of a bull (taunui), which they called Apis or Sonapis ; 
and that from taunu, this dtj was named Tamiaiaiii, and bj 
corruption Tarrisium and Trensinm. Lamartimere sajs, ** ad- 
mitting that TreTiso was built by OsuiSy eoold he have given 
it a name which he had not himself mutil after his death?'* 
This is not exactly correct; as Osiris might hare boilt and 
named the city, which might ha^e been called Tsnrisiimi after 
his death. Tarnsium, howeyer, may have beoi named from 
its inhabitants, the Tarvisii, from Celt, dwr water, ffwyt men ; 
thns, Dwr-gwys, dnrwys, darvis, Tarvisii, Turisiam, Trevisianiv 
Trevisio, Treviso. Conf. Dorsetshirb. 

TREWITHEN, Cornwall, " the plaee of trees." (Corn.) 

TRI, a prefix of many names in the souih of India, is a cor- 
ruption of the Tarn. <ini, implying auspicious, venerable^ sacred ; 
as Tripetty, for Tiru-paH; Triratoor, nru-vatdr. (See Wtlmm,) 

TRICHINOPOLT (triUhenop'oiee), a city of Hmdostan, 
for Trislr^-palli, " the city of the giant IVtnrrf." See Polt. 

TRIESTE (tre-eat^), 6. Triett, a city and seaport of Austria ; 
corrupted from L. TergeHe. 

TRING, CO. Herts, in Domesday Treunge, and in other ane. 
documents fbnnd written Treungla, Truangle, Trenges, Treunge 
Treng', and Treing* ; said to derive its name from Brit, tre^ 
a village, and L. anguluM, a comer; the latter name having 
been probably added by the Romans, on account of its situation 
near the Ikenild Street. 

TRIPOLI, Ture. TirAboUu, a seaport on the N. coast of 
Africa. It is built upon the site of the ancient Oea, which, with 
the cities of Leptis Magna, and Sabrata, formed the province 
called Tripolis, under the Roman Emperors. It was called 
Tripolis, '* three cities," because composed of three cities distant 
from one another the length of a furlong. One belonged to the 
Arabians ; another to the Sidonians ; the third to the Tyrians. 
(See Diod. Sic. lib. xvi. c. 41 ; Strab. lib. xvi. 519 ; Plin. lib. v. 
c. 20^) From Gr. T^iitoKig ; r^i for rpg<c, three, iroAic a city. 

TROLLHATTEN (trohlhefn), the falls of, on the Goto 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 279 

Riyer^ in Sweden. The Sw. troll is a hobgoblin, monster; 
the Dan. trold, an elf, imp. Ihre says the Su-Groth. trolla. 
Ice. irylla, triUa^ is to chann, to use magic arts, and he 
deriyes it from Gr. 9puAAoc» murmur, giving several names apper- 
taining to magic, similarly derived. He says the Su-6oth. 
hatta is an abyss, the Lapp, hatte danger, haute an abyss, 
and he thinks the aborigines may have used TrolMtta to denote 
" the abode of spectres." 

TROP, a termination of local names in England, is another 
orthography of thorp^ thorpe, q. v. 

TROPPAU {trop'paw)i L. Troppavia and Oppavia, a city in 
Silesia, named from its situation on the Oppa, at its confluence 
with the Mohre : ** the au or meadow of the Oppa.'' 

TROWBRIDGE, co. Wilts, formerly Trubridge, which some 
translate " a firm or true bridge ; " but " for what reason it had 
this name, does not at all appear." (Camden.) Dr. Holland 
thinks the right name is Tralbridge ; ** for, besides the natural 
melting of I into u, there is a tithing in the liberty and parish 
called Tral, and a large common near it of the same name ; 
besides which, in a manuscript history of Britain, the place is 
written Trolbridge." 

TROY, L. Trcja^ in anc. geog. a dty of Asia Minor. It was 
first called Dardania, and afterwards T^oia from T£tt;c, its king, 
lulus, succeeding Tros, it was named after him, Ilium. 

TROYES (trwah), a town of France, situated on the lefl bank 
of the Seine. Lamartiniere says the L. name was Tricassium or 
Treces, i.e. Tres arces, " three castles," and that a portion of 
one of these castles still exists, but only the ruins of the other 
two. " It was known to the ancients by the name of Augustap 
bona or Augustabana, and was the chief town of the Trecasses or 
Tricasses, a Celtic nation, from whom it afterwards took, towards 
the close of the Roman period, the name Tricasses, Trecasses, 
Trecases, or Tricassse (for it is thus variously spelt), and at a 
period still later, that of Treca, from the oblique cases of which 
the modem name Troyes has been derived." (P. Cyc.) 

TRURO, a town of Cornwall, situated near an inlet of the sea 



280 LOCAL ETTMOLOOT. 

called the Truro Creek or River. Borlase derives the nmme from 
Com. tre-vur, " the town on the (Roman) road ; ** others from 
iru-ru, '* the three streets ;" bat the place most probablj origi- 
nated in a castle belonging to the Earls of Cornwall, and, if so, 
the name may be from ire-ru, " the castle on the water." 

TUAM, CO. Galwajf Ireland. In anc Ir. huam, tuaim^ is a 
village, homestall, dyke, rampart, moat, fortified town, fort, fence, 
hedge, from or allied to Chal. uy'O toom, to fortify, block, shot, 
shut or close up. The mod. Ir. has iomkra a protection, imammm, 
tooman, a district of villages ; the Egyp. tami a village* 

TUILERIES (tweeryer^)f formerly Tmlleries, i.e. a place 
where tiles were made, from tuiUe, a tile. The Fr. tuile (for- 
merly tuille, tieule, tieuUer, Norm, teiffle, Eng. iiie) comes from 
L. teffula, from tego, to cover, from Gr. orsya, from Sans. stJk^, 
to cover. Menage remarks that there was a quarter in Athens 
called Ceramicus, i.e. Tuillerie. 

TUN, TON, TOWN, in local names in England, is the A. S. 
tun, an enclosure, fence, garden, village, town ; as Tnnstall, 
Wilton, Weston, Bruton, Frampton, Somers Town. When tarn 
is preceded by ings or «, the first part of the name generally 
denotes the original owner, as Grimston, Clenston, Godmanston. 

TUNB RIDGE or TONBRIDGE, Kent, found written Tone- 
bricge, Tunbricge, Tunebricgia, Tunebruge, Tonebrigg, Tonebryge, 
Tunebregge, Tunebrige, Tunebrigge, Tunnebrugg, Tunebrig. It 
takes its name from the bridges over the difierent streams of the 
Medway, which flow on the S. side of the town ; from A. S. turn, 
an enclosure, town, brieve, a bridge ; " a town near a bridge." 

TUNSTALL, a village in Kent, situated upon an ascent; 
Tnnstall, co. Stafford ; '* a place upon a hill ; a high place ; " from 
A. S. dun, a hill, steal, Hal, a place (Sans, athala, site, place). 

TURIN (toorin'), L. Taurinum, It. Torino, capital of Pied- 
mont ; named from its inhabitants, the Taurini. It was formed 
into a Roman colony by Julius Csesar, who named it Julia ; and 
it was called Augusta Taurinorum by his successor. The Tanri 
were a people origipally inhabiting the Tauric Chersonese. 

TURKEY. The origin of the Turkish race is by most 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 281 

Muhammadan writers attributed to Turk« eldest son of Japhet, 
and he is accordingly called Tdfis-iighldnt " son of Japhet/' and 
Japhet is styled Abu alt Turk, " father of the Turkish race." 
Some, arguing from the nomade character of this people, derive the 

name from Arab. Ci^ J taraka, to abandon, to wander. Accord- 
ing to other authors, the remains of a race called the Hyoung- 
nou, who were of Turkish origin, some time after the commence- 
ment of the Christian era, established themselves u the valley of 
Kin-chan, or '* mountains of gold," which they called Altai 
(Turc. aMn gold), where they founded a city at the foot of a hill, 
which resembled a helmet ; and as in their language, says the 
Chinese historian, the word thou-kiou signifies a helmet, the 
people took that name. The name Thou-kiou thus given to the 
remnant of the Hyoung-nou, is the Chinese transcript of ^jJ 

TurM, Extraordinary as this derivation may seem, it is fortified 
by the fact, that in modem Turkish, the word to which allusion 
is here made, exists, without contradiction, and in the sense 

in which it is here used. The Turkish word ^ J tark, read 

together with ilatiin, signifies ''a helmet;" which corroborates 
the testimony of the Chinese writer, and at the same time 
furnishes an etymology much more probable than that deduced 
from an imaginary patriarch. See Davids, Gram. Turke, pref. 
ix. X. ; Remusat, Rech. 12, 256 ; Salverte, £ssai sur les Noma 
Propres; Klaproth, '< Thou-khiu ;" Meninski, Onomasticon, 
tom. i. ; Plin. lib. vi. c. 7 ; Mela, lib. i. c. 19. 

TURNBERRY HEAD, on the coast of Carrick, Ayrshire ; a 
corruption of Truynberryj from Brit, trwyn, a nose, snout (Ir. 
sron, id.. Com. iron, a nose, promontory). There is Trayn 
Point, on the coast of Kyle, Ayrshire; Duntroon Point and 
Castle, in Loch Crinan, Argyleshire; Duntroon, in Dundee 
parish, Forfarshire ; Trwyn-y-park, a promontory, Trwyn Melin 
Point, and Trwyn-du Point, &c., in Anglesea ; Trwyn-Gk>garth 
Point, in Denbigh ; Trwyn-y-Bylan Point, in Caernarvon ; and 
An-Tron (the point) in Comwall. 

TUSCANY, It. Totcdna, L. Tuseia, Thuacia. The Tuscans 



282 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

or Etruscans are mentioiied hj the Romans under the names of 
Hetrusci, Etrusd, Tusci, Thusci, and Tyrrheni; and hy the 
Greeks tbej are called Touo^coi. Some authors derive the name 
from 6r. Qvw, to sacrifice, on account of the religious ceremonies 
which flourished among them» especially in their chief city 
Caere ; whence carenumia, (See Liv. lib. viL) According to 
others, the Umbrians called the Etruscans Tursci, which the 
Romans converted into Tusci and Etrusd, whence Etmsia, and 
then Etruria. (See Newman, Reg. Rom.) Tusci, Taacia, 
Tuscania, Tuscany. See Tarshish. 

TWEED, a riyer in Cheshire ; a river in Berwick ; from Biit. 
tuedd, the border, the limit of a country. 

TWICKENHAM AIT. In ancient records the name of this 
place is found written Twitham, Twittanham, Twiccanham, and 
by most popular writers in the early part of the last century, 
Twitenham. Norden says, ** it is so called, either, for that the 
Thames seems to be divided into two rivers by reason of 
the islands there, or else of the two brooks which neere the 
town enter the Thamis ; for Twicknam is as much as Twynam, 
guan inter binoa amnes titum^ a place scytuate between two 
rivers." Ait is corrupted from eyot^ dim. of «y, an isle, firom 
A. S. ig. 

TWISTLE, TWISLE, TWISEL, in local names in England, 
is " a boundary ; '' an abbrev. of A. S. betwixt^ betwyxt, 6e- 
tweox, betweok (Teut. enhoiachen, G. gunschen^ Belg. twiMcken), 
lit. "between two," ''in the middle of two." Thus, Eztwistl^ 
'' the boundary of oaks " (A. S. ae, <ec, an oak) ; Oswaldtwistle ; 
Birdtwistle ; Twistleton, now Twiston, Lancashire. 

TWYFORD, Oxon, found written Twiford, and Twyfyrd ; from 
A. S. twit iwa, two, ford a ford. Twyford is the name of 
places situated near two fords of a river. 

TYNE. The North Tyne, a river which falls into the sea at 
Tynemouth, in Northumberland ; the South Tyne jobs the 
Trent in Staffordshire ; the Tyne runs by Tyningham, co. Had- 
dington, into the sea ; the Teyn or Teign falls into the sea at 
Teigumouth, in Devon ; a small stream called the Teyn joins the 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 283 

Dove in Derby ; the Tian fUls into the sea in the isle of Jura, 
CO. Argyle; a rivulet called the Tjnet falls into the sea in 
Banffshire. All these names may be traced to the Anc. Brit, tain, 
which signified "a river," "running water." "Tain signified 
the same in the Anc Ghiulish^ and in the kindred dialect of the 
Irish it still means water." (Chalmers.) Owen translates the 
W. tain, ** that is of a spreading quality." 

TYNEMOUTH, co. Northumberland; "the mouth of the 
Tine;" from A. S. Tinan, the River Tina or Tine, mutha, 
a mouth. 

TYR'CONNELL, the ancient name of the county of Donegal, 
m Ireland ; from Tyr-ConeU, " the land of Conell." 

TYB£, anc. Sor, a celebrated city of the Phoenicians, on 
the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. The more ancient 
part was on the main land; the later city was built on an 
opposite island. The Latins changed Sar into Sarra, and the 
Greeks into Tupoc, whence Tyros, Tyrus, Tyre. It received 
the name of Sor or Tsor, from being built on a rock, from 
Heb. "11V tsur. 

TYROL (ti/td), takes its name from the Castle of Tirol 
(anc. Teriolis), near Meran. This castle was the residence of 
its princes down to 1363, when the country was united to 
Austria. 



u. 



UKRAINE (ffu'krane or ookraneT), a name now applied to a 
tract of land on the banks of the Dnieper, together with the 
territory of the Cossacks, but anciently to the frontier towards 
the Tatars and other nomadic tribes. Ukraina in Pol. means 
" marches," " borders." 

ULSTER, a province of Ireland. Chalmers says its original 
Graelic name was Ulladh, pron. Ulla, and that the Scandinavians, 
who settled in this part of the island, added the Gothic termina- 
tion stadr or sler, and thus formed UUter (JJUa^ter). 



284 LOCAL STTMOLOGT. 

ULTIMA THULE (ikool) ; Or. OouXaj, W. f^Um and 7>2r; 
'* The furthermost Thule.*' It is frequently meiitiaiied bj BonuBi 
poets, and is supposed to hare been the most remote northem 
isUmdy but its existence is now doubted. Pliny, 8oliniu» and 
Mela take it to be IceUmd ; others say it refers to Tileniaik in 
Norway ; or to Jutland ; or Newfoundland ; or Ireland. Ains- 
worth, on the authority of Camden, says Shetland was by seamen 
anciently called Thylensel, '< the Isle of Thyle.'* Others think 
Thyle may refer to one of the Shetland Isles, called '' Foola," 
the interchange of/ for ik bemg common, thus, Foula, fbofe, 
dovkri, Thule. Isidorus speaks of Thule as an iaiand to the 
N.W. of Britun, which derived its name from the san, '' becaose 
it here makes its summer solstice, and beyond it there is no day." 
Others, again, have derived Sovkifj from njAi^ or njXou, afiur ; or 
from Thule, king of Egypt, whose existence Bochart denies. 
He says the northern regions are always described as dark, 
and that some of the poets call this island Black Tliofe; 
that the Syrians used the word thyle to denote " shades *' (Ikuie 
ranua, "the shades of eyening"), and that the Phoenicians 
doubtless named it ^bito thule, darkness, or Gezirat Thde, " island 
of darkness." See also Isid. Orig. xiv. 6, 4 ; Procop. Bd. 
€k)th. ii. 15 ; Oros. i. 2 ; Tac. Agr. c. 10 ; Strab. i. 4, 2, ii. 4, 
i. iv. 5, 5 ; PUn. N. H. ii. 77 ; Virg. G. i. 29 ; SUt- Sylr. 
iii. 5, 19 ; and Notes and Queries, 2d S. vol. iy. 

UMBRIA, in anc. geog. a large tract of country on both 
sides of the Apennines, inhabited by a Gaulish tribe named the 
Umbri, Ambrones, Ombres, or Ambra ; all these words being 
corruptions of Jmhra, meaning "valiant men," "noUes." 
They were called by the Greeks OftjS^Of and O/x/S^ioi, and 
by some writers, Yeteres Galli. See Anton. G. apud Serv. 
J£n. ad fin. ; Ind.; Orig. lib. ix. c. 2, Conf. Thierry, Hist, des 
Gaulois. 

UNKIAR SKELESSI, a village on the Asiatic shore of the 
Bosphorus, celebrated for the treaty signed there on June 26, 
1833, between Russia and Turkey. The name in Turc. means 
** the landing place of the emperor." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 285 

UPSALA (popsala), formerly the capital of Sweden^ situated 
upon the borders of the Sal or Sala. John Magnus Gothus 
(Hist. 6oth.« Hb. i.), who was archbishop of this citj^ states that 
246 years after the delnge> Ubbon reigned over the Swedes, and 
that he either founded this dty and gave it his name ; or that 
it was anciently his residence; as though UbbonU-^alj i.e. hall 
or palace of Ubbon ; or that he named it Upsala» from its situa- 
tion on the Sal. We may believe all but the date. See also 
Zeyler, Descr. Suev. 173. 

URQUHART {er'kert), a parish by the Frith of Dingwall, co. 
Ross, Scotland, said to have been named from the great length of 
its sea margin ; from Crael. aire coast, edge, brink, fad long, 
amhan^ a river or water. The Highlanders, speaking Graelic, 
pronounce the word urachadan. This etymology, although appa- 
rently far-fetched, seems to derive confirmation from the similar 
name and situation of another parish on one side of Loch Ness 
in Invernessshire. (See Stat, Ace, Scot.) 

UTICA, in anc. geog., a city of Africa, noted for the death of 
Cato. Bochart derives Utiea or Ityea from Pun. Mp^n^ atica, old, 
ancient. (See Carthage.) Utica is the name of a city in the 
state of New York, U. S. 

UTRECHT (yt/trekt) a city of HoUand, called by the Romans 
Trajectus ad Rhenum, ** ford on the Rhine," and by the monks. 
Ultra Trajectum^ i.e. " on the other side of the ford," from which 
its present name has been corrupted. 

UXBRID6E, Middlesex, found written Oxebruge, Oxebreuge, 
Woxebruge, Woxebrugge, Woxbridge, Waxbridge, and Oxbridge, 
said to have been noted in ancient times for the passage of oxen, 
from the rich pastures of Buckinghamshire, by a bridge over the 
Colne. Leland says " there be two wooden bridges at the west 
ende of the towne, and under the more weste goeth the 
great arme of the Colne River; the lesser arme goeth under 
the other bridge, and each of them serve there a great mille." 
Uxbridge is more probably '* the bridge over the Ux," i.e. the 
water, from Brit, ise, Gael, uisge. See Isca, Oxford, and 
Thames. 



286 LOCAL EmfOLOQY. 



V. 



VAL'IIALLA, G. WalhaUa, a Grecian temple of the Dorie 
order, erected by the late King Ludwig of Bararia, oq the left 
bank of the Danube, below Ratisbon. The name ia derived horn 
the old Norse valhull, "the hall of the chosen." 

VALPARAISO {—rizo) a city of Chili, S. America ; from Sp. 
val (from L. vallU^ a valley), paraiso paradiscy any pleasant or de- 
lightful place. 

VALTELINE {—leeW), It. Val Tellina, G. Felilin, the vale 
of the Adda, extending from Bormio to Colico» in Italy. The 
town of Folturena, built by the Tyrrheni, stands or stood at 
the end of the valley, upon the border of the Lago di Como^ 
and the inhabitants of the valley are said to call themsdves 
Yoltureui. Volturena may be from ValUa Tyrrhena. Aooordii^ 
to others, the valley has its name from a castle on the heights, 
Teglio (L. 7V/ttfm, G. TV//), which was formerly its principal 
place. 

VAN, a town of Asiatic Turkey, on a lake of the same name ; 
built by King Van, 

YANNES {van), a seaport in the W. of France, capital of 
the department of Morbihan. Camden derives the name from 
Gaul, venna, a fisherman. Yannes, however, is rather the 
capital of the Yeneti, of whose name the word is a corruption. 
The Breton appellation is still Wenet or Guenei. It ia not 
however improbable that the Yeneti, whom the Latins distin- 
guished as Yeneti Italiee and Yeneti Gallise, may derive their 
name from the Gaul, venna. Wachter, under " Heneti," synony- 
mous with Yeneti, says, '' gens Sarmatica, k latrociniis, ut videtur, 
sic dicta ; nam henden (A. S.) non solum est capere, sed etiam 
rapere,^* 

YASARIIELY ( — ha'ly), which produces one of the best 
Hungarian white wines, called by the Germans Schomlaaer ; from 
Hung. vMr, a market (from Turc. bdzdr), hehj a place. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 287 

VAUD (»o), called also Pays de Vaud, G. JTaadt and JTaad' 
land; a canton of Switzerland, named from the Waldenses (L. 
Fallesif It. FaldSsi, Swiss dial. FaudSs), The Waldenses, 
Valdenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, were formerly considered to 
derive their name from Peter Faldo or Waldo, a citizen of Lyons 
in the 12th century, and an opponent of Romish doctrines ; but 
it has since been proved that this religious community existed 
long before Waldo, and indeed, the canton of Vaud is called 
Waldensis Comitatus by the chronicler Bertin as early as 839. 
" From Waldo, however, the separatists from Rome in the south 
of France, have been called Waldenses, and this has caused them 
to be confounded with the Vaudois or Vaudes of the Alps.*' 
(P. Cyc) Waldenses or Falderues means simply " inhabitants 
of valleys," and may be traced to L. vallis, a valley. 

VAUXHALL (voxhawl'). King John bestowed upon Fouke 
alias Faulk (Falcasius) de Brent, a Norman by birth, the very 
opulent heiress Margaret de Ripariis. (Speed's Chron. p. 582 ; 
Annales Eccles. Wigom., A. S. I. 486). By this marriage, he 
became possessor of the manor in Lambeth, to which FaukS' 
hall was annexed : and Mr. Lysons has with probability 
suggested, that it might be from him that the district acquired 
its appellation. Weight will be added to this surmise, if it be 
considered that in Annales Ecclesus Wigomiensis the name is 
spelt Faukisius; whence it may be presumed that in English 
he was vulgarly called Faukes {BibL Topog. Brit, Lond. 1795). 

VEAN, VI AN, in local names in Cornwall, as Trevean, " the 
little town ;" Trevyvian, "the town by the small water ;" is the 
Com. vean, man, contracted from wiggan, wigan, bighan, little. 
These words are sometimes corrupted into brigh, briggan, biggan ; 
as Lambriggan, for Lambourne-wigan, ''the little Lamboume;" 
Brighton, Brightor, Briggantor, Biggantor, *'the little hill." 
Conf. Gael, beagan, W. bychan, Arm. biham, O. Fr. beehan, 
Franche Comt6 pechon. 

VENACHOIR, a loch in Perthshire, Scotland ; «' the lake of 
the fair valley." (Stat. Ace. Scot.) 

VENEZUELA (—jsvx/la), a republic of S. America ; " Little 



288 LOCAL ETTMOLOGT. 

Venice ;" a name giren to it on aooonnt of some Indiui TiDago, 
which the first conquerors found on the Lakes of Maracaibo. 

VENICE ; It. Venesia, Yt. Fenise, 6. Venedig. Sp. Vemkim, 
L. Venetia, In a.d. 42 !» the inhabitants of Aquileia, Padoa, 
and other Italian cities, in order to escape the fury of Attila, fled 
to the islands at the mouth of the Brenta. Here they founded 
two cities, Rivo Alto and Malamocco, which were inoorporated in 
697 under one magistrate, entitled " doge." Pepin, aa king of 
Italy, granted some territory along the banks of the Adige» and 
Rivo Alto (Rialto), united with neighbouring islands, took the 
name of Fenetia^ from the province of Venetia, the territoiy of 
the ancient Veneti, of which these islands formed a dependency. 
The Veneti, Venedn, Winide, Henneti, 'Eyeroi, were a Celtic 
people originally from Sarmatia. See Ptol. lib. iii. c. 5 ; Lw,; 
Polyh. i Jornan. ; Sirab. ; det. ; and voc. Vannes. 

VENLOCy, a town in the Netherlands, named from ita situa^ 
tion ; from D. veen a fen, loo a plain. See Loo. 

VENTON is a Corn, word signifying a spring, fountain, well, 
as Venton Vean, " the little well." 

VERDUN', an ancient town of France situated on the Meuse. 
The name is found written Verunum, Veronum, Vironum, Vero- 
dunum, Verdunum, Veredunum, and Urbs Vereduna, Viridunam, 
or Virdunum. Saumaise derives the name from Celt, ver, a ford 
or passage, dunum, a town ; but ver meant also *' water.*' See 
YvERDUN and Dun. 

VERONA, Italy, according to Sempronius, owes its origin and 
name to the Tuscan family Fera. See Plin. lib. iii. c. 19; 
Liv. lib. V. c. 35 ; Catull. Carm. 68 ; Martial, lib. xiv. epig. 
195. 

VERULAM, Herts, supposed to have been situated in the 
neighbourhood of St. Albans. Tlie name is found written Vero- 
lamium, Velolamium, Velovanium, and Vrolanium, all corrupted 
from Ferulamium, its Roman name. The Saxons called it Wer^ 
lame and Werlame-ceaster ; the inhabitants were styled Verulse 
and Veroli ; and by Pliny Verulani. Bailey derives the name 
from W. ffwar fortress, and town pleasant, from the pleasantness 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 289 

and fertility of the place. According to others, it received its name 
from its situation near the small River Ferlam, a feeder of the 
Coin ; but there is no evidence that the Ver was ever called 
the Verlam. Perhaps the original Celtic name was Ver-alauni-din, 
i.e. " the town of the Alauni, who dwelt on the Fer/' or *' the town 
of the Fir-Alauniy" i.e. " the men called the Alauni" The Celtic 
name may have been changed by the Romans to Veralaunidunum, 
and subsequently contracted to Verulamium, and then corrupted by 
the Saxons to Werlame, whence its present appellation. ** The 
Roman road called by the Saxons Watling Street, was also called 
Werlaem Street, because it first went direct to Verulam, passing 
close under its walls." (See Gibson's Camden, vol. i. 79.) 

VESUVIUS, a volcano near Naples ; anciently Vesvius,Vesbiu8, 
Vesevus, and Vesujus. The name has been derived from 6r. Btrvo 
within, inward, or from £a; to send or throw, and j3ia violence, 
or foc dart, missile, weapon ; because the smoke and fire which 
issue from it denote a violent agitation within, or may be com- 
pared to the hurling of darts. 'E(rl3i(t, /-£(r)3<a, VesbiajVesbiuSyVes- 
vius, Vesujus, Vesuvius. 

VEVEY or VEVAY, a town of Switzerland, named from its 
situation near the foot of the Alps, at the centre of a deep gorge 
formed by the Feveyse, a corruption of its ancient name, 
Vibsicus, i.e. the Vip-isca, "the water called the Ftp," See 

ISCA. 

VICENZA (ve'tshen-tsa), a city of Italy, from L. Picentia, 
probably Latinized from its original name. 

VIENNA, G. men, Fr. Fienne, It. Fienna, Sp. Fiena, Turc. 
Batch ; capital of Austria. According to some authors, it was 
formerly known by the names of Ala Flaviana, Castra Flaviana, 
Flavianum, and Juliobona. Others say it occupies the site of the 
Roman station Vindobona, supposed to be a corruption of Findevon 
or Fendevkn, either an O. Celt, or Slav, word, denoting the 
" dwelling place of the Vends," a Slavonic tribe still occupying 
Camiola; and that Findobona may have successively become F/at^'- 
ana or FavianajFiana, and JFt>/i. The city, however, stands on the 
south bank of the Danube, at its confluence with the little River 

u 



290 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Wien, and the name of the river may be from Celt, beagan little, 
or beag-auy " the little river." 

VINTSCHGAU {fincKgow). The upper part of the vale of the 
Adige, from its source to Bozen, is called the Vintschgau, from its 
ancient inhabitants the Vennonetes. Thus Vennonetes-gau, 
Vents-gau, Vintschgau. The G. gau means country, district, 
from Gr. 70J, ya, land, earth. 

VIRGINIA, one of the United States of America, named in 
honour of Queen Elizabeth, in whose reign Sir Walter Raleigh 
made the first attempt at a colony here. 

VISTULA ; G. JFeichsel, Pol. Wish, Fr. Vtstule ; a river of 
Poland; found written Vistillus, Vistla, Viscla, Bisula, Visula, 
Visela, Weixel, Wiessel, Weissel, and Weisel, may be derived 
from the Celt. wyB-y-lliv, " the floody water.'* Thus, wys-y-lliv, 
wysuil, wisyl, wistyl, Vistula. Conf. voc. Willy. 

VOLD, in local names in Norway, is the Dan. void, a rampart, 
mound of earth, dam. 

VOLGA, the largest river of Europe. In Sarmatian, volga 
means '* the great." 

VORARLBERG (/oratbairg), a province of Austria, in front 
(G. vor, before) of the mountain called the Arlberg, q. v. 



w. 



WADY (tvadee'). Wadys in Arabia are hollow valleys or de- 
pressions, more or less deep, wide, or long, washed by the moun- 
tain torrents or winter rains. Stanley gives the following Wadys 
in Sinai and Palestine : " Wady Fairan, Wady Howar, Wady 
Mokalteb, Wady-es-Shaykh, * shaik's valley,' so called from the 
tomb of Shaykh Salah, the Muhammadan sanctuary of the 
peninsula ; Wady Tayibeh, so designated from the goodly water 
and vegetation it contains ; Wady Sagal, or * of the acacia ; ' 
Warl y Musa, closed by overimnging cliffs ; Wady Tidri, expanding 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 291 

into a level space with rare bushes of whitethorn, whence its name ; 
Wady Abu Hamad, * the father of fig trees,' that grow in its clefts ; 
and Wady-el-Arabah, a true wady, marshy hollow, or depres- 
sion. For a few weeks or days these valleys present the appear- 
ance of rushing streams, but their usual aspect is absolutely bare 
and waste, only presenting the image of thirsty desolation, and 
the more strikingly so from the constant indications of water, which 
is no longer there." Freytag interprets the Arab, wddi ** locus 
depressior inter montes collesve, vallis, alveus fluvii, et ipse fluvius." 
It is found in the names of many rivers in Spain, as wdd-al-kdbir, 
"the great river," since corrupted into Guadalquivir, q. v. 

WAKE'S COLNE (—cone), Essex, sometimes called Colne 
Maskerel, Colne Quincy, and Colun Saer, takes its name from 
the ancient baronial family of Wake, See Colnes. 

WALDSHUT (voids' hoot), a forest town between Basle and 
Scbaffhausen ; from 6. wald wood, hiitte hut, cottage^ 

WALLACHIA (woUUke-a), a principality of Turkey. The 
name Wallachs given to this people by foreigners, belonged to 
some people in Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly. The Byzantine 
historians frequently mention the Vlachi (BXa%o<) ,who lived 
chiefly in the country round Mount Pindus. The name Vloch, 
or Wloch is said to be the Slav, for " Italian " or " Roman ; " 
and Wallach is equivalent to the native name RSmani^ (Eng. 
Cyc.) In Hung, a Wallachian is called Oldh ; in G. Walache, 
in Low L. Valachus, Vlachua, and Dacromanus, Vloch, Vlach, 
&c., are from the root of Gaul (q.v.). Lamartiniere says Wallachia 
was anciently called Flaccia, from one Flaccua, who was sent by 
Trajan with 30,000 men to colonize it. 

WALLINGFORD, Berks, found written Wealinga- Waling- 
Walling- Walin- Wallyng-ford, Walingaforda, Wallengafort, 
Wallyngforth, and Wallyngfort ; from Gualenga-ford, " the ford 
or passage of the Gauls." According to others, its ancient Brit, 
name was Gual-hen " the old wall." 

WALMER (wor'mer), Kent; from Sax. ira// a wall, and L. 
mare the sea ; '* a sea wall." ( Bailey,) 

WALTHAM (ivawtlum), Hants, found written Wenlt-ham, 

V 2 



292 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

Weald-ham, Walteham ; from A. S. weald a wood, weald, ham a 
dwelling. {Bosworth,) 

WALTON, the name of several places in England, as Walton - 
on-Thames, Walton-on-the-Naze ; from A. S. weal a wall, tun an 
enclosure ; or from root of Waltham. 

WANDLE, a river in Surrey ; from A. S. wandrian, or Dan. 
vandler, to wander. Bailey calls it the Wandle or Vandali. 

WANDSWORTH, Surrey, formerly Wandiesworth, and 
perhaps originally Wandle' s- worth, i.e. a farm or habitation on 
the River Wandle. 

WARBURTON, Oxon ; " the place where ^thelfreda. Queen 
of the Mercii, built a citadel ;" found written Weard-burh, Wead- 
byrig, Wardebirh, Wardeburgh, and Wardborough ; from A. S. 
weard a watch, hurh a fort, city, tun a town. 

WARDINE ( — deen)^ a frequent termination of local names in 
Herefordshire, Salop, and Radnor ; as Carwardine, Shilwardine, 
Shrawardine (Castle), Chiswardine. It occurs also in Scotland, as 
Bradwardine (Waverley). Perhaps from Low L. gardianua^ a 
warden ; " he that hath the keeping or charge of any person or 
thing by office ; " as warden of the marshes, warden of the forest, 
warden of peace, warden of the Stannaries. 

WARE, Herts, found written Guare ; originally a wear or dam 
constructed on the River Lea, and strongly fortified by the Danes 
in 964, in order to defend their vessels ; from A. S. wcer, wer. 

WAREHAM, Dorset. The Britons called it Durngneis; 
the Saxons, Vepham, and Thornsseta. In ancient records it is 
written Warham and Varham, said to be a compound of var and 
Aam, and to denote a habitation on a fishing shore. But see 
Ware. 

WARRINGTON, co. Lancaster ; in Domesday Wallington, 
and according to some authors, the Yara-tin of Ravennas, and the 
Roman Veratinum ; "the ford town," from Celt, vera a ford, din 
a town. The opinion that this place was a Roman station rests 
chiefly on the circumstance of three Roman roads, each leading 
to a ford here over the Mersey, the vestiges of a castrum and 
fosse, which are still discernible, and the discovery of some 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 293 

Roman relics. Since its occupation, however, by the Saxons, it 
assumed the name of Werington, from wtBring a fortification, 
tun a town. 

WARWICK {worr%k)y found written Wsering-wic, Ware-wic, 
Waringe-wyke, War-wyk, Warwych, and Warwyk j from A. S. 
wceiingh bulwark, mound, trtc a dwelling ; " a fortified dwelling." 
" From W. guarth, a safeguard, a garrison, and trie." (Camden.) 
" Ethelfleda, daughter of King Alfred and wife of Ethelred, Earl 
of Mercia, in 913, built a castle on the northern steep banks of the 
Avon, and erected a mound of earth on its western side, which 
still exists, and on which it is supposed that a fort was erected." 
(Gent. Mag., March, 1841, p. 359, and Nov. 1844.) 

WARWICK LANE, formerly Eldenese Lane, Newgate Street. 
" The same is now called Warwick Lane, of an ancient house 
there built by an Earl of Warwick, and was since called Warwick 
Inn." (Stow, p. 128.) At the corner of Newgate Street is a 
bas-relief of Guy, Earl of Warwick, bearing the date 1668. 

WATFORD (wot' — ), co. Herts, situated on theColne, and said 
to derive its name from the Wailing Street which passed in the 
vicinity, and from a ford over the river. 

WATLING STREET, London. The ancient Watling 
Street was a road supposed to have been constructed by the 
British, and re-constructed by the Romans, which extended from 
Sandwich in Kent to Caernarvon in Wales. The name is found 
written Guetheling, Wetheling, and Wetlinga. One writer says 
Wetlinga Street is " the road of the sons of King Wetla or 
Welthe ; " another says it was " a consular road made by the 
Romans, thrown up considerably above the level of the sides, kept 
up with large stakes driven into the ground, and lesser wood woven 
between them ; and that these were called by the Saxons, watles, 
from which the road had its name." This etymology seems far- 
fetched ; besides, wattles iwould never be sufficiently strong to keep 
together the weight of gravel, sand, lime, and stone " raised high 
above the level of the sides." The Rev. J. Kempe thinks it 
was an ancient British way, from gwydd-lain, '* the way through 
the forests or woods ;" and he says this etymology would be at 



294 LOCAL BTYMOLOGT. 

once expressive of its British origin, of the primitive state of the 
country through which it ran, and of its subsequent adoption by 
the Romans as a military road ; that with the Britons it was a 
forest lane or track way, and with the Romans it became a 
stratum, street, or raised road, constructed according to their 
well-known manner. The most reasonable suggestion is that of 
Thierry, who says WetUnge is merely a Saxon corruption of 
Gwydelin, i.e. Gwydelinsam, " the way of the Gwydel or Gael," 
i.e. the Irish ; ** nom fort convenable k une route qui conduisait 
de Douvres k la c6te de Chester." See also Thierry, Norm. 
Conq. vol. i. pp. 2, 70, note, and p. 151 ; Notes and Queries, 2d 
S. p. 271 ; Whitaker, Hist. Manchester, vol. i. p. 130 ; 
Archaeol. Append, to vol. vi. p. 130, and Append, to vol. xxvi. 
p. 468 — 9 ; Hoveden, p. 248 ; and Camden, Brit. p. 343. 

WEALD, WEALT, WALD, WALT, WOLD, in local 
names in England, denotes a situation near woods or groves, as 
TFeald-ham, Wealt-ham (Waltham) ; the wealds of Kent, i.e. 
the woody parts of this county ; from A. S. wealds wald, (Plat. 
woldy wooldj D. uxmdy G. wald^ Dan. vedy Sw. toed, W. gwydd.) 

WEDNESBURY {wenz'-^), co. StaflFord ; from Woden' 9- 
beorg^ from Woden, the Saxon god of war, beorg a hill, or burg 
a fortified place. We find in Domesday that this town, previously 
to the Norman Conquest, belonged to the Saxon kings. 

WELLINGTON, co. Somerset, formerly Walintone ; per- 
haps " the town of the Gualen." See Wallingford. 

WENBURY or Wembury, co. Devon ; in A. S. found written 
Wicgan-beorch, Wicgam-beorg, Wigganbeorh, and Winbeorn 
(BosworthJ ; perhaps " the burg or fortress of the Wiccii." 

WENT, a river in Yorkshire (whence Went Bridge), from 
Anc. Brit, dwr-gwent, " water which flows thro' an open region." 
But see Derwent and Winchester from same root. 

WESER {vazer), a river of Germany. Strabo calls it 
hi<rov^yiQ ; Ptolemy, in one place Ovi(rov^ig ; in another 
Ov'ia-ov^iyiQ ; Dion Cassius writes Ovt<rov^yoQ ; all the Latin 
writers call it Visurgis. Wachter says, in the middle ages the 
Weser was called Wiaar-aha (flumen Visarse), and the Cherusci 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 295 

may have called it JFeser-ffus, of which the Romans made 
FUurgis. He derives fFeser, Hister (later), Oder, and Eider 
from Celt, dwr, water, and says gi^ is a Fraacic word for 
a river, from giessen, to flow ; but Ister is more probably from 
Celt, ys'dwr ; Oder from G. ader, an artery, vein ; or both Oder 
aod Eider from 6r. tJ^a;^, water ; and Itar and Weter may come 
from Celt. wya-arUy " the turbid stream," from uisge water, garu> 
rough. See also Ptol. lib. ii. c. 11 ; and voc. Isca. and Yarrow. 

WESTERAS (veateroas'), a town of Sweden. The name is a 
corruption of Vestra Jros, Western Arosia, as distinguished 
from Ostra Aros, Eastern Arosia, now Upsala. 

WESTMINSTER, from A. S. toest id., mynater a monastery, 
cathedral, so named from being built at the west side of London. 

WESTMORELAND, found written West-moringa-land, West- 
mariland, Westmeriland, and Westmerland; 'Uhe west moor 
land," from A. S. weat, moring or mor, and land. 

WESTPHALIA, G. Westphalen, Fr. Featphalie, It. Vest- 
/alia ; an extensive district in the N. W. of Germany, first so 
called about the ninth century. According to some writers, this 
country was formerly called Yestalia, after the goddess Feata. 
Others derive the name from weal, id., and walen (G. fallen), 
a colt, because Westphalia is situated weat of the Weser, and its 
first inhabitants bore the device of a colt in their ensigns. Others 
say from weat-wallen, i.e. the western ramparts, dams, or dykes ; 
or from a German people called the Fales or Falen, and divided 
into the West and Ost Falen. But who were these Fales or 
Falen? Wachter says the East and Vi est falahi, falai, falahoa, 
or faloa were clients or dependants of the Franks ; and he refers 
to Low L. falahua, '' one who delivers himself up and becomes the 
client of another," from O. G. falahen or felahan, tradere fidei, 
committere, concredere. Conf. Tiffauges, in La Vendee, France, 
a name corrupted from Tei-phalia or Thei-phalia, the country of 
Tei-phali, Tai-fali, or Tai-phali. The G. wahle is a foreigner ; 
wahler, an elector; the Su-Goth. fala, a plain; the Gael, fhlj^ 
fhily a circle, fold, fence, enclosure, wall. 

WEYBRIDGE, co. Surrey ; " bridge over the Wey." 



296 LOCAL ETTMOLOGY. 

WEYMOUTH {wdmuth\ found written Waimuth and 
Waimue ; co. Dorset ; " mouth of the Wey/' See Wye. 

WHAMPOA, the European anchorage in the Canton River ; 
from Chin, hwang-poo. Poo or foOy among other meanings, is a 
mart, a place where ships and traders assemble ; hwang signifies 
*' jellow," and is the name of a hill, of an ancient country, and 
of a district. 

WHITBY, CO. York ; from A. S. hwit white, Dan. 6y a 
town. 

WHITCHURCH, co. Hants ; from A. S. hwit white, ctrce 
a church. 

WHITEHORNE or WHITTERNE, co. Galway, Ireland; 
the Lucophibia of Ptolemy ; the Candida Casa of Bede ; from 
A. S. hwit white, em a place. 

WICH, WICK, WIC, a termination of local names in 
England, as Berwick, Dulwich, Greenwich, Norwich, is the A. S. 
trtc, wye (Plat, wik^ D. wyk^ Fries, wie^ O. G. wik^ wiek, weicA, 
a town, castle, monastery, bay, Dan. viy, bay, ford, wt^, cove, 
Sw. vih, cove, creek. Ice. vih, a little bay), a dwelling place, 
habitation, street, village, monastery, convent, castle, fortress 
for soldiers, camp, station, creek, bay, from L. tieus, a street, 
also a village or several houses close together in the country, 
from Gr. oikoc, a house. 

WICKHAM, HIGH, Bucks ; " dwelling on the River TFickr 
The little River Wick may derive its name from W. bychan^ 
smaU. 

WICKLOW, a town in Ireland ; from Dan. vig a bay, ford, 
Sw. vik a cove, creek, or A. S. wie a dwelling-place, fortress ; and 
Eng. low a hill or rising ground, or Ir. lough an arm of the sea. 

WIDDIN, a strong fortress of Bulgaria on the Danube. The 
Turks call it Kikadova and Yidin. It may have been named 
from the Vidim, Udini, or Budini, a people from Sarmatia. 
Udine, a city in the Venetian territory, may have received its 
appellation from the same people. 

WIESBADEN {veesbahdn), capital of the duchy of Nassau, 
Germany, owes its name and prosperity to its hot springs, which 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 297 

^ere known to the Romans and are spoken of by Pliny the Elder. 
Baden in G. means *' baths/' and the first part of the name may 
be wiese, a meadow, from Gr. TeEia-eat irta-oc' 

WIGAN, CO. Lancaster, near which King Arthur defeated 
the Saxons in a memorable battle. Bailey derives the name from 
Sax. wibbigan^ of wi sacred, or wibed an altar, and biggin or 
bicgafi, to build, q. d. sacred buildings. Camden calls it Wiggin, 
*' which some say was anciently called Wibiggin, of which name 
I have nothing to observe, but that ' biggin ' is a Lancashire 
word for ' houses.' " Baines, the historian, says, in all ancient 
documents relating to Wigan, the name is written as a dissyllable, 
with slight variations in the orthography ; and he derives it from 
A. S. toig, a fight. 

WILLY, WILLEY, or WILY, a river in Wilts; Avon- 
uille, the old name of the River Helmsdale in Sutherland. 
Chalmers says these rivers are so named from their rising rapidly 
after rains ; that Avon-uile (the Ila of Richard's map), means 
"the floody river;'' and he derives these names from Brit. 
y-Uif or g-lliv, "the flood." The III in Alsace, and the 
Ilz, i.e. the Ill-ese, which joins the Danube at Passau, may be 
traced to the same root. 

WILTON, a town in Wilts, situated near the River Willg. 

WILTSHIRE, (wiUhur), contraction of mitun-scire, "the 
shire of Wilton." Its inhabitants were anciently called the 
TFiUcetas. 

WIMBLEDON, Surrey, found written Wibban-dun, and 
Wilbandonum, may have been named from one of its early pro- 
prietors. Somner derives the word from JFibba, the name of its 
builder, and A. S. dune^ a hill. Lysons has seen records in 
which the name Wimbaldus occurs. 

WIN'CHELSEA, co. Sussex, formerly Winceles-ea, from 
A. S. wincel an angle or comer, and ea water. Others translate 
ea an island. " This latter explanation well suits the situation 
of old Winchelsea, which, before the reign of Henry III., was 
washed by the waters of the Channel on the south and east, and 
by the Rother on the north." (P. Cyc) 



298 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

WIN'CHESTER. The expounder of Nennius says Winton 
or Winchester was called hj the Britons Cair^Gruntin. Camden 
writes it Caer Gwent, " white city ;'* and says " the Romans 
converted Chvent into Venta, and added Belgarum to denote its 
situation in the country occupied by the Belgse." The W. 
gwent signifies fair or open regions, from gwen, white, fair, beau- 
tiful. The name may therefore have meant either " white 
city," or " the city in the open country ;" indeed, the county 
itself was called Gwent by the ancient British. Chester is from 
A. S. ceaster, a fortress ; from L. eastrum, castra. Conf. 
BiCETRE, Derwent and Windermere, from same root. 

WINDERMERE, or WINANDERMERE, a lake in West- 
moreland. Winandermere is from W. gwyn hen dwr^ " the clear 
ancient lake ;** or a corruption of Wxndtrmere, Winder comes 
from gwen dwr^ the " clear water ; " the last syllable is a Sax. 
expletive, signifying a lake. 

WINDSOR (wtn'rcr), co. Berks, found written Windles-ofra, 
Windles-oure, Windles-ora, Windleshora, Winlesores, Windles- 
hores, Winleshores, Windeshores, Windesoure, Windelsores, 
Windlesores, Winlesores, Windesoure, Windesore, Windesour, 
and Wyndosor ; *' the dweDing on the winding shore," from the 
winding course of the Thames iu this part ; from A. S. windan 
to wind, ora for A. S. o/er, a margin, bank, shore. 

WINTERTHUR (vintertoor), the second town in the canton 
of Zurich, Switzerland. Lamartiniere says it took its name from 
the fortress of Windthum, built by the Counts of Kybourg in 
the neighbourhood, and that about a league from the town is the 
village of old Wiuterthour, the ancient Yitodurum ; but it is 
quite as reasonable to suppose that the town was named from the 
village. Vitodurum may mean " the water-dwelling, or the ford 
of the Vits or Wihts." The Celt, dwr is " water," but, according 
to Cluverius, it sometimes signifies a ford or passage. Windthum 
means " wind-tower," from G. wind, id., thurm a tower, from 
L. turris. Conf. Oude and Switzerland. 

WISBEACH, CO. Cambridge ; a corruption of Ousebeach, its 
former name. Before the time of Henry III., the River Ou^e is 
supposed to have had its outfall at or near Ousebeach. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 299 

WITH, WATH, in local names in England, as Langwith, 
Darwath, means a ford ; from Sw. vad^ Dan. vade. 

WOKING, CO. Surrey, found written Okyng and Oking, and 
in the reign of Edward the Confessor and in old maps, Woch- 
inges ; probably a corruption of fFey-toicinffos, i.e. the dwellers 
on the River Wey. Conf. Dorking. 

WOLVERHAMFTON (wool--), co. Stafford, formerly Wul- 
frunshampton, was anciently called Hampton. It received the 
addition of Wulfrun in the time of King Ethelred, from Wul- 
fruna, relict of Athelm, duke of Northampton, who founded a 
monastery here in honour of the Virgin. 

WONG, WANG, a termination of local names in England, as 
Basfordwong, Comerwong, is the A. S. wang, tconff, a plain, field, 
allied to Dan. vant;, a meadow, green field, as UUensvang, in Nor- 
way. Wong occurs frequently in Norfolk. Swang in York- 
shire, &c., as White Cross Swang, is a low-lying grassy place 
liable to be flooded, a fresh piece of greensward lying in a bot- 
tom among arable and barren land. Some consider it the Nor« 
folk wang sibilated. 

WOODSTOCK, CO. Oxon, from A. S. wuda wood, stoc a 
place. 

WOOLWICH (wooHdj), Kent, found written Wolwiche and 
WoUewic ; in the Textus Roffensis, Wlewic ; in Domesday, Hulviz, 
which Hasted translates 'Uhe dwelling on the creek." The 
last part of the name may be the A. S. mc, a dwelling, station, 
bay. 

WORCESTER (woes' ter), called by Ptolemy Branogenium, by 
Antoninus Branonium, by Nennius Guoraugon and Guorcon, and 
by some authors Guarangon, of which its present Welsh name 
Caer-wrangon or Caer-angon is a corruption. One writer translates 
Branonium, '* a city facing the water." All these names, how- 
ever, seem corruptions of Barangon, denoting "a frontier town 
garrisoned by a military class called Barangii" (sometimes 
Guarangi, Gorangi, Gerongi, and Cuorongi), whose name may 
be traced to the Low L. baro, baronis. The Saxons called this 
town Wegeorna- Weogare- Wigor- Wigora- Wigra- Wigera- and 
Wiger-ceastei Wic-ware-ceaster, Wire-ceastre, and Wir-cestre. 



300 LOCAL BTYMOLOGY. 

Camden derives the present name from '' wire, nemoroso salta 
adjmicto/' but, says Cowel, this is a mistake, for that wood is 
almost twelve miles distant. The historian of Worcester sajs 
" Wiga-eme means 'the warrior's lodge, the hero's place of 
retirement,' and that this mav account for the name which the 
Saxons gave to the ceaster, or to a Roman fort they found here, 
which they called first Wigema, Weogema, "Wigorna, and in 
time, Wegrin- Wigra-cester and Wigoruceaster ; that the name 
was afterwards corrupted to Wirceaster, a mode of writing that 
prevailed about the Norman Conquest, and gave way to the pre- 
sent spelling, Worcester." The original Saxon name, from 
which its present appellation has been corrupted, was per- 
haps TFie-wara-ceaster, i.e. the fortress of the people {wara) 
called the Wiccii. These Wiccii or Huiccii appear to have giren 
their name to this part of the country, which in a charter of 
Ethelwald, king of Mercia, is called Huicca nusgthe, i.e. the pro- 
vince of the Wiccii or Huiccii. It has been asserted that Wor- 
cester was first called Wigornia, by Joseph of Exeter, in some verses 
which he addressed to Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury ; but the 
name Wigornia occurs in Florence of Worcester, who died about 
sixty years before Joseph of Exeter wrote. For a plausible deri- 
vation of the name of the Wiccii and of the province of Wiccia, 
we must refer to the historian of Worcester. See also Camd. 
Brit. vol. i. p. 210, Cough's ed. ; Spelnu Gloss, under Baro, 
Barongus; and Stukeley's Itin. Cur. p. 64. 

WORTH, WORTHY. fTorth, in local names in England, is 
the A. S. worth (6. ort, O. G. oort, oord, a place,), a farm, 
hall, court, manor, mansion, dwelling-place, as Bedworth, co. 
Warwick ; Ems worth, co. Sussex ; Bloxworth, formerly Bloces- 
worth "Bloc's manor;" Chilworth ; Chillingworth ; Colster- 
worth ; Epsworth, co. Lincoln ; Lulworth ; Nailsworth, co, 
Gloucester ; Sawbridgeworth, co. Herts ; Tamworth, co. Stafford ; 
Wandsworth, co. Surrey ; Wordsworth ; Worth Maltravers, " the 
manor of Maltravers." Dr. Bosworth says worth, worthy, in 
local names, is the A. S. weordig, worthig, wurthig, worth, a field, 
portion of land, farm, manor, estate ; as Bosworth, Holds- 
worthy. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 301 

WOOTTON BASSETT, co. Wilts, was ntmed Wootton, from 
the great quantity of wood ia the neighbourhood, and receiyed 
the addition of Bassett from a family to whom it formerly 
belonged. 

WREXHAM, CO. Denbigh, N. Wales, formerly Writtlesham ; 
from Sax. writheU wreaths, ham a village. {Bailey.) , The reason 
for this derivation is not evident ; the A. S. taritheU is a band, 
cover ; wrath, wrath, is a wreath, bandage, pillar, prop, defence. 

WROTHAM (roht*m), co. Kent ; in Domesday Broteham ; 
in the Textus Roffensis, Wroteham ; and found written Wortham ; 
*' so called from wort (A. S. wyrf), a herb growing there in great 
plenty." {Playfair.) 

WURTEMBERG {vur'tm-hairg), found written Wurtenberg 
and Wirtenberg. This kingdom received its name from the 
seignorial chateau of Wiirtemberg, situated upon a hill between 
Stutgard and Essingen. Some translate WUrtemherg *^ lord on 
the hill " (wurt an dem berg). The O. G. wirt, lord, master, 
host, is the modern wirth, an innkeeper ; and wirtsehaft, which 
was used to denote the conviviality which reigned in the halls of 
princes, is now written wirthschaft, and denotes an inn. Wirt 
comes from a^praXfia, to feast, ho^tq, feast, festival. 

WURZBURG (vurtz'boorg), capital of the Bavanan circle of 
the Lower Maine, received its appellation from the beautiful 
gardens with which it is surrounded . There are 7000 acres of vine- 
yards in the vicinity. The name translates " herb or plant town '*^ 
(O. G. wurz, wUrzCs every kind of herb, plant, fructus et ger- 
mina). 

WYCH STREET. . Stow, speaking of Drury Lane, London^ 
says, " before the Drurys built here, the old name for this lane 
or road was called Via de Aldwych ; " " hence," says Cunning- 
ham, " the present Wych Street, at the bottom of Drury Lane." 
(A. S. eald old, wic a dwelling, farm, village.) 

WYE, a river in the counties of Montgomery, Radnor, Here- 
ford, and Monmouth ; Wey, a river in Dorset ; the Y, an arm 
of the Zuyder Zee, Holland. Lye derives Wye from A. S. wasg, 
a wave ; Philpot from the O. Brit, word wy^ analogous to L. vaga, 
wandering. In Domesday and other old records, the name 



302 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

of this river is found written Gwy, Wy, Wi, Wie. Wye, Wey, 
and F, are from the Celt, ffwy or wy, water. 

WYND, WINT. The narrow streets of Edinburgh, and of 
certain towns in Lancashire are so called. The name means as 
alley or lane, from A. S. wind-an, to turn. 



X. 



XANTHUS, in anc. geog. a river of Troas, generallj called 
the Scamander ; a river of Ljcia ; a small river of Epirus ; per- 
haps named from their supposed colour ; from Gr. ^aviog, jeUow» 



Y. 



YARMOUTH, called by the Saxons Garmud and Jiermud, eo« 
Norfolk, situated at the mouth of the River Yare or Yar. Yar- 
mouth in the Isle of Wight is situated at the mouth of the estuaiy 
of the western Yar. See Yarrow. 

YARRA YARRA, a river of Australia, which runs by Md- 
boume, and falls into Port Phillip. The name is Australian, and 
means ** ever-flowing." 

YARROW, CO. Selkirk, Scotland. In the foundation charter 
of Selkirk Abbey, by King David, in the twelfth century, it is called 
Garua, and is afterwards found written Zarof, Yara, and Yharrow, 
It takes its appellation from the river which runs through the parish. 
The River Yarro joins the Douglas in Lancashire ; the Yair 
rivulet falls into the Tweed in Selkirk ; the Yare joins the £x in 
Devon ; Yarmouth in Norfolk, and Yarmouth in the Isle of 
Wight, stand on rivers called the Yar or Yare. The names of 
all these rivers are derived from Anc. Brit, ffarw, signifying 
*' what is rough." Bochart derives the Celt, garw, garaw (Gael. 
garbh, rough, rugged, severe, fierce, terrible, boisterous, turbid ; 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 303 

Com. ffarou, W. garw, rugged, rough, Arm. ffarv rapid) from 
Arab, garaph, which he says has nearly the same meaning, and 
he quotes Giggejus to prove that sail garaph in the Arabic is *'a 
torrent which sweeps all before it." (Conf. Garonne.) Bailey 
derives Yarrow in Durham, memorable as the birth-place of the 
Venerable Bede, from A. S. gyrwa^ a marsh, moor, feu. 

YEN I, YENGI (t/a'ney yang'e), in local names in Turkey, as 
Yeni Kale, in the Crimea ; Yengi Bar or Nour (the ancient 
Nora) on the road between Kaisariyeh and Tarsus, is the Turc. 
yengi new. 

YENI KALE (Jcala) a town in the Crimea, whence the straits 
of the same name ; from Turc. yengi new, kaVeh a fortress. 

YEOVIL (yo'nV), Somerset, called by the Saxons Gevele; 
in Domesday, Givele and Ivle ; named from the River Ivel 
or Yeo, near which it stands. In old maps the name of 
this town is written Yeovill, and that of the river, Evill, See 
Ilchester. 

YORK, called by the ancient Britons, Caer Efroc, by the 
Romans, Eboracum, by the Saxons, Efroc-wyc, Ever-wyc,Efer-wic, 
Eofer-wic, Eofer-wic-ceaster, Eofor-wic, Euer-wic, Euor-wic, and 
Yvor-wyc. Some derive Eboracum from Ebura, in Andalusia, or 
Ebora, now Evora, in Portugal, or from the Eburaci or Ebroici 
a people of Celtic Gaul^ whose chief city was Eboraicum. 
According to others, its British appellation, from which the 
Latin form Eburacutn or Eboracum was derived, was Eburac 
or Eborac, and may have denoted '' a town or fortified place 
on the banks of a river, or near the confluence of waters." There 
is a tradition that about a.c. 983, when Silvius Latinus reigned 
in Italy, Ebraucus, third king from Brute, built a city north of 
the Humber, which, after his own name, he called Kaer-Ebrauc, 
** the city of Ebraucus." Baxter derives Ebvracvm *' from Brit. 
eur or ebr (answering to the Gr. ovgov), whence evraiic watery ; 
Caer-Evrauc, a watery city." Others say York, Hke Eureux 
(Evreux) in Normandy, has its name from the River Eure, on 
which it stands. This is the opinion of Camden ; and Somner 
writes the* name ** J^a-wre-iric, a fortress at or near the water.'* 



304 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

We have no evidence, however, that the Oose was sncientty 
called the £ure at York. There is a tradition that the place was 
built as a retreat from the wild boars in the forest of Gantries ^ 
and if so, both the Latin and Saxon names mvf be denTed 
from the British name, and the latter from Gr. xavpoc a 
wild boar ; thus, kapros, kapr, aper, afer, aferoc, afroc, Efroc. 
Efroc, evroc, ebroc, eboroc, eborac, Eboracum ; Efroc, efroc-wyc, 
ever-wic, evor-wic, evoric, yvoric, yvorick, yorik, York ; or the 
Saxons may have first called York, E/roC'toyc, from the Brit. 
word, and afterwards Ever-wyc, from A. S. ever, eber, e/br 
(from L. aper), a wild boar. 

YPRES (e'pr), a town of Flanders, situated upon a small 
stream called the Tper. The kind of linen called diaper (i.e. 
d^Ypres, from Ypres), was first manufactured here. 

YSSEL (i'set), a river in the Netherlands, whence the places 
named Ysselmond and Ysselsten. Tssel may be a dim. of y*, 
water. See Isca, Lewes, and Thames. 

YSTRAD, in local names in Wales, as Ystrad Yw, Ystnd 
Tywr, &c., is the W. ystrad, a flat, a vale, a bottom or vallej 
formed by the course of a river. 

YSTWITH (isfwith), a river of S. Wales, whence Jberysi- 
wyth, Owen derives the W. yHwyth, springing, from ys and 
twytk, a spring or pliancy, aptness to proceed, celerity. 

YUCATAN, a republic of Central America, situated in the 
Mexican isthmus. Some derive Yucatan, or Jueatan, from 
Joctan, son of Heber, who came from the East and inhabited 
this part of America ! Others say that when the Spaniards first 
arrived here, and inquired of the natives the name of the coon- 
try, the latter, not understanding them, answered "jucaian,'* 
which, in the Indian language, means "What do you say?'' 
and that the Spaniards have ever since called the country 
Jueatan, or Yucatan. 

YVERDUN (ever-dun^, a town of Switzerland, at one end 
of the Lake of Neuchatel; corrupted from its ancient name 
Ebrodunum ; from Celt, y-ber-din " a town near the water." 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 305 



z. 



ZANGUEBAR (zang'gebar), Pers. Zanghdr and Zanjistan; 
Arab. Zanj ; the Agisimba of Ptolemy; a country on the 
eastern coast of Africa. The largest of the islands belonging to 
it is called Zanzibar. The name Zanguebar means " the sea, or 
sea-coast of the Zangis" or negroes {Zangi, and Arab, bahr the 
sea) . It was named either by the Persians or the Arabs. The Pers. 
zangi is an Egyptian, Ethiopian, a moor, a negro, vulgb a savage ; 
zangy among other meanings, signifies the rays of the sun, the 
light of the moon, clear water, hot, burning, Egypt, Ethiopia ; 
the Arab, zanj or zinj, the Ethiopians. Zangbar is also the 
name of a fabulous island in India. See also Texeira, de Regib. 
Pers. lib. i. c. 6 ; and Bochart, G6og. Sacr. 

ZANTE, one of the Ionian Islands, the anc. Zaeynihus, 
from which the name has been corrupted ; thus, Zaxvyiot, 
zacynthus, zacynth, zacynt, zaynt, zant, Zante. Bochart, quoting 
Texeira, says this isle is entirely surrounded with high moun- 
tains, the loftiest of which is Monte Elato, and be derives 
Zacynthus from Heb. zachuthy sublimity, height, from zuachy 
to be raised. 

ZEAL, ZELL, ZILLER (zeel, tzel, tziller) ; Zell is not 
an uncommon local name in some parts of Germany, Tyrol, &c. ; 
as Zell in Hanover, Zell-am-See, in the Pinzgau, so called to dis- 
tinguish it from Zell in the Ziller Thai in Tyrol. Places named 
Zeal and Zell were originally cells, shrines, or chapels, from L. 
cella, as Zeal Monachorum, ''the monks' cell," a place in Devon. 
The Ziller TTial either takes its name from the stream which 
runs through it, or from Zell, the chief place in the valley ; thus, 
Zell, Zeller, Ziller. 

ZEALAND, an island forming part of Denmark. Some derive 
Zealand frt>m Dan. sd sea, land id., but the name is properly 
SJ€elland, from 8;al, soul, spirit. 

X 



306 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

ZEEKOE, a river of Africa ; " the sea-cow river.'* (D.) 
ZEITUN (zytun)^ a town of Greece, near the Turkish frontier, 
may have been famed for its olives ; and if so, the name may be 

derived from Arab. ^ Jj } eaitiin an olive. Some derive the 

Arab, word from Tsze thung, now Tseun ehow/oo, a celebrated port 
of southern China, formerly visited by the Arabs and other 
Mussulmen (See Klaproth) ; but this latter derivation can only 
be upheld on the hypothesis that the Arabs first brought their 
olives from this port. 

ZOUT, a river of Africa ; " the salt river." (D.) 

ZUG (tzoog)y capital of the Swiss canton to which, as well as 
to the lake (Ziiger Zee), it gives its name. Zug is a corruption of 
Ttigiumt its former appellation, which it received from the TV^^iit, 
a people who anciently inhabited this and the neighbouring 
territory. Strabo, in his description of Helvetia, speaks of the 
Tugeni, who joined the Cimbri in their expedition against Italy. 

ZURICH (tsu'rik), found written Turig and Turr^ ; a canton 
and city of Switzerland. The city is said to have been destroyed 
by Attila, and rebuilt by Thuricus (son of Theodoric), and named 
after him Thuricum, whence by corruption its present name. 

ZUTPUEN (tsoot/en), found written Zutfania ; m the middle 
ages, Sudven ; a town of Gelderland, in the Netherlands ; from 
D. veenen fens, zud south ; *' the southern fens." 

ZUYDER ZEE (zTder se, D. zoy'der ea\ an inland sea 
between Holland and Friesland, so called in contradistinction to 
the North Sea, although in fact it is merely a wide bay of that 
sea ; from D. zuider southern, from zuid south, zee sea. 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 307 



^lilittfons anil (iDomctions. 

ADDER, ADUR. The Adder, a river in Wilts ; the White 
Adder and Black Adder, co. Berwick ; the Adur in Sussex and in 
Ireland. Chalmers derives these names from Brit, aweddur, 
** running water." Conf. Adderbourn and Adur, p. 3. 

ADIGE (ati-eejeh), a river of Tyrol and Italy, G. Etach ; cor- 
rupted from its L. name Athens, from Celt. Yt-ese, ** the water." 
Conf. Tees (Low L. Athena, Teetia, and Teeaa ; called by 
Ptolemy Tufcrcra), a river co. Durham, from same root. See 
IscA, Thames. 

AFGHANISTAN is said to take its name from Malik Afghdna, 
son of Armiah, to whom the mountain tract of K&seghar and the 
district of Rudah were assigned in feudal tenure by Sdliman, son 
of Dtoud. The name Afgh&na is derived from the Vers. Jighdn, 
complaint, lamentation, because this king was a cause of lamen- 
tation to the devils, jins, and mankind. It is asserted that he 
fixed his residence at a place named PiSsh or Pdsh, in the moun- 
tains, and that from this place the people have derived the name 
of Pushtdn, and their language that of Pushto, their original lan- 
guage being called Ibrahdmi, i.e. Hebrew. See As. Soc. Beng. 
Jour. vol. xxiii. 550, 1854. Conf. p. 3. 

AIX (ace), name of several places in France ; Aix, in Savoy ; 
Aix-la-Chapelle, G. Aachen, in Prussia. Aix and Aachen are cor- 
ruptions of L. aqtue, waters, and these places were named from 
their hot or cold springs. One Aix in France was founded by the 
Roman general Sextus, who named it Aqua Sexti€e. Aix-la- 
Chapelle was called by the Latins, Aquisgranum, from aqvue, and 
Serenus Chanua, by whom it was founded under the Emperor 
Adrian, about a.d. 124. 

ALBANIA, a province of European Turkey, for Alania, said 
to be from a German race called the Alaina. 

ALDBURY {awlbury), Herts, from A. S. eald-burh, "old 
burgh or town." 

X 2 



308 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

AMOY, China; in Mandarin dialect, Hea mun, pronounced by 
the natives ha-moy, Hea is the name of a dynasty. 

ARABIA. The Rev. Alfred Jones says '' Ar&bhy Apafiia^ 
desert or sterile, so called from its sterility, from the root ardbh^ 
to exchange articles of traffic, to set as the sun ; Arab, gkaraha^ 
to depart far away, to wander, i. q. Hardbh.'' Mr. Geo. R. 
Gliddon (Otia .^Igyp.) translates the name Arabs (whence Bar- 
bary), "men of the west," and Berber, "sons of the west," 
from pi the, ereb west, bar son. Conf. p. 13. 

ARARAT. The Rev. Alfred Jones says " Dn'nM arardt, * a moun- 
tain of descent,' which Josephus says the natives called it. The 
Armenians call it ' the place of descent ; ' hence it is considered a 
compound of Ar-arat, and in Heb. should be written Har-yaradh, 
The Samaritan Pentateuch has Hararat. By this mode it would 
be from 'nn a mountain, and T)> to descend. That this is the true 
signification appears also from Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian 
historian, who affirms that the city at the foot of this mountain 
is called Idaheuan, but at the place itself, Nachidsheuan, which 
signifies ' the first place of descent.' ** Conf. p. 1 4. 

ARRAS (Fr. pron. arrah), according to some, was anciently 
inhabited by the Atrebates, whose name became corrupted to 
Adertes or Adratas, whence the place was called Pagua Aderiiiua, 
and, by further corruption. Arras ; whence also Artois. Conf. 
p. 16. 

BARBARY. See Arabia, suprh, and Barbary, p. 27. 

BESSARABIA, a province of Russia. The last settlers were 
the Comans, afterwards known as the Bessarabeni, from their 
ruler Bessarab. They appear for the first time under this new 
term in a public act of 1259, quoted by the anonymous arch- 
deacon of Ghesne, who wrote his chronicle about a.d. 1395. See 
Malte-Brun, vol. vi. 380, Edinb. 1827; Sommersberg, Scrip. 
Rer. Siles. i. 82, ii. 73, 92. 

BLACKHEATH, Kent ; " of the colour of the earth ; or 
bUecheath, of the high and cold situation, for bleake signifieth 
cold also." (Lambarde.) 

BORYSTHE'NES, in anc. geog. a river of European Sarmatia, 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 309 

now the Dnieper. The name is said to signify " a rampart formed 
by a forest of pines ;" from Slav, bar a pine, a pine forest, stena 
a wall. Its banks are covered with forests of pines. Mela 
represents it as flowing through a eonstry of the same name, 
and as the most pleasant river of Sc^rthia, more gentle in its 
course than any other* and affording water more agreeable to 
drink. 

BOYNE, from Gael, bui-an, the yellow river. Conf. p. 42. 
BRENT A., Fr. Brente, L. Brentesia, a river which falls into 
the lagunes near Venice ; Brent, a river of Middlesex, which falls 
into the Thames at Brentford. From Celt, par-gweni ; from par 
or var^ water, gwent fair or open country ; thus par-gwent, par- 
went, prent. Brent, Brenta. 

BROMLEY, BROMPTON, names of several places in England, 
from A. S. brom'leag, a field or pasture of broom ; brom'tun a 
broom enclosure or town. 

BUCHAREST or BUCHOREST (boo^areat), more correctly 
Bukareaht, capital of Wallachia; "city of enjoyment." (P. Cye,) 
BURTON-UPON-TRENT, co. Stafford, so named to distin- 
guish it from sixty other Burtons. (See Index ViUaris.) In the 
Saxon annals it is written Byreton, synon. with Bureton or 
BuryUm^ words used by the Saxons to denote places of Roman 
or British origin ; hence we may conclude that in this neighbour- 
hood, a Burg, a capital mansion or manor-house, was the 
residence of some eminent personage before the Saxons visited 
our island. (See Hist. Staff,) Spelman derives beria vel buria 
(curia, civitas, bui^s, habitatio, manerium), from Sax. byr, bur, 
€rr. pipEiov, casa, habitatio. See also Somner, Sax. Die. 

CANDIA, chief city of the island of Candi, anciently called 
Crete. Candid or Khandia is said to be the Venetian form of 
Khandaxt *' great fortress," applied to the city by its Saracen 
founders. The name has been commonly extended, in Europe, 
to the island itself^ which, however, is never called Candia by the 
natives. 

CARLOW, Ireland, pron. by the Irish, cairUmgh ; from Gael. 
cathair-lougk, *' the fortress or town on the lake." 



310 LOCAL BTTMOLOOT. 

CARTHAGE. Bochart says it was called m Phocn. CartJkada, 
*' new city ; " and by the Chaldeans and Syrians, Karthorkadath 
or — hadtha. This derivation seems the most reasonable^ 
especially when compared with that of Utica, which signified 
** the ancient" See SoUn. ; Steph. ; and EuMtai. Conf. p. 62. 

CATA'NLA, formerly Catana, an ancient city and seaport of 
Sicily, on a gulf of the same name, at the foot of Moont Etna. 
Bochart derives the name from Phoen. Mtop kaiana, '* little," it 
having been only a small town before it was colonised bj the 
Naxii. He derives the name of the neighbouring river 
Asines or Acesines, from Phoen. kassin, ** river of cold." He 
says its waters being remarkably cold, it was called by the 
Arabs Wadi albarid, ** cold river," and by the modem natives 
Fiume freddo, 

CEUTA (fu'ta), a seaport of Morocco, in the possesion of 
Spain, stands on the site of the Roman town of Sepia, which 
received its name from a neighbouring mountain with seven 
summits, which the ancients called Jd Septem Fraires. 

CHINE. Any considerable chasm in the Isle of Wight is 
provincially so called. The term is analogous to the backbone of 
an animal, and is peculiarly expressive of a high ridge of land 
deft abruptly down. Several parts of the southern coast of the 
Isle are so called, and correspond with this description. At 
filackgang Chine every part is without a particle of vegetation, 
and the cloven sand-rocks are nearly, black. The Sax. ffomff 
signifies any opening or way in a cliff to the sea-shore. See Sir 
R. Worsley's Isle of Wight, and Bridden's Guide.) Chine may 
be from A. S. etna, cinnu, a fissure, cinan, to gape, from Gr. ^ouvw. 

CHURN, a river in Wilts ; Cerne, a river in Dorset. Chalmers 
says chum or chuirn is merely the oblique case of Brit, cam, 
which he translates '* a stony or rough stream." Conf. p. 68. 

COLNE, name of several rivers of England ; from Celt, cul-an, 
*' the narrow or confined river." Chalmers gives the Colue in 
Wilts, the Cahier in Lanarkshire, the Callen in Kilkenny, the 
Culany in Sligo, the Culan water in Banffshire ; he says the Gael. 
coalan means ** the small water,'* hence a small lake in Argyle is 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 311 

named Caolan ; and that the Brit, call-an means *' the water that 
is apt to run out of its channel." Conf. p. 73. 

CRETE, in anc. geog. an island in the Grecian Archipelago, 
and now called hj Europeans Candi or Candia. Bochart says 
Palestine, or at least part of its littoral, was called hj the Syrians, 
Creth; that the chief arms of the Philistines were bows and 
arrows ; that the Phoenicians called a Philistine archer, ^niD crethi 
or creti, and that those Greeks, who excelled in the art of the 
bow, were called Crethi or Creti ; and that the Chaldee interpre- 
tation always has crethi for sagittarii^ i.e. archers. Robinson 
{Gesen,) says Cherethite is a Grentile name, i. q. Philistine ; that 
the Sept. and Syr. render it " Cretans," from which and other 
passages in Am. is. 7, Jer. xlvii. 4, and Deut. ii. 33, the 
conjecture would be strong that the Philistines sprang from 
Crete, were it certain that Capthor signified the island of Crete. 
See also Pliny, Plato, Virg,, Solin., and Lucan, libb. iii. vii. 

DAMASCUS. Gesenius (Robinson) says "from Heb. and 
Arab, dimeahk, activity, alertness, perhaps in reference to traffic 
(Arab, damahaka, to be quick, hasty, active ; damshak, dimashk, 
quick, active, alert)." Conf. p. 81. 

DEAL, Kent, memorable as the place where Julius Caesar 
first landed, and fought the Britons. *' Ceesar ad Dole helium 
pugnavit " (Nennius) ; from anc. Brit, dol, a dale or low place. 

DORKING, found written Darking and Darkinge, Surrey. 
This town was anciently called Dorchinges, a name said to be 
derived from its situation in a valley abounding with springs of 
water. Dorchinges is probably a corruption of Dur'vicingas, 
i.e. the water-dwellers, or, as others say, " those who dwell near 
springs of water;" from Celt, dwr water, A. S. wician to dwell. 
Conf. Dorsetshire. 

DUMBLANE, according to some, derives its name from St. 
Blane, a Culdee, and dun a hill, i.e. Holme Hill, which overlooks 
the cathedral. Conf. p. 91. 

EVESHAM. ** Efesham, Eofesham, Euesham, Evisham ;" 
efes a brim, ham a dwelling ; " residence on the bank of a river." 
(Bosworth.) Conf. p. 102. 



312 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

EWELL, CO* Surrey* found written Etwelle and Awell ; in 
Domesday Etwel ; i.e. '' at the tpring," in allnaion, possiblj, to 
its sitnation at the head of a small stream which nins to Kingston. 
There is also Ewell» near Dover. 

FINLAND. Both Ihre and Wachter, on the anthoritj of 
Stiemhielm* derive this name firomy^ (Ice. id. A. ^.fen^/lam, 
D. veen)t a marsh, marshy land. Finland, in the eastern and 
central parts, is intersected by lakes, rivers, and swamps, and the 
natives call themselves Suomilins, and their country, Sooima, from 
900 a marsh, ma earth. Conf. p. 104. 

GOD'ALMING, co. Surrey, situated on the Wey. Aobrey 
thinks it was called Groda's Aiming, from having been bestowed 
in alms to a neighbouring monastery by Goda (Godiva), Countess 
of Mercia ; but it is asserted that this lordship was never in the 
possession of any religious body till given by Henry II. to the 
church of Salisbury. Manning, with more probability, derives 
the name from its Saxon proprietor, Godhelm, and from its 
situation at the extremity of an ing or meadow. Godelwnn^, 
moreover, is applied to it in Domesday and several ancient doca* 
ments. (See Mantell ; also Lewis, Topog.) The neighbouring 
hundred of (jodley was anciently called Grodlei, i.e. God's ley or 
land, the greater part of the district having been church land 
belonging to the abbey of Chertsey. 

GUILDFORD (jfUford), co. Surrey, found written Geldeford, 
Gregildford, Guldeford, Guldford, and Gildeford ; generally derived 
from A. S. gUd, in reference to a guild or trading fraternity, which 
established themselves here, and/orcf, the town being situated on 
the banks of the Wey, which flows in a narrow channel along the 
rifl in the chalk -hills. Camden thinks it may have originally been 
Goldenford, "golden ford;" Mantell infers some Brit, word 
prefixed to the Sax. fordy and expressing " the ford at the end 
of the back or ridge, " i.e. the well-known ridge of hills called 
the Hogsback. If the first syllable is of Celtic origin, it may be 
derived from the same root as Wallingford, and imply '* the ford 
of the Gaidheal or Gael." 

HEIDELBERG {hydlbairg)^ on the Neckar, Germany; 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 313 

found written Haidelberg and Heydelberg. Some derive the 
name from Teut. heyden'berg^ " hOl of the pagans ;" others from 
heydeU myrtle, which still grows in great abundance upon the 
Geisberg, and at the back of the chateau. 

HEILBRONN (At/tf'— ), found written Hailbronn, was named 
from its medicinal springs ; from O. 6. hailen {heilen)^ to heal, 
bronn {brunnen)^ a well, fountain. The fable goes, that a noble 
hunter missed his way, and being quite exhausted, suddenly came 
upon a most delightful spring, which so refreshed him, that he 
afterwards caused a shooting-box to be built on the spot. This is 
said to have formed the nucleus of the town, and an old-fashioned 
house is still shown as the " hunter's lodge." 

HOBOKEN, New Jersey, U. S. Here was held the council 
between the whites and the natives, when they smoked " the 
pipe of peace" together. Hoboken means lit. ** smoke-pipe." 

HODDESDON (hodsdun), co. Herts, found written Hodes- 
done and Odesdone ; the supposed residence of Hodo or Oddo, a 
Danish chief; or the site of a tumulus raised to his memory ; 
from Oddo, and A. S. dun, a hill. 

HON'ITON, CO. Devon, in ■ Domesday Honetone, Hunitone, 
and found written Honyton, Hunniton, and Hunnington. One 
writer translates it "honey-town," which is absurd. Camden 
thinks it may be from Brit, cum y tun, ** oppidum caninee aquae," 
from cion dogs, y water; but it is most probably from Brit. 
onnen y din, *' town of ash-trees." See also Baxter, Gloss, in 
voce Hunnium. In Devon, we have also Honeychurch, formerly 
Honichurch and Honecherche ; also Honeland. 

LAPLAND ; " the land or country of the LappsJ' The 
name of the Lapps is said to denote their attachment to sorcery, 
lapp in their language signifying a wizard. 

LEATHERHEAD, co. Surrey, more correctly Letherhed, 
was, in the time of King Alfred, called Leodride. In Domesday, 
the church of Leret is mentioned in connexion with the king's 
manor of Ewell, and the name of the place is found written 
Lerred, Ledred, Ledrede, Leddered, and Ledered. Mantell 
says this ancient p lace, which is pleasantly situated on a sin. 



314 LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 

gularly declivitous bank of the Mole* was so called by the 
aborigines of this island, from that circumstance, and that the 
Anc. Brit, has many words to signify such a sloping situation ; 
as lleddf, Uethr, llethrod, Uethredd, &c. See also Gent. Mag. 
May and April, 1844. 

LEITH (leeth), co. Edinburgh, formerly Inver-Leith, named 
from its situation at the mouth (inver) of the Leith. There ia 
the River Leith in Westmoreland ; the Laith, now called Dyfr, in 
Merioneth ; the Leithan, in Peebles. Chalmers says these streams 
swell suddenly into a flood; and he derives their names from 
Brit, llith, a flood. He says leith-an is a dim. of //t'M, and lai- 
dur is **a muddy or discoloured water," or " the lesser water." 

LIFFEY, a river passing through Dublin ; the Liffsr, another 
river in Ireland ; the Liver in Cornwall and Argyle. From Brit. 
lifoT lliv, a flood or inundation. Chalmers says lliv-er means 
the " floody river." 

MAIN, G. Jfftit, a river of Germany, on which Frankfort ia 
situated ; from Gael, meadh-an (pron. mean), the middle river. 
The rivers Mayne in Antrim, South Munster, and Stafford ; the 
Main in Wigton ; the Mean in Dumfries ; the Lower Mein, 
Bother Mein, and Weisser Mein in Germany ; aud Mayenne ia 
the name of a river and Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, of depart- 
ments in France. All these names may be from the same root, 
or from Brit, mai-an, which Chalmers translates *' the agitated 
or troubled water." 

MALMESBUBY {mahtM—), co. Wilts ; found written MaU 
dulfes-burh, Maldmes-burh, Meadelmes burh, Maldelmesburh, 
Maldesmesburh, Malmesbires. It was first called Maldulfes-burh, 
or Maldmes-burh, *' Maildulph's city," from the name of its 
founder ; then Aldelmesburh, ** Aldhelm's city," from Aldhelm, 
one of Maidulph's chief disciples. From both names was formed 
Meald-elmes-burh, Malmesbury. (Bosworth.) 

NEVERS, NIEVRE. Ni^vre may be from Celt, never, " the 
gentle stream," or na-var, " the water." The Never or Nevem 
falls into the sea in Pembrokeshire ; the Navcr or Navcrn runs 



LOCAL ETYMOLOGY. 315 

from Loch Naver through Strath-Naver, into the sea in Suther- 
land. Conf. p. 189. 

O'DER, L. Viadrusy Fiadua, Slav. Jdera, G. Ader, a river 
of Germany. Some derive the name from G. ader, an artery, 
vein. But see Weser, p. 294. 

PARIS. The Parisii may derive their name from Celt parys, 
** men who live near water," from par water, gwt/9 (in compos, ys) 
men. Conf. p. 202, and voc. Dorset and Treviso. 

PERU, an extensive kingdom of S. America. Some derive this 
name from the river Beru, first discovered by Pizarro ; or from a 
promontory called Pelu, According to others, it was formerly 
called Biru, from the name of a cacique or prince of one of its 
states on the coast of the Pacific. 

QUIMPER. For " cynmer;' read " cynmerr Conf. p. 218. 

RAYSE {rayz), in local names in England, means " a heap of 
stones ;*' as Stan-rayse ; Dunmal-rayse, in Cumberland. 

RIG, RIGG, oflen found in local names in the Northern coun- 
ties, as Whitrigg, Cumberland ; Rigmaiden, Rayrigg, West- 
moreland ; Rigby, Lancashire ; Brownrigg, Grayrigg, means a 
ridge ; from A. S. rig^ rieg^ hrie, hriegt (Sw. tyggs Dan. ryg, D. 
rugt G. rUcken, Ice. hriggur. Low L. riga, reuga, reugia), a 
ridge, the back. 

RINGWOOD, Hants (in L. Regni Sylva)^ formerly Regen- 
wood, and anciently the metropolis of the Regni, lit. " the wood 
or forest of the Regni,*' whither they fled for protection. 

SAONE (sone), a river of France ; fix>m GaeL sogh^an, ** the 
placid river." 

STROUD (strowd), or STROUDWATER, co. Gloucester, 
on a river of the same name ; Strood, formerly Stroud, Kent ; 
from root oi Ister and Stour, pp. 141, 258. 



•J. 



r 

t 



f 

I 



w- 



4( 



INDEX OF GROUPED NAMES. 



FOR 

Aachen 

Abdie 

Aberavon 

Aberayron 

Aberbroath 

Aberbrothwick 

Aberconwy 

Aberdale ' 

Abergele 

Abertawy 

Abton 

Abury Hatch 

Acesines 

Achaltic 

Acham 

Acharnellan 

Achenboni 

Achepan 

Achinver 

Achirgam 

Achnacrieve 

Achnagillin 

Achoan 

Adstock 

Adur 

iEg^ean 

Ak Serai 

Alchurch 

Alcomb 

Alderahott 

Alexandretta 

Almelo 

Alveton 

Amarapura 

Amtrun 



SBB 

Aix, p. 307. 
Tay. 
Avon. 
Aber. 

Arbroath. 

Conway. 

Aber. 

Aber & Swansea. 

Ab. 

Hatch. 

Catania, p. 310. 

Ach. 



Stoke. 

Adder, p. 307. 

Archipelago. 

Sarai. 

Alton. 

Comb. 

Shot. 

Scanderoon. 

Loo. 

Alton. 

Ava. 

Dun. 



FOR 

An-Tron 
Apple-tree- 

tnwaite 
Aray 
Arden 

Arghana Maden 
Am 

Ascanderoon 
Asines 
Astapa 
Astige 
Astooeza 
Ahtura 
Asturica 
Attenrode 
Augustabriga 
Ayr 

Axholm Carr 
Axley 

Baden Baden 

Bafi^hot 

Bala Khanen 

Ballapore 

Ballinahinch 

Ballintra 

Ballymony 

Ballymore 

Balquhonvie 

Balflcote 

Balsillie 

Bamfleet 



8EB 

Turnberry Head. 

Thwaite. 

Inverary. 

Ardennes. 

Maden. 

Em. 

Scanderoon. 

Catania, p. 310. 

Asto. 



Rode. 

Briga. 

Ayrshire. 

Carr. 

Isca. 

Baden. 

Shot. 

Bala k Hissar. 

Dodaballa. 

Bally. 



Leslie. 

Cote. 

Leslie. 

Beamfleet. 
BarrowfordBooth Booth. 
Barstow Stow. 

Basfordwong Wong. 



318 



INDEX OF GROUPED NAMES. 



FOR SEE 

Basingstoke Stoke. 

Batavodurum Dur. 

Beaminster Minster. 

Bedlow 'Low. 

Bedminster Minster. 

Bedworth Worth. 

Beerselim Beer. 

Beersheba 

Beindeirg 

Beloochistan 

Bencleughs 

Benmore 

Benvenue 

Bere Re^s 

Berwick Law 

Bethaven 

Bethsdida 

Bethseda 

Bettws Gannon Bettws. 
Betawe Batavia. 



Ben Lomond. 

Stan. 

Ben Lomond. 



Regis. 

Law. 

Beth. 



Bevaz Su 

BiJdenden 

Biggantor 

Binardri 

Birdslip 

Birdtwistle 

Bishop Clist 



Su. 

Den. 

Vean. 

Leslie. 

Lip. 

Twistle. 

Clist. 



Bishop's Stoke Stoke. 
Bishop'sTawton Tavistock 
Blackgrang Chine Chine. 



Blandford 

Bletchinglej 

Bletchley 

Blinkinsop 

Bloxwortn 

Bodmyn 

Boiodurom 

Borkulo 

Botley 

Boscomb 

Bosworth 

Bouauetot 

Bradford 

Bradwardine 



Ford. 
Ley. 

Sop. 

Worth. 

Bodmin. 

Dur. 

Loo. 

Ley. 

Comb. 

Worth. 

Tot. 



Bradpole. 
_ Waraine. 

BraighRaineach Breadalbane. 
Brandreth Reth. 

Branogenium Worcester. 



Branonium 

Brent 

Brestot 

Briggantor 

Brighton 

Brightor 



Brenta, p. 309. 

Tot. 

Vean. 



fOR 

Britergh 

Brompton 

Brownri^ 

Broadstairs 

Broughty 

Broton 

Bryn-Arw 

Buda 

Bullsnape 

Burgclere 

Bumham 

Burstal 

Byzapoor 

Caer Wrangon 

CaiUetot 

Calatrava 

Callen 

Calmende 

Calner 

Calshott 

Chamurla Su 

Chandemagore 

Charlottenlund 

Charminster 

Cheapside 

Chepstow 

Chika Ballapore 

Chilcomb 

Chilling^orth 

Chiltem 

Chilworth 

Chiswardine 

Choruk Su 

Chowbent 

Christianslund 

Christiaiiso 

Chunargurh 

Chutterpore 

Citlaltepetl 

Clenston 

Cleuch 

Cleugh 

Cleves 

Clontarf 

Closterworth 

Clough Pike 

Colne Maskerel 

Colne Quincey 

Colun Saer 

Comarden 

Comberbatch 

Combhill 



Argh. 

Bromley, p. 309. 

Rig, p. 315. 

Ramsgate. 

Tay. 

Tun. 

A.rro. 

Ofen. 

Snape. 

Clere. 

Ham. 

Borstal. 

Poor. 

Worcester. 

Tot, 

Galahorra. 

Colne» p. 31Q. 

Lusitania. 

Colne, p. 310. 

Shot. 

Su. 

Nagore. 

Lund. 

Minster. 

Chipping*. 

Dodabollm. 

Comb. 

Worth. 

Em. 

Worth. 

Wardine. 

Su. 

Bent. 

Lund. 

0. 

Gurh. 

Poor. 

Tepetl. 

Tun. 

Clough. 



Cley eland. 
Clon. 
Worth. 
Pike. 
Wake's Colne. 



Ardennes. 

Batch. 

Comb. 



INPEX OF GROUPED NAMES. 



319 



FOR 

Constable-le- 

Booth 
Coptus 
Cornberrie 
Comerwong 
Cornouailles 
Cornthwaite 
Cotsmore 
Cottington 
Counterslip 
Cow Pill 
Craiginish 
Craize Lownd 



SBB 

Booth. 

Kgypt 

Beria. 

Wong. 

Cornwall. 

Thwaite. 

Cote. 



Lip. 
Pill. 



Innis. 
Lawnd. 
Crawshaw Booth Booth. 



Crestot 

Crewkeme 

Cnisca 

Culan 

Culany 

Cynwyd 

Daghistan 

Darwith 

Debreczin 

Dobra 

Dobre 

Dobraschka 

Dobrawitz 

Dort 

Dovre Field 

Dowbiggiu 

Drave 

Dulwich 

Dumbar 

Dunlop 

Dunmal-Rayse 

Duntroon Point 

Durocortorum 

Dwina 

EarPs Colne 

East Ham 

East Lo 

Eastlow 

Eastonness 

Eboracom 

Eckelo 

Edwy 

Efymwy 

Elwy 

Ems 

Emsworth 

Engaine Colne 



Tot. 
Era. 

Florence. 
Colne, p. 310. 



Rhaidr. 

Stan. 

With. 

Dobrutscha. 



Dordrecht. 

Field. 

Biggin. 

Travemunde. 

Wich. 

Dunbar. 

Lop. 

Rayse. 

Turaberry Head. 

Dur. 

Duna. 

Colnes. 

Ham. 

Loe. 

Low. 

Ness. 

York. 

Loo. 

Gwy. 



Emden. 

Worth. 

Colnes. 



FOR 

Epsworth 


8BE 

Worth. 


Erin 


Ireland. 


Erith 


London. 


Ermelo 


Loo. 


Ermine Street 


Hermann. 


Escalona 


Toledo. 


EuBcalerria 


Basque. 
York. 


Evreux 


Fairsnape 


Snape. 


Faristan 


Stan. 


Feldhung 
Fille Field 


Ing. 


Field. 


Flagpool 


Pool. 


Flaviobriga 


Briga. 


Flegff 
Foot's Cray 


Runham. 


Cray. 


Foulness 


Ness. 


Fox Hatch 


Hatch. 


Fraisinish 


Innis. 


Franquetot 


Tot. 


Frederickslund 


Lund. 


Frisergh 


Argh. 


Frydenlund 


Lund. 


Futihgurh 


Gurh. 


Gains Colne 


Colnes. 


Grarmsir 


Persia. 


Garstang 


Stang. 


Gau 


Yintschgau. 


Gaur 


Lucknow. 


Gawilg^rgh 


Gurh. 


Ghazipoor 


Poor. 


Ghieuzel Hissar Hissar. 


Gillingham 


Ham. 


Godley 


Godalmingy p 




312. 


Godmanston 


Tun. 


Gosport 
Gothland 


Port. 


Oude. 


Grastot 


Tot. 


Grayrigg 


Rig, p. 315. 


Grays 


Thurrock. 


Greenan 


Baalbec. 


Greenhithe 


Hithe. 


Grimsargh 


Argh. 


Grimston 


Tun. 


Gripsholm 


Holm. 


Groenlo 


Loo. 


Guadalbacar 


Guadalquivir. 



Guadalcazar 
Guadalhorra 
Guadaljara 



IMDBX OF GROUPED NAMES. 



Uuadalquiton 
Guadorroma 
Gur^sbiD 
Gwent 


Stan. 
Wincbeater 


Hammoon 
Hanley 


Ham. 
Lej. 


Harford 
Harcneu 


Fiord. 

a- 

Hartlepool. 



Hsnii 

Husan Kaleh 
Haxey Carr 
Haieihum 
Helnulev 
Helsingborg 

Helungur 

Uetertot 

Hetloo 

Helvetia 

Hey Booth 

Highclere 

Hindlip 

HUpalia 

Hispania 

Ho Deo Staufen 

HobenJindeii 

Hohen-werl'su 

Hobenzollt-rD 

Holdeworthy 

Holroyd 

Holzung 

Uoniton Clist 

Horcop 

Homeea 

Horse PiU 

Hotot 

How Hatch 

Hun troy d 

Hiitnng 

Hythe 

Ikolmkill 

Word 

Hfracombe 



Hum. 

Ley. 

£luuore tc Hels- 

Jngfora. 

Tot. 

Loo. 

Switaerlond. 

Booth. 

Clere. 

Seville. 



Injeh Su 
Ingri 



Spain. 
Hoo. 



Worthy. 

Royd. 

lag. 

Clut. 
Cop. 

HoTKT. 

PiU. 

Tot. 

Hatch. 

Boyd. 

Inif. 

Hithe. 

Colmkitl. 

Ford. 

Comb. 

WillT & Alsace. 

Su. * 

Weser. 
Thames. 



Iitacdhnatl 

Jbnkopiiig^ 
Joudpore 
Jnanpoor 
JulioDrigft 

EarsHiMar 

KarthauB 
Kattegat 
Keban Had en 
Kelliwey 
Kebey 

Eelvedon Hatch 
Kenek 
Kettering 



Teped. 
ToTedo. 
ChipfMn^. 
Onde&Poa 



Kidderminster 

Kidsnape 

Kilflnan 

Kilkeany 

Kilkerran 

Killaloe 

Killamey 

Killfrorick 

Kiiligrew 

KUIoch 

Killyoke 

Killyverth 

Kilmadock 

Kilmarnock 

Kilmarh 

Kilmarth 

Kilmore 

Kiinsea 

Kitpatrick 

Kil«ey 

Kincantfaie 

Kingsclere 

Kirby 

Kisit6r 

Kis Komdrom 

Kishengbur 

Kistvaen 
Kitzingen 
Kiz Hissar 
Kjzil Irmak 



Charterhoaae 
Scaeerrack. 

Spumbesd. 

m. 

Hatch. 

Caer. 

Ing. 

Stan. 

Hineter. 

Snape. 

Kill. 



Koylf 
Kuauyu B&gb 



Tay. 
Gere. 
KendaL 

Sop. 
Hagy- 
Gurh. 
Ing. 

Chipping. 



INDBX OF GROUPED NAMES. 



321 



FOR 

Lac Leman 

Lacobriga 

Lactodurum 

Laith 

Lambriggan 

Langetot 

Langport 

Langwith 

Laristan 

Laund Booth 

Lay 

Lea 

Lee 

Leighton 

Leithan 

LepfK) 

Levant 

Libanus 

Lidkoping 

Liffar 

Lilla Edet 

Lillehammer 

Lillesand 

Lillo 

Linkoping 

Litherland 

Liver 

Llechvaen 

Llugwy 

Loch-Naver 

Loire 

Longford 

Lotharingen 

Lulea 

Lulworth 

Lundigt 

Lutetia 

Maas 

Maes 

Mahanuddy 

Main 

Maine et Loire 

Malmkoping 

Mansergn 

Mnppledurwell 

Maqueda 

Market Jew 

Maro 

Mary Tavy 

Mawddwy 

Mavence 



SEE 

Loch Lomond. 

Briga. 

Dur. 

Leith, p. 314. 

Vean. 

Tot. 

Port. 

With. 

Stan. 

Booth. 




Leith, p. 314. 

0. 

Anatolia. 

Lebanon. 

Chipping. 

Liffey, p. 314. 

Lilla. 



Loo. 

Chipping. 

Liverpool. 

Liffey, p. 314. 

Lech. 

Gwy. 

Never?, p. 314. 

Liguria. 

Ford. 

Pitea. 
Worth. 
Land. 
Paris. 



Ma 



a^deburg 
Meuse. 



and 



Maha. 
Maine. 



Chipping. 

Argh. 

Mapledurham. 

Toledo. 

Marazion. 

Rome. 

Tavistock. 

Gwy. 

Magdeburg. 



FOB 

Mavenne 

Mayne 

Mean 

Mein 

Melcombe Regis 

Meldreth 

Melun 

Memmingen 

Merdon 

Mereton 

Micklethwaite 

Midhurst 

Milford 

Minorca 

Mintem 

Mixberrie 

Moghulistan 

Moldcop 

Morinish 

Morton 

Morton Carr 

Mosby 

Moston's Leame 

Mount Ottery 

Murgatroyd 

Mulcapoor 

Mynewy 

Nagpoor 

Nailsworth 

Nan-ling 

Nape 

Naucampateptl 

Naver 

Navem 

Nellore 

Nertobriga 

Neth 

Never 

Nevem 

New Laund 

Booth 
New Learae 
Newbiggin 
Nid 
Ni^vre 
Nith 
Noa Dihing 



SEE 

Maine. 



Regis. 

Reth. 

Dun. 

Ing. 

Merton. 



Thwaite. 

Hurst. 

Ford. 

Balearic. 

Em. 

Beria. 

Stan. 

Cop. 

Innis. 

Merton. 

Carr. 

By. 

Leammg^n. 

Otterford. 

Royd. 

Poor. 

Gwy. 

Poor. 

Worth. 

Ling. 

Snape. 

Tepetl. 

Nevers, p. 314. 

Ore. 
Briga. 
Neath. 
Nevers, p. 314. 



Norrkopin[^ 
North Cray 
North Taw ton 
Northall 
Northcote 



Booth. 

Leamington. 

Biggin. 

Neath. 

Nevers, p. 314. 

Neath. 

Buri. 

Chipping. 

Cray. 

Tavistock. 

Northaw. 

Cote. 



322 



INDBX OF GROUPBD NAMK8. 



FOB 

.Northfleet 

Xorthlech 

>'ortbolt 

Norton 

Noves 

Novgorod 

NoyoD 

Ocellum 

Odiham 

Odstock 

Okenhead Booth 

Oldbury PUl 

Oporto 

Orebro 

Oresand 

Orfordness 

Ormerod 

Ormeroyd 

Osterdal 
Osterode 
0{«tra Aros 
Oswaldtwistle 
OtterySt.Mary 

Paraicberry 
Parthia 
Pendenni« 
Penelaze 
Penhale 
Penkevel 
Penmorfa 
Penmynydd 
Penoance 
Penpol 
Penrice 
Penrose 
Pentraetb 
Pentre Hobyn 
Pentre Ryd 
Fendigaid 
Pentre Voelas 
Peter Tavy 
Peterloo 
Pih-ling 
Piht-an-diabhol 
l*ile of Foudray 
Pilgrim Heath* 
Pill 

Pirn pern 
PiPtyll Rhaidr 
Pitatberie 
Pitconocbie 



8RE 

Fleet 

Lechlade. 

Northaw. 

Sutton. 

Toledo. 

Gorod. 

Dun. 

Spamhead. 

Ham. 

Stoke. 

Booth. 

PiU. 

Portug^. 

Bro. 

Elsinore. 

Nea8. 

Royd. 



Dalecarlia. 

Rode. 

Westeraa. 

Twistle. 

Otterford. 

Cherry. 
Persia. 
Pen. 



Peiitret*. 



Tavistock. 

Loo. 

Ling. 

Pit. 

Peel. 

Hatch. 

Peel. 

Ern. 

Rhflidr. 

Pit. 



FOR 

Pitcorthie 

Pitdinnie 

Pitfirrane 

Pitliver 

Pitreavie 

PitsUgo 

Pittencrief 

Plumbelund 

Plymstock 

Poitoa 

Poldew 

Polglase 

Polgrean 

Polgueul 

Polwhele 

Pondicherr}' 

Porchester 

Portbury 

Portdown 

Portiahead 

Portland 

Postlip 

Pottem 

Pouhon 

Pretot 

Pnidhoe 

Punderpore 

Punjcora 

Punjsheer 

Piittenheim 

Qaeenhithe 

Radipole 

Rainnam 

Rajgurh 

Ram 

Ram-asa 

Ramgurfifb 

Ramheaa 

Ramoth 

Rnmsaig 

Ramsbottom 

Rumsyde 

Rannock 

Ratisbon 

Riitnapura 

Rawstonstall 

Booth 
Rayrigg 
Redforof 
Redut Knleh 
Reedypool 



BBC 

Pit. 



Luiid. 
Plymptoiu 
Poitiers. 
Pol. 



Cherry. 
Port. 




Pool. 
Ham. 
Gurh. 
Ramsgnte. 



Gurh. 

Ramsgate. 
Rome. 

Ramsgate. 

Botham. 

Ramsgate. 

Hreadalhane. 

Regensburg. 

Ava. 



Booth. 

Rigi p. 
Ford. 

Kaleh. 

Pool. 



315. 



INDEX OP GROUPED NAMEf. 



323 



POR 

Rhiwfelen 

Uhiwlas 

Rigby 

Rigmaiden 

Rimmon 

Rissby 

Rivington Pike 

Rohilcund 

Rollesby 

Roscreece 

Roflevallan 

Rosgilly 

Roskilly 

Rosmean 

Rosvean 

Rotebro 

Rotherbridge 

Rotherfield 

Rotherwas 

Raerlo 

Ramdh 

Rundo 
Runhall 
Runton 
Rydboholm 

St. Mary-le-Bow 
St. Mary's Cray 
St. PauPs Cray 
Saleh Serai 
Sambre 

Sando 

Sandhoe 

Sandhurst 

Sardsir 

Sarp-fo98 

Saw bridge worth 

Scarthwaite 

Schiedam 

Scbonbninn 

Scodra 

Segobriga 

Segontium 

Segorbe 

Serampore 

Serviodurum 

Shaftoe 

Shat'ton 

Shaston 

Sheerness 

Shepreth 



8££ 

Huabon. 



Rig, p. 315. 

Rome. 

By. 

Pike. 

Kund. 

Runham. 

Rose. 



Kil. 
Rose. 

Bro. 
Rother. 



Loo. 
Rome. 

■ • 

0. 

Runham. 



Holm. 

Arches Court. 
Cray. 



Sarai. 

Somme and 
Thames. 

• ■ 

O. 

Hoo. 

Hurst. 

Persia. . 

Fos. 

Worth. 

Scar & Thwaite. 

Rotterdam. 

Sheen. 

Scutari. 

Briga. 

Caernarvon. 

Briga. 

Poor. 

Dur. 

Hoo. 



Shaftesbury. 

JVess. 

Iteth. 



POR 

Shilwardine 

Shira 

Sholapoor 

Shrawardine 

Sinde 

Sirinaffur 

Sizergh 

Slaan 

Soderbv 




South Tawton 

Southcote 

Southfleet 

Speshart 

Stallung 

Stan-Rayse 

Stank 

Starr Carr 

Stock 

Stockton 

Stockwood 

Stone Crouch 

Storhammer 

Storo 

Strahendry 

Strasergh 

Strath-Naver 

Stratheam 

Strath more 

Stromness 

Strood 

Suddhapura 

Suffolk 

Sukhum Kaleh 

Sultan Hissar 

Sultan|X)or 

Swelly 

Swilly 

Swineham 



Tabemess 

Tadmor 

Tal-y-llychau 

Talabriga 

Tame 

Tamerton 

Tanjore 

Taplow 

Tarsus 

TarteMiis 

Tave 



SEE 

Wardine. 

Inverary. 

Poor. 

Wardine. 

Scinde. 

Nagore. 

Argh. 

Slaney. 

Bv. 

Chipping. 

Fiord. 

Tavistock. 

Cote. 

Fleet. 

Harz. 

Ing. 

Rayse, p. 315. 

Stang. 

Carr. 

Stoke. 



Crutched Friars. 
Stor. 

0. 

Leslie. 
Argh. 

Nevers, p. 314. 
Strath. 



Innia. 

Stroud, p. 315. 

Soonda. 

Norfolk. 

Kaleh. 

Hisffjir. 

Poor. 

Swale. 



Ham. 

Innis. 

Palmyra. 

Llwch. 

Talavera. 

Thames. 



Ore. 

I^w. 

Tarshish. 



Tivv. 



324 



INDEX OF OaOUPEO NAMES. 



FOB 

Tavy 

Taw 

Tawstock 

Tema 

Teme 

Temes 

Teoterden 

Teyn 

Tessenderlo 

Theve 

Thorp-en-le- 

Soken 
Thri^y 
Tfaiiringen 
Tian 
Tibet 
Tifiauges 
Tilburg 
Tiviot 

Tokhmah Su 
Tornea 
Tournetot 
Toxanderlo 
Tre-Newvdd 
Tre-Taliesin 
Tref Asser 
TrefGarn 
Trefecca 
Tregonick 
Tregonin 
Tregony 
Tregimnay 
Tretwny 
Tremaine 
Trenance 
Trevethen 
Tripetty 
Trivatoor 
Trollop 
Truyn 
Trwyn 
Tudhoe 
Twi«ton 
Tyburn 

Tyneham 

Tynet 

Tyningham 

Ucheltref 
Uchiltree 
Ucliiltref 
Udine 



Tivy. 
Tay. 

Tavistock. 
Thames. 




Soken. 

Runham. 

Ing. 

Tyne. 

Thibet. 

Westphalia. 

Tilbury. 

Tivy. 

Su. 

Pitea. 

Tot. 

Loo. 

Tre. 



Tref. 



Tregonhay. 



Trelawn. 

Tremayne. 

Nance. 

Trevethan. 

Tri. 



Sop. 
Turnberry Head. 

Hoo. 

Twistle. 

Born and Mary- 

lebone. 
Ham. 
Tyne. 



Tref. 
Ochiltre. 
Tref. 
Widdin. 



FOR 

Ullesvang 
Umea 

Yalletot 
Van Dieman's 

Land 
Vellore 
Venachar 
Veriobriga 
Vesci 
Vescia 
Vescovato 
Vesterdal 
Veveyse 
Yiadrus 
Viadus 
Vibiecus 

Vig^roe 
Voring-fos 

Waldung 
Wales 
Wallop 
Walsingham 

Wang- 

Wanfip 

Warcop 

Warmmster 

Waterloo 

Watersey Leame 

Welschland 

Wendover 

Wemigerode 

West Hatch 

Westcote 

Weston 

Westlow 

Wey 

Wheally Carr 

Booth 
White Colne 
White Cross 

Swang 
Whitrigg 
Wicanbottle 
Windthurn 
Wint 
Wisby 
Wisk 
Wlthenlack 



8KK 

Wong^. 
Pitea. 



Tot. 




Dalecarlia. 
Vevey. 
Oder, p. 315, 




Ing. 

Gaul. 

Sop. 

Buckingham- 
shire. 
Wong. 
Lip. 
Cop. 
Mmster. 
Loo. 

Leamington. 

Gaul. 

Dover and Der- 

went. 
Rode. 
Hatch. 
Cote. 
Tun. 
Lowr. 
Wye. 

Booth. 
Colnes. 

Wong. 
RifiT, p. 315. 
Bolton. 
Winterthur. 
Wynd. 

Isca. 
Slack. 



INDEX OF 6ROUPBD NAMES. 



325 



FOB 

Wolfenbuttel 

Woodbatch 

Wordsworth 

Worksop 

Worms 

Worth Maltn- 

▼ers 
Wrekin 

'Xeret 

T 

Yoir 
Yarro 
Yelling: 
Yetminster 



8£E 

Bolton. 

Batch. 

Worth. 

Sop. 

Bormio. 

Worth. 
Brecknockshire. 

Jerez. 

Wye. 
Yarrow. 



Ing. 
Minster. 



FOR 

Ysselmond 
Ysselsten 
Ystrad Yw 
Yetrad Twvr 
Yvetot 

Zaandam 

Zell 

Zacynthus 

Zancle 

Zangrbar 

Zanzibar 

Zetland 

Ziller 

Zindarood 



8BB 

Yasel. 
Ystrad. 



Tot. 



Saardam and 
Rotterdam. 
Zeal. 
Zaote. 
Syracuse. 
Zang'uebar. 

Shetland. 

Zeal. 

Rad. 



THE END. 



Samfleld A Jonea, Frintera, West Hording Street, Fetter lane. 




J. 






i 



(