The place-names of Nottinghamshire, their origin and development

archaeological anil OWfwologtral Series

THE PLACE-NAMES

OF

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

The Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological
Series is supervised by an Editorial Committee consisting
of M. R. JAMES, Litt.D., F.B.A., Provost of Kings
College, P. GILES, Litt.D., Master of Emmanuel College,
A. C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S., University Reader in
Ethnology, WILLIAM RIDGEWAY, Sc.D., F.B.A., Disney
Professor of Archaeology, E. J. RAPS ON, M.A., Professor
of Sanskrit, and W. H. R. RIVERS, M.A., F.R.S.,
University Lecturer in Physiology of the Senses.

THE PLACE-NAMES

OF

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

THEIR ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

by
HEINRICH MUTSCHMANN,

M.A. (LIVERPOOL), PH.D. (BONN)
Lecturer in German and in Phonetics at the University College, Nottingham

Cambridge :
at the University Press

1913

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

tLott&on: FETTER LANE, E.G.

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100, PRINCES STREET

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("Toronto: J. M. DENT AND SONS, LTD.

THE MARUZEN-TCABUSHIKI-KAISHA

All rights reserved

PREFACE

FOR a first introduction to the science of Names I am indebted
to the late Dr Felix Solmsen's lectures (Uber Namen,
besonders griechische, lateinische, deutsche), delivered in the
University of Bonn, in 1905.

This present work on the Place-Names of Nottinghamshire
was originally written as a thesis in the School of English
Language and Philology of the University of Liverpool. The
subject was suggested to me by Professor H. C. Wyld, to whose
teaching and kind assistance I owe much.

The field of place-name research is a distinctly dangerous
one, and it was only after long hesitation that I decided to lay
this study before the public. At one time I was quite prepared
to suppress the work entirely, although much time and energy
had been spent on its composition. If now given to the world
it is because I have been persuaded that its perusal may afford
pleasure and instruction to some, and that the theories — often
very bold — propounded in the book may draw valuable com-
ments from its critics. It is also hoped that it will stimulate
research in a much neglected province of Germanic philology.

It is my pleasant duty to express my sincerest thanks to all
who have assisted me in the writing and printing of this book.
Mr Robert Mellors (Author of In and about Nottingham-
shire, etc.) has throughout placed his great local knowledge at
my service. Dr F. J. Curtis, B.A., Ph.D., Professor of English
Language and Literature in the Akademie of Frankfurt am
Main, has with great kindness read through the proofs and
suggested many useful emendations.

I must here also express my gratitude to Mr J. Potter
Briscoe, the Nottingham City Librarian, for having afforded me
every facility for using the volumes of early records and other
important works which are in the Reference Library, and also for

980546

VI PREFACE

having obtained for me a number of books indispensable to
a writer on philological subjects, but not usually contained in
provincial libraries.

To all those by whose generous aid the issue of this book
has been made possible I wish to express my grateful thanks.
Contributions towards a publishing fund were received from :
The Faculty of Arts of the University of Liverpool ; The
Nottinghamshire Society of London ; His Grace the Duke
of Portland ; The Right Honourable the Earl Manvers ; The
Lord Bishop of Southwell ; Sir Thomas Birkin, Bart. ; H.
Hampton Copnall, Esq., Clerk of the Peace ; Principal Heaton ;
Jesse Hind, Esq., J.P. ; W. H. Mason, Esq., J.P. ; Colonel
Hellish, D.L.; Robert Mellors, Esq.; Major Robertson, J.P.

H. M.

Weimar, August 1913.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

TABLE OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS ix

INTRODUCTION , xi

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PLACE-NAMES (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) . i
PHONOLOGY OF THE NOTTS PLACE-NAMES

I. Vowel Changes 159

II. Consonant Changes 161

WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES IN THE NOTTS PLACE-
NAMES

I. Words of Anglo-Saxon Origin 164

II. Words of Scandinavian Origin 168

III. Words of French and Latin Origin . . . . 169
APPENDIX : Some of the More Frequent Suffixes Explained . 169
THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAL NAMES IN THE NOTTS PLACE-NAMES

I. Anglo-Saxon and Norse Personal Names . . . 173

II. Norman-French Personal Names 176

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . 177

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

N.B. For Abbreviations of Sources of Early Forms see Bibliography,
Part I.

Germ. German.

M.E. Middle English (c. 1050 — c. 1500).

M.H.G. Middle High German.

O.E. Old English (or Anglo-Saxon, c. 650 — c. 1050).

O.H.G. Old High German.

O.N. Old Norse (or Scandinavian).

pers. n. (ns.) personal name(s).

pL n. (ns.) place-name(s).

Scand. Scandinavian (or Norse).

W. Sax. West Saxon.

Dial. Diet. Wright's Dialect Dictionary.

Dial Gramm. Wright's Dialect Grammar.

N.E.D. New English (or Oxford) Dictionary.

Vigf. Vigfusson's Icelandic Dictionary.

%* For full titles of the above and other Works of Reference
see Bibliography.

An asterisk (*) before a word denotes a reconstructed or hypothetical
form.

A query (?) denotes a doubtful etymology.
> ...develops into....
< ...is derived from....

TABLE OF PHONETIC SYMBOLS

Vowels

Consonants

[*]

as in bat

[]>] as in

tkm

m

„ father

[«] „

this

M

brt

H „

rod, arrow

[i]

„ bit

[s] „

see, place

[O

beat

[z] >»

size, rise

[o]

„ pot

[J] „

nsh

P]

„ \aw

[3] „

rou^, he^"^ [hed3]

M

„ put

[j] »

year

[»]

„ boot

W »

sing

W

„ cut

M „

German do<r^, Scotch

[A]

„ bird

lo^

[9]

„ father, sofa

[369]

„ care

*** The

other Consonant

Sym-

[ai]

„ n/ne

bols have their usual values.

[au]

„ house

[ei, e]

„ mn, l<2ne

[oi]

„ boil

[ou, o]

„ \ow, b^>ne

Stress is marked thus ['D].

Phonetic representations are usually placed within square brackets.

NOTE. The phonetic forms in square brackets after the names represent
the local pronunciation. In most cases a polite pronunciation closely
following the spelling exists, but is not specially recorded.

Transliterations enclosed in round brackets are taken from Hope's
Glossary of Dialectal Place Nomenclature, 1 883.

INTRODUCTION

BRITISH Place-Names that have an obvious meaning such as
Clifton, Red Hill, Horsepool, Newthorpe, are very few in number,
and often of but recent origin. The majority seem at first sight
mere arbitrary conglomerations of sounds having no perceptible
relation to the localities with which they are associated. The
names Nottingham, Trent, Cropwell, etc., are in everyday use;
we know the places or objects to which they apply — but we do
not know why there should be any connection between them.
That such must have existed when the name was first given, or
rather sprang into being, will hardly be disputed. The exact
nature of this connection, or, in other words, the origin and
meaning of the place-name, has at all times been a favourite
subject of speculation, both to the learned and the ignorant
alike. The attempts of the latter class, besides producing popular
etymologies, have given rise to many quaint tales and stories,
invented to endow with some significance an otherwise obscure
name. Thus Mansfield is said to derive its name from a count
of Mansfeld, in Saxony, who is supposed to have taken part in a
tournament held in the famous field near by. Similarly, Styrrup,
in the same district, is held by some to be "in some way or other
connected with the training of horses " for purposes of the noble
art of tourneying ; whereas Blyth has the reputation of being
named after " the mirth and good-fellowship of the inhabitants
therein." Many more such curious items might be adduced if
this were the proper place for their recital. We will, however,
take leave of this fascinating subject with the mere mention of
that ingenious divine who, " by the slightest change in ortho-
graphy," made most of the village names round Nottingham
have some reference to Baal and to high places.

Much more dangerous than these obviously wrong etymologies
are those advanced, often with a great show of learning, by de-
voted amateurs, chiefly antiquarians or geographers. A common

Xll INTRODUCTION

feature of writers of this class is that they imagine it their chief
duty to explain not so much the nature and meaning of the
name, as the reason why it was given to the locality. They
approach the question with the particular bias of their favourite
subject, and very often with preconceived ideas. Thus one will
be alert to discover references to prehistoric settlements ; another
is bent on finding the natural features of the neighbourhood
embodied in the nomenclature of the district ; a third will
connect the names of places with persons or events belonging to
national and local history.

COMPOSITION OF PLACE-NAMES.

It is a well-known characteristic of the majority of Teutonic
personal and local names that they consist of two elements or
themes. English place-names of one theme only were very few
from the beginning, and popular etymology has since been at
work changing the appearance of these few so as to make them
conform to the majority. Here belong various Old English
names, originally in the dative case, whose ending -um came to
be written -ham, as if it represented O.E. ham, " home," as e.g. in
Askham, Aver ham, Kelham, Laneham. Lound, Clumber, Coates,
are also examples of uncompounded place-names.

Bi-thematic names almost invariably contain as their second
element a noun of a descriptive character, denoting either a
natural object, such as wood, field, stone, cliff; or a work of man,
such as ton (" town "), worth, thorpe, borough. The first element,
which has also been described as the adjectival theme, is of a
different, a qualifying character. It may consist of an adjective
proper, as in Radcliffe (" red "), Cuckney (" quick "); of a common
noun used adjectivally, as in Flintham, Stapleford. But by far
the most frequent mode of forming English, and for that matter,
Teutonic place-names is by prefixing a personal name descriptive
of the original settler, the owner, inhabitant, or other person
connected with the locality. Very often the personal name
involved does not appear in the singular, but in the plural of a
collective patronymic ending in -ing, and meaning " the family,
or descendants of so and so." The persons whose names are
thus perpetuated are almost without exception unknown to

INTRODUCTION xiii

history; no doubt they were often but simple peasants, cottagers,
or even serfs. Place-names of this kind, therefore, fail to appeal
to the imagination ; they are sadly lacking in romance. The
only good that can be said in their favour is that they have
served, and are still serving, an excellent purpose in practical
life, and that they provide with amusement the philologist
whose business and delight it is to explain the changes which
they have undergone in their passage through the centuries.

PLACE-NAME RESEARCH A LINGUISTIC PROBLEM.

Place-names are words in the first instance, and as such
their elucidation is primarily a linguistic problem. This will
become clear on examining the causes that make place-names
unintelligible. These causes are manifold, but the most im-
portant may be tabulated as follows :

(1) Certain elements contained and preserved in place-
names have disappeared from everyday language ; e.g. -by ;
-bourne ; and the majority of old personal names.

(2) Certain elements have, in their independent form, as-
sumed a new meaning; e.g. -ton (—town}\ well', beast (in
Bestwood).

(3) Old genuine dialect words (or forms) have become
obsolete, because ousted and superseded by forms of the literary
language ; e.g. cuck (= quick) in Cuckney.

(4) The place-name may be derived from a foreign tongue ;
e.g. Trent, Doverbeck.

(5) The elements contained in a place-name follow develop-
ments different from those of the independent words. In a
composite name they are more subject to the simplifying pro-
cesses of shortening and assimilation. For examples of excessive
shortening see Broxtow, Bassetlaw, Caunton. See also special
chapter on Assimilation (Phonology, § 13).

(6) Popular etymology often obscures the original meaning
of place-names. See Arnold, Askham, Birkland, Cropwell, East-
wood, Hempshill, Kingston, Martin, Oldcoates, etc.

(7) The influence of the spelling interferes with the natural
development of place-names. The prevailing and inevitable
tendency is to pronounce the names " as they are spelt," although

xiv INTRODUCTION

the written form is very often no sure guide to the etymology.
Thus a number of place-names whose first element was a Norse
personal name containing the adjectival theme Thor-, are now
pronounced with initial /, because / was written by Anglo-
Norman scribes for the sound of th.

METHODS OF INVESTIGATION.

From the foregoing exposition it is clearly evident that the
investigator of place-names cannot base his theories on the
modern forms which are the result of the change and wear of
centuries. It is necessary to go back to the oldest available
spellings, which have to be laboriously collected from a variety
of documents printed, for the most part, in the invaluable series
of official government publications. Owing to the County's
position away from the centre of West Saxon rule, the number
of Old English charters relating to Nottinghamshire is exceed-
ingly small. The few documents of this description to be found
in Kemble's Codex Diplomaticus, and Birch's Cartularium Saxoni-
cum, are, moreover, very unreliable, and probably late copies or
forgeries. The County is but poorly represented in Doomsday
Book, and the number of local records of a civil and monastic
nature, which are available in published form is lamentably
small. This is the more to be regretted as local documents
very often contain much more useful spellings than the national
ones, which were, particularly in the reigns immediately following
the Conquest, often drawn up by Norman-French scribes or by
other persons unacquainted with the localities and the speech
habits of the people.

Having collected as many early spellings as possible, the
investigator proceeds to arrange them in chronological order.
Thus the changes that a name has undergone are illustrated,
though in a great many cases philological explanations of a
highly technical nature are necessary in order to reconcile
the various spellings with each other. Often it will be found
necessary to distinguish various Types, each of which should be
treated separately. These owe their existence to a variety of
causes. A place-name is sometimes found both in the nominative
and dative cases ; substitution of elements occasionally occurs

INTRODUCTION XV

as the result of popular etymology ; the first element, if a
personal name, may have the genitival ending or not ; one type
may represent the local pronunciation as distinct from the
official spelling, etc., etc. These are a few examples of the
causes leading to the development of different types.

Each of these types has its own history ; but only one can
be represented by any given modern form. As a rule, all but
one are gradually eliminated ; yet it sometimes happens that a
local or old-fashioned pronunciation is descended from a different
type from the one which survives in the modern spelling.

In this connection, particular attention should be paid to
possible errors committed by the Norman-French scribes of
Doomsday Book and other feudal records. Many of the genuine
English sounds were unfamiliar to them, and they often blundered
in the rendering of native English words, or modified the pro-
nunciation, and consequently, the spelling of the place-names
according to their own French speech habits (see special chapters
on Norman Influence, Phonology, §§ 11, 22).

It is, therefore, the philologist on whom devolves the duty of
elucidating the meaning and the history of place-names. In his
task he should be aided by the local topographer and antiquarian ;
but as there is, unfortunately, no organisation to ensure the
co-operation of all classes of investigators concerned, the philo-
logist will occasionally go wrong for want of local knowledge.
Thus, for instance, the local pronunciation of place-names is
often as valuable as a very old and genuine spelling ; and yet it
is nothing short of impossible for the individual and isolated
worker to collect a complete and reliable list of such pro-
nunciations.

There is one further aspect of place-name research to which
attention must be called. The investigator should not confine
himself to the contemplation of the names of one single district.
He should go further afield, and study as far as possible the
principles and peculiarities of English, and also Teutonic nomen-
clature generally. Outside England, those countries from which
the majority of settlers were drawn, Low Germany, and, in a
slightly less degree, Scandinavia, will supply useful analogies.

XVI INTRODUCTION

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PLACE-NAMES.

A cursory examination of the main part of this book will
convince the reader that the bulk of the place-names of Notting-
hamshire are of Anglo-Saxon origin. A considerable number
of Scandinavian elements are present ; and if these were marked
in a distinctive colour on a map, very interesting conclusions
might be drawn from the nature of their distribution. I believe
they would show that the Scandinavian invasion, which ultimately
led to the settlement of the Norsemen in large numbers, was of
a comparatively peaceful nature. The Northern newcomers
apparently did not try to oust the original occupants of the
land, but were satisfied to settle in the marshy, sandy, un-
attractive regions left vacant by the Anglo-Saxons.

The British and Roman settlements, which no doubt existed
anterior to the advent of the Teutonic invaders, seem to have
completely lost their original names. Only a few indications of
Roman occupation are left. Brough and Littleborough refer to
pre- Anglo- Saxon structures of Roman origin, whereas Celtic
elements survive in the river-names1 Trent^ Doverbeck, Devon,
and Dean. Some Celtic word may also be contained in the
first part of Mansfield.

Norman-French influence is apparent more in the modification
of native names than in the creation of new ones. Perlethorpe,
containing a French personal name as first element, is a rare
example of a post-Conquest formation on the old principle of
Teutonic name composition. Beauvale and Belvoir, marked by
a touch of the romantic spirit appertaining to the age of
chivalry, and thus notably distinguished from the bulk of common-
place Germanic names, are instances of completely Norman-
French formations. On the other hand, distinctive additions to
older place-names are frequently of Norman-French origin.
They usually take the form of the new feudal owner's name
which is tacked on to the older native name of the place, as in
Cropwell Butler, Holme Pierrepont, etc.

1 The Rev. John Sephton, M.A., in his Handbook of Lancashire Place-Names
(Liverpool, 1913), expresses the very interesting opinion that the vitality of Celtic
river-names is due to religious or superstitious causes (p. 132).

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PLACE,RAMES

ADBOLTON (in Holme-Pierrepont). !•*••». - ; % ii

Type I.
1086 Alboltune, D.B.

Type II.

1316 Adbolton, Bor. Rec.
1346 Adbolton, F.A.
1571 Adbolton, Index.

" The tun or farmstead of Ealdbeald (Type I), or Eddbeald
(Type II)." Both personal names occur frequently. Interchange
of prefixes is found in the pers. ns. themselves : Ealdbeald, king
of Kent, appears as Eddbeald in some sources (see Onomasticon).

ALVERTON [olvetn].

1086 Alvretun, Alvritun, D.B.
1278] (H.R.

1304! Alverton \ Index.
1316' 'F.A.

" The tun of Atfer," O.K. ^Elfherestun ; Alfer is an O.E. and
M.E. short form of ALlfhere (Onomasticon).

ALWOLDESTORP (not identified).

1086 Alwoldestorp, D.B.
" The frorp of Ealdweald."

M. I

2 ANNESLEY

ANNESLEY [aenzli].

1086 Aneslei, D.B.
1240 Anyslegh, Bor. Rec.
1284 Anisley, F.A.
1421 Annesley, Index.

"The leak (lea) of Anna? Anna is an O.K. man's name.
The early substitution of the strong for the weak declension is
characteristic of the Northern and Midland dialects ; Sweet,
N. Engl. Gramm. § 989, Sievers, § 276 a 5 ; see Alexander, Mod.
t^jrfguage. Re^r. -191 j.

; APPE$TVHORPE. or HABBLESTHORPE.

Type L

1278 Harpelestorp, H.R.
1327-77 Harplesthorp, Non. Inq.

Type IT.

1278 Happelestorp, H.R.
1316 Apullesthorp, F.A.

- 'SCO T 1 Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

IHabylthorpJ

" The frorp of * Harpel or *Arpel." The r of Type I was lost
through either assimilation or dissimilation,

rp>pp, or r-l-r>\\-l-r.

After this change the name became connected with apple. I
cannot trace the pers. n. (H)arpel in other English sources. It
is, however, found in continental records. It appears to be the
diminutive of Arpus, which is the name of a German chief
mentioned by Tacitus, Ann. II, 7. See Much, Zeitschrift fur
deutsches Altertum, 35, 365, Grimm, Geschichte der deutschen
Sprache, 580. The pi. n. Erpelingalanda is recorded by Forste-
mann, II2.

ARNOLD.

1086 Ernehale, D.B.
1157 Ric. de Erneshala, P.R.
1 22 1 Arnehale, Bor. Rec.
1284 Arnale, F.A.

ATTENBOROUGH

1272-1307 Arnehal, Index.
1316 Arnall, F.A.
1346 Arnale, F.A.

(Arnewall)

JArnal

"The healh of Earned Although the genitival s is en-
countered but once, the first element can hardly represent the
O.K. earn, " eagle." The final d is excrescent ; similar cases of
the development of d are found in various other words both in
the dialects and in literary speech ; see Wright, Dial. Gramm.
§ 306 ; Horn, Neuengl. Gramm. § 188.

ASKHAM.

1086 Ascam, D.B.
1278 Ascam, H.R.

O.K. ^/ cescum, "at the ash-trees," a regular dative plural.
The modern spelling is due to popular etymology : the ending
ham in the modern form of this name has nothing to do with
home.

ASLOCKTON or ASLACTON

1086 jAslachetone J ^

(Haslachestonej
1302 Aslacton, F.A.

"The tun of Aslac" The pers. n. is of Scandinavian origin ;
see Bjorkman.

ATTENBOROUGH.

c. 1200 Adigburcj
c. 1240 Hadinburj

1275 Adinburks, Bor. Rec.
1291 Addingburg, Tax. Eccl.
1327-77 Adyngburgh, Non. Inq.
c. 1500 Addyngborough, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
Either " the burh of the Eddings or of Eadda" The change
from d to t must be quite recent, and is perhaps due to
dissimilation. Similar changes in pers. names are discussed by
Bardsley, Diet, of Engl. and Welsh Surnames, p. 19.

i — 2

4 AVERHAM

AVERHAM [aearem] (Airham, Hope).

Type I.

1086 Aigrun, D.B.
c. 1 200 Egrum, Index.
1278 Egrom, H.R.
1291 Egrum, Tax. Eccl.
1302 Aghram, F.A.

Type II.

1316 Averam, F.A.
1327-77 Averham, Inq. Non.

(Averham (or Aram), Camden, p. 549.

(Havorham, Map in Camden.
1680 Averham, Index.

Type III.
1637 Aram, Camden, p. 549.

%* c. 1 600 (?)... Averham, auntiently called Egrum but now
comonlie called Aram... MS. BM. Titus A. xxiv. fol. 130 b.

I take this name to represent O.E. (Mercian) at aftrum, " at
the waters, streams " ; it would thus correspond to the Latin ad
aquas. The exact meaning of O.E. (W. Saxon) &dre, Anglian
(k)epir, epre is " a channel for liquids, an artery, vein, fountain,
river," Bosworth-Toller ; the cognate German word Ader has the
same meaning. The following quotation from White's Directory
(1853) will explain the origin of the name: "The large island
formed by the two branches of the Trent navigation opposite to
Newark, is in the manor of Averham, or Aram... " (p. 460).

I have not yet succeeded in rinding another instance of the
occurrence of O.E. cedre in pi. names. There are, however,
a few continental names which contain its O.H.G. cognate.
Mod. Germ. Brunnadern near Bondorf in Baden goes back to
an O.H.G. Brunnaderon, a dat. plural ; see Forstemann, II2, 10.
According to Graff, Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz, I, 157,
brunadara is used by Notker in his translation of the Psalms to
render the Latin manationes aquarum. The same element may
be contained in the Hessian river-name Itterbach, Sturmfels,
Ortsnamen Hessens, p. 41.

AWKLEY OR AUKLEY 5

The interpretation of the various spellings of this name is
not without its difficulties. I shall now endeavour to reconcile
the three types with my assumption. — Type I : In Anglo-
French records the open g sound is frequently substituted for
the English #; see Zachrisson, pp. 101, 117; cp. the various
spellings of " Leicestershire, Worcester(shire) " in different MSS.
of Bede, as Ltpeccestrescire, Lcegreceasterscire ; Wiftreceasterscir,
Wigraceaster, Miller, p. 46. — Type II : On the other hand, inter-
vocalic # often developed into v in the English dialects which
accounts for the second collection of forms ; see Horn, Hist.
Neuengl. Grammat. § 197 ; Wright, Dialect of Windhill, p. 91 :
"Fifty years ago, / for/ and v for t were quite general." — Type
III : The pronunciation is [aeeram], with the regular loss of fror
v before r in a medial position ; Horn, I.e. § 169.

The development of the various forms may be tabulated as
follows :

O.E. (at) aftrum.

> Egrum in Anglo-French spelling ;

> Averum in the local dialect ;

> Arum in subsequent local development. The modern
spelling in -ham is due to confusion with the frequent termina-
tion O.E. -ham.

N.B. Isaac Taylor's assumption (Words and Places, ch. XI)
that Averham is derived from the dat. pi. of O.E. hearg, "a
heathen temple," is untenable.

AWKLEY or AUKLEY.

1278 Alkelaye, H.R.
1316 Alkeleye, F.A.
c. 1500 Aulkeley, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

"The leak of a man called Ealca, or of Ealce" a mythological
person, or deity. In O.E. the pers. name A lea occurs once; it
most probably represents a short form of one of the numerous
"full-names" beginning with Ealh-, Bale-', cf. also Ealac, Alac,
Onomasticon, and Alako, Forstemann, I.

As to the second suggestion it cannot be denied that we find
traces of a mythological person of the name of Ealce etc. ; see

0 AWKLEY OR AUKLEY

Middendorf, s.v. On Low German territory, in the neighbourhood
of Osnabriick, the geographical names A Ike Krug and A Ik Pool
are found close to an ancient heathen place of worship (Mittei-
lungen des Vereins fiir Geschichte und Landeskunde von Osna-
briick, xm, 1886, pp. 263 sqq.). The same deity or deities seem
to be mentioned by Tacitus in the Germania, c. 43 : "Apud
Naharvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur. praesidet sacer-
dos muliebri ornatu, sed deos interpretatione Romana Castorem
Pollucemque memorant. ea vis numini, nomen Aids (var.
Alces vel Aid), nulla simulacra, nullum peregrinae superstitionis
vestigium ; ut fratres tamen, ut iuvenes venerantur." As com-
mentators fail to give a satisfactory explanation of this singular
passage, I thought it worth while to quote it in connection with
the pi. n. under discussion, hoping that further inquiry will either
strengthen or disprove the theory advanced. It is highly
interesting to note that these Alces were worshipped in a
"lucus," which word is closely related to the O.K. leak (see List
of Elements, s.v.). The Roman interpretation is not to be
implicitly trusted.

The following pi. ns. seem to contain the same first element
as Awkley:

Alkenthyt, Alkentheyt Hill, Bor. Rec. I, p. 375.
Alkenthweyt, ib. p. 391.

Alclienfluh, in Switzerland (?); Fluh, O.H.G. fluoh, means
"Felswand, Felsabsturz."

AWSWORTH.

1086 Eldesworde, D.B.
1295 Aldesword, Woll. MSS.
1302 Aldisword )
1316 Aldesworthej

" The weorp or homestead, farm of Ealda" The O.K. name
Ealda is of frequent occurrence. It either means " the old one,"
or more likely is a short form of one of the numerous compound
names beginning with Eald-, as Ealdhelm, -here, -weald. The
appearance of an -s in an originally weak noun is by no means
without parallel; see Annesley.

BARNEY (MOOR) 7

BABBINGTON.

Owing to the Absence of early forms, it is impossible to
explain this name accurately. The first element is no doubt the
O.K. pers. n. Babba, which may have appeared either in the weak
gen. sing. (O.K. Babbantun), or in the patronymic form (O.K.
Babbingatun). The latter forms the first element in the O.E.
pi. n. Babbingdon (Birch, Cartul. Sax. p. 316), and also in the
continental names O.H.G. Papinga, Pappingen (modern Pabing)
and Papingohuson (Forstemann, II).

BABWORTH.

1086 Baburde, D.B.

1316 Babbeworth, F.A.

1637 Badworth, Map in Camden.

"Babbds weorfr or homestead." Babba is an O.E. man's
name. Camden does not seem to have entertained a very high
opinion of the locality.

BAGGALEE (under Greasley).

This may be "Baggds leak" \ but there are no early spellings
to support this or any other view. The place is popularly known
as Beggarlee ; can this be the correct etymology ? There is a
Beggar's Bush in Staffordshire, see Duignan, Place-Names of
Staffordshire.

BAGTHORPE (under Selston).

" The frorp of Bagga" ? There are no early forms.

BALDERTON.

1086 Baldretune, D.B.

I29J1 T5 ^A' (Tax- Eccl-

Baldlrton F.A.

"The tun of Bealdhere" ; the latter is an O.E. man's name of
which five bearers are known (Onomasticon). The pi. n. has, of
course, nothing to do with Baldr the Norse deity.

BARNEY (MOOR).

1086 Barnebi, D.B.

1445 Barnby Moor, Index.

1637 Barmbye on the Moor, Map in Camden.

8 BARNEY (MOOR)

" The byr or habitation of Barn? The suffix clearly shows
that the place was a Danish settlement. The pers. n. Barn is
recorded by Bjorkman. The m in Camden is either due to
assimilation, or represents one of the numerous mistakes of the
engraver. The district round this place formerly was wild
moorland which accounts for the distinctive addition. May we
conclude from this fact that when the Danes arrived in this district,
they found the best part of the country occupied by the Saxons
and had to content themselves with the less alluring portions ?

BARNBY-IN-THE- WILLOWS.

1086 Barnebi, D.B.
1302 Barneby, F.A.
1637 Barmby, Map in Camden.

See preceding name. The place is situated on the river
Witham (q. v.) which derives its name from the numerous willows
growing on its banks. The same natural phenomenon supplied
this pi. n. with its distinguishing epithet.

BARNSTON.

1086 Bernestune, D.B.

1286) _ (Index.

\ Berneston \— .
1302! (F.A.

1347 Barnstone, Index.
1637 Burnston, Map in Camden.

"The tun of Beorn" The pers. n. Beorn is found both in O.K.
and in Scandinavian. In the latter language it was particularly
frequent ; see Bjorkman.

Camden's spelling represents a different development of the
M.E. er ; this combination either changed into ar, or remained
unaltered. In the latter case, it coincided with ir and ur in
pronunciation during the I7th century; see Phonology, § 8.

BARTON-IN-FABIS.

1086 Bartone, D.B.

fBerton) .

1302 4- \ F.A.
(Barton)

1637 Borton, Map in Camden.

The pi. n. Barton is very widely disseminated all over the
country. It is usually taken to represent O.K. bere-tun, "corn-farm,

BASSETLAW 9

grange," or more literally "barley-enclosure, rick-yard"; see
Lancashire Place-Names, p. 290. It is strange, however, that the
D.B. form should exhibit ar instead of er\ there must have
existed an O.E. bcerlic, the ancestor of modern barley, which may
have influenced bere-tun, changing the e into <z ; cp. M.E. barlic,
Morsbach, M.E. Gramm. § 108, anrn. I, 3. The regular change of
er > ar did not take place till the first Modern English period ;
Sweet, N.E. Gramm. § 845.

The o in Camden's form is due to the rounding influence of
the initial b ; cp. Berwick < *Barwick, Lancashire Place-Names,
p. 74.

In the middle ages, distinguishing additions to pi. ns. were
often translated into Latin, the language of the documents, as
here in Fabis ; see Zachrisson, Latin Influence etc. p. 74. The
Leicestershire Barton-in-the-Beans exhibits the same addition
in the native idiom.

BASFORD [beisfad] (Baysfud, Hope).
1086 Baseford, D.B.
1284 Baseford } F A
1302 Besseford) J

1369 [ Baseford, Index.
1412)

"The ford of Bass or Bassa, the ford near which Bassa lived."
The s, being voiceless in the modern pronunciation, must represent
O.E. ss. As the vowel was long in M.E., the lengthening cannot
be due to its standing in an open syllable. We are, therefore,
forced to assume that a lengthening of a (or ce) took place before
s(s) in early M.E., similar to that of ce before s, p, f in the
1 8th century (Sweet, N.E. Grammar, § 844; Horn, Histor.
Neuengl. Gramm. § 47, dates this change much earlier). The
F.A. spelling of 1 302 shows that by that time the lengthened sound
had been considerably advanced towards the front position.

BASSETLAW (Wapentake, now a Parliamentary Division).

Type I.

1155 Desetelawahdr )
1189 Bersetelaw Wap.J
1278 Bersetelawe, H.R.

10 BASSETLAW

Type II.
1086 Bernedeselawe Wapentac, D.B.

O.K. bearu-satena-hlaW) "the mound of the forest-dwellers";
from O.K. bearu, "a wood, nemus vel lucus" sata, " resident, in-
habitant," found in compounds only and mostly in the plural as
in the present name (cp. O.K. dom-, dun-, burh-, land-s<ztan,
O.H.G. himil-sdzo, "inmate of heaven"). O.K. hldw may denote
either "an artificial or natural mound." It was the custom of
the men of a hundred and especially of a Scandinavian wapentake
to assemble on a hillock which gave the name to the division.
This mound was sometimes raised artificially, which is the case
of the most remarkable of these lowes, Tynwald Hill in the Isle
of Man. (Cp. Binghameshou Wap. in D.B.)

The initial D in the P.R. of 1155 is a scribal error; the D.B.
compiler probably imagined the first element of the name to be
derived from the pers. n. Beornheard : the long word was too much
for the French clerk.

It is interesting to note that the German Holstein has a
similar origin. The name has nothing to do with Stein, "stone";
-stein is a popular corruption of -sten which is still found
in the name of the Holstcntor at Liibeck. The Old Saxon
form of the name of the inhabitants is Holts Ati, "the dwellers
in the holt or wood." The geographical name is, like the
majority of German names of districts, derived from the dat.
plural of the name of the inhabitants. The explanation of
the name given by a mediaeval writer and quoted by Forstemann
(II, p. 866) might be applied to the Bearus&tan with equal force:
"Holcete dicti a silvis quas incolunt." White (Directory, 1853,
p. 577) remarks that "the ancient forest of Sherwood (q.v.)
extended over a large portion of this division [i.e. Bassetlaw
Hundred], nearly the whole of which, during the last century,
has been enclosed and though generally a deep light sandy soil,
now forms a rich agricultural district, scarcely equalled in the
kingdom."

The spelling with e instead of a seems to indicate that M.E.
a was advanced before r at an early period (see Phonology, § 7).
The disappearance of r before s is a frequent phenomenon (see
Phonology, § 7).

BEAUVALE I I

Soon after the Norman Conquest, a noble family of the name
of Basset^ is found in this hundred ; they evidently take their
name from the property owned by them in the division. See
Colston-Basset.

BASSINGFIELD [baezinflld] ?

(Basinfelt ) .
1086 JBasingfeld} D'B'
1284 Bassingfeld, F.A.
1571 Basingefeild, Index.

"The field of Basing? or, more probably, "of the Basings"

BATHLEY [baetli]?

1086 Badeleie, D.B.

1316 Batheleye, F.A.

1452 Bathley, Index.

" The lea of the bath," " the meadow, containing a bathing-
place." Caesar (De bello Gallico, IV, i) informs us that the
Germans were very fond of bathing in the open2, so that it is
very natural that they should have left traces of that habit in
pi. ns. There are numerous such names to be encountered on
the continent, as Wiesbaden, "baths in the meadow(s)," Baden of
which there are several, from O.H.G. az badun, "at the baths."
The English Bath appears as cet Baftum (dat. pi.) in O.K. records.

The first element may, however, represent the O.K. man's
name Bada which was later on changed into Bath by popular
etymology.

The pronunciation recorded above is not well authenticated ;
in any case it would be difficult to account for the /.

BEAUVALE (Priory) [bouveil].

Type I (Latin).

1291 (Conventus de) Bella Valle, Tax. Eccles.
c. 1500 Bellavalle, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1535 (Prioratus de) Bella Valle, Valor Eccles.

1 Several members of this family are mentioned in documents relating to Notts.
and Leicestershire printed in "Calendar of Documents Preserved in France" (Index).

2 By the time of Tacitus they seem to have become more averse to this violent
practice (Germania, ch. xxn).

12 BEAU VALE

Type II (French),
c. 1500 Beauvale, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type III (Phonetic or English),
c. 1500 Bovall [for "Bovale"?], Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1637 Bonall \n for u — v\ Map in Camden.

The etymology of this name is clear. It is, however, doubtful
whether priority belongs to the Latin or French type. This is an
instance of the comparatively rare purely Norman-French pi. ns.
in England. Whereas the names of places of Germanic origin
are generally of a most commonplace and strictly "practical"
character, these Norman names frequently refer to the beauty of
the surroundings : the imperious conquerors were able to pick
and choose the site of their dwellings. Similar cases are Beau-
lieu^ Beauchief, Beaumont, Beauchamp. (See Bradley, Essays
and Studies, I, p. 39.)

It may be mentioned here that the valley in which the ruins
of the priory are situated fully deserves the appellation.

BECK.

From Scandinavian bekk(r), "brook."

BECKINGHAM.

1086 Beching(e)ham, D.B.

1189 Bekingeha, P.R.

1216-72 Beghenham, Index.

1316 Bekyngham, F.A.

1637 Beckingham-Supermost, Map in Camden.

" The home of the Beccings, the descendants or family of
Becca? Camden's addition explains itself.

BEESTHORPE.

1086 Bestorp, D.B.
1204 Bestorp, Index.

The first element of this name may be a pers. n. *Be or *Bes
of which I cannot find reliable traces1 : there is a Beesby in

1 The M.E. name Bee (from Beatrice) recorded in Bardsley's Dictionary of Engl.
and Welsh Surnames is a late formation and cannot be used to explain the form of
D.B. It is equally impossible, for obvious reasons, to connect this and the following
pi. n. with the female St Bee.

BELVOIR 13

Lincolnshire. It is also possible that Bees stands for an old
river-name. (See Beeston.)

BEESTON [blsn] (Beesun, Hope).

1086 Bestune, D.B.
c. 1 200 Bestona, Woll. MSS.
1284 Beston, F.A.

There may have been an old pers. n. *Be or *Bes from which
the pi. n. is derived. Numerous Beestons are found in various
parts of England, in Cheshire, Bedford, the West Riding, and
Norfolk. Some of these are derived from Bedestun, " the farm of
Bede." Dr Moorman (Place-Names of the W. Riding, p. 24)
assumes an earlier Beowestun as the origin of the Beeston in
his district. For this there is, however, no authority.

Considering that many places take their names from the
rivers on which they stand (Bradley, Essays and Studies by
Members of the English Association, I, p. 32), one might ad-
vance the theory that Beeston is derived from an old river-name
*Beos-ea. This assumption is based on the occurrence of such
a name on the continent : a river Biese (O.H.G. Bese, Forste-
mann, II) joins the Aland in the northern part of the province of
Saxony. As many river-names were brought over from the
continent by the Anglo-Saxons, this particular one might have
been among them (Jellinghaus, Angl. XX, 257 sqq.).

BELVOIR (Vale of) [blvo, belvoia].

1535-43 The vale of Bever, baren of Wood, is large and very
plentiful of good Corne and Grasse, and lyith in 3.
Shires, Leycester, Lincoln, and much in Notting-
hamshire

//- «. 11 \i Leland, I, 108.
Beavoire (Castelle)j

1613 Bevels batning slade, Drayton, Polyolbion, XXVI, 2.

Although Belvoir Castel is situated in Leicestershire, the
name is included because the Vale of B. lies partly in Notts.
The etymology is obvious. Unlike the majority of modern
Bellevues and similar names, the Castle well deserves its
appellation. Cp. Beauvale.

14 BESTHORPE

BESTHORPE.

1086 Bestorp, D.B.
1302 Besthorp, F.A.

This name seems to be identical in origin with Beesthorpe
(q.v.), with the vowel shortened before the combination sp.

BESTWOOD (Park).

Type I.

c. 1200 Beescwde, Woll. MSS.

1205 Beswude )

.4 Cal. Rot. Chart.
1 247 Besekwood j

1535-43 Beskewood, Leland.
1637 Beskwood, Map in Camden.

Type II.
Bestwood Park, Index.

" The enclosed wood where deer are preserved." In meaning,
this word corresponds to the O.E. deor-frift. Although the
earliest spellings exhibit fr instead of /, I take the latter to be
the original letter which was changed to k through assimilation
(see Phonology, § 13). Thoroton informs us (vol. n, p. 179)
that the park was " well stored with deer before the troubles "
(i.e. the Civil War?). White's Directory (1885) contains a note
to the effect that in 1251 Bestwood was "a Hay or Park of our
Lord the King wherein no man commons."

BEVERCOATES.

1302 Bevercotes, F.A.

1637 Bircotes, Map in Camden.

O.E. beofor cotu, " the beaver cotes or dwellings." In the
transition from O.E. to M.E. the distinctions of grammatical
gender were completely lost, and the originally neuter cot
assumed the plural ending -es of the masculine nouns (Sweet,
N. Engl. Grammar, § 989).

1 The c in the spelling of the Woll. MSS. may be a mistake for /; the two letters
are frequently interchanged by the scribes on account of their almost identical shape.

BILSTHORPE 1 5

This name proves that beavers once were not infrequent
inhabitants of this island (cf. Taylor, Words and Places,
ch. xv). In the neighbourhood of Bevercoates there is an
abundance of brooks and springs ; originally the country must
have been a wild swamp, just the place for beavers to erect their
constructions.

Camden's spelling no doubt represents the contemporary
pronunciation.

BlLBOROUGH.

1086 Bileburg(h), D.B.

1180 Billeburg, Woll. MSS.

1284 Bilburgh, F.A.

" The burh or fortified place of Billa"

BlLBY.

1086 Billebi, D.B.
1316 Bylby, F.A.

" The byr or farmstead of Billa!' The second element is of
Scandinavian origin ; but the pers. n. Billa may be either O.K.
or Scand.

BlLHAGH (a wood of Sherwood Forest).

1637 Bellow, Map in Camden.

The second element is O.K. kaw, "a fence, a piece of ground
enclosed with a fence." As to the meaning of the first element
I have no suggestion to offer. Camden's spelling probably
represents the contemporary pronunciation.

BILSTHORPE.

1086 Bildestorp, D.B.

1233 Bilsthorpe, Index.

1291 Bildisthorp, Tax. Eccl.

1302 Bildesthorp)

1428 Bilsthorp j

This name probably means " Bilheardes porp" The pers. n.
Bilheard is recorded once (Onomasticon). The phonetic de-
velopment— a continual process of elimination — was as follows :

16 BILSTHORPE

Bilheardesfcorp > Bilrdesjporp > Bildesjyorp > Bilsfcorp. It is, how-
ever, possible that the first element was the Scand. pers. n. Bildi
(more usually Billi), recorded by Rygh, Gamle Personnavne,
p. 36. The Scand. character of the second element speaks in
favour of such a derivation.

BlNGHAM.

/Bingameshou Wap.^j
1086 JBingehamhou Wap.l D.B.

iBingeha J

1278) _. (H.R.

1284} Bmgham IF.A.

1578 Bingham in le Vale, Index.

" The home of the family of Benning" O.K. Benninga ham.
A contracted *Bengham would become Bingham (see Phonology,
§ 6). In a charter (Cart. Sax. 125) we find the name
Benninga wurth ; there is a Binningham in Yorkshire which is
spelt Beningham in 1303 (Index), and a Binnington in the same
county which appears as Benington in 1555 (Index). The same
patronymic is encountered in continental pi. ns., cf. Binningen
(Forstemann, II). Hou in D.B. is derived from O.K. how, "a
hill " ; hundreds and wapentakes were frequently called after
hills ; see Bassetlaw.

BlRKLAND (ancient wood of Sherwood Forest).
1278 foresta dni Reg' intfer] Birkelund & Heselund, H.R.

The meaning is clearly " Birch wood." Both elements of this
name are of Scandinavian origin. The former is cognate with
O. Icelandic birki-, "a birch" (in compounds only, Vgf.) ; the word
is not mentioned in Bjorkman's book on Scandinavian Loan
Words. The suffix is the Scand. lundr, " a wood," still found, in
various forms, in the English dialects, also as an independent
pi. n. ; see Lound. It was changed to -land through popular
etymology. This new termination may stand for either the
common word land, " expanse of country," or M.E. land, laund,
" wild, shrubby, or grassy plain," derived from O. French lande.

BLYTH 17

BLEASBY.

1278 Blesby, H.R.

1302 Bleseby, F.A.

Various explanations may be offered, although none seems
conclusive :

(1) " The byr of the blast, the windy habitation " ; from O.K.
bl<zs, " a blowing, blast." The same element seems to occur in
the Lanes, pi. n. Bleasdale, which, however, is explained dif-
ferently by Prof. Wyld (cp. Lowdham).

(2) There may have existed a pers. n. *Blczsa corresponding
to the O.H.G. Bldso in B/asindorf (Forstemann, l).

(3) The first element may contain the name of a river or
brook (cp. Beestori). We find two rivers called Blies in Germany
(cp. Forstemann, II, s.v. Blesa flumen\

BLIDWORTH.

1086 Blideworde, D.B.

1157 Blieswurda, P.R.

1278 Blytheworth, H.R.

1598 Blodworth, Index.

1637 Bledworth, Map in Camden.

" The weorj) or farm of Blijya " ? Before wt 8 seems to have
become stopped and changed to d. The P.R. form shows loss
of intervocalic #, pointing back to an O.K. Bltftes-weorp. It is
remarkable that the other forms are without the genitival s.
The pers. n., which is not recorded in the assumed form, seems to
be an abbreviated variety of one of the many names beginning
with Blffi-, as Blifthelm, -here, -mund, -weald etc. (Onomasticon).
The two last quotations appear to be no more than fanciful or
erroneous spellings.

BLYTH [blais].

1086 Blide, D.B.
U53(?) Blie, Index.

1278 |(Prior de) Blidaj H'R'

1316 Blid, F.A.

jBlida)
1327-77 jBlythj

M.

1 8 BLYTH

There are a considerable number of rivers called Blyth in
various parts of England. I take the above name to be derived
from the river on which the town stands. The place was originally
described as <zt (on) ^re blifta(ri) ea, " at (on) the blithe, gently
flowing, calm brook." The e in the second spelling and the -a
in the latinised Blida above seem to point to the second element
having at one time been ea. The word blithe, "laetus, suavis,
placidus," is a very appropriate epithet for many of the English
streams. I was unable to find a brook of that name near the
town of Blyth ; the following extract from Leland's Itinerary
(l, 98), however, proves that one of the water-courses in the
neighbourhood once bore that name : " There renne to Brookes
as I cam into the Toun of Blith, the first that I cam over was
the Greatter, and curnmith thither from the Weste : the other
rennith hard by the utter Houses of the Toun ; and this, as they
told me, was namid Blithr

N.B. The O.E. nom. of the name of the river, which
preceded that of the town, was bllftu ea, or seo bltfte ea.

BOLE.

Type L

1086 Bolun, D.B.

Type II.

1316 Bole, F.A.

1327-77 Bole super Trent, Non. Inq.

1555 Bolle, Index.

It is impossible to say which is the correct etymology of this
name. Type I seems to represent the O.E. dat. pi. of bdld,
"building, dwelling, house" (see Biilbring, § 522); Type II
would, in that case, stand for the dat. sing. The d after / was
assimilated at an early period. The course of development would
be as follows : Bolde > Bolle > Boule > Bole ; the modern spelling
correctly indicates the pronunciation but not the etymology.

BOLHAM or BOLLAM.

1278) fH.R.

' Bolum

1335)
E. at boldum, " at the dwellings, houses," see the preceding

BOTH AMS ALL OR BOTTOMSALL 19

name. The spelling in -ham is due to a misconception as to
the nature of the final syllable.

It is not improbable that the " dwellings " referred to were
ancient rock-houses of which traces are still to be found.
White's Directory (1853) may be quoted here: "The village
formerly had numerous rock-houses formed by excavations in
the shelving rock of red sandstone, but few of these troglodyte
dwellings are now inhabited."

BONBUSK.

1571 Bonbusk, Index.

" Bondas bush, or coppice " ? The name Bonda is very fre-
quent in East Scandinavian sources ; see Bjorkman. The M.E.
buske is also of Scandinavian origin.

BONINGTON.

1086 Bonniton, D.B.
1291 Bonigton, Tax. Eccl.
1327-77 Bony ton, Non. Inq.
1346 Bonyngton, F.A.

O.E. Boninga tun, "the homestead of the descendants of
Bona" A family of the name of Baningas is mentioned in the
O.E. poem Widsip, line 19. The a before a nasal was frequently
changed to o\ Biilbring, § 123.

The same patronymic is encountered in continental pi. ns.
Forstemann, I, records the following : Boningaham, and Boningue,
near Calais.

BOTHAMSALL or BOTTOMS ALL [locally: boSmsal; otherwise:
botmsal] (Bottomsall, Hope).

Type I.
1535 Bodv'sell, Val. Eccl.

Type II.

(1) 1086 Bodmescel(d), D.B.
1 1 80 Bodemeskil, Index.

(2) c. 1 200 Bodmeshil, Index.

1278 Bodmeshill, H.R.

2—2

20 BOTHAMSALL OR BOTTOMSALL

(3) 1225 Botmeshil, Index.

(4) 1302 Bothemeshull)
1316 Bothemeshul [ F.A.
1428 Bothomsell J

"The well or spring of Bodwine (or *Bodm&r'?)" From
Type II I, the earliest spellings on record, we clearly gather
that the second element was the Scand. kelda, "a. spring or
well." A flowing well is still to be seen in a field in the centre
of the village ; its water supplies a trough standing in the main
road. It is very probably the original spring after which the
locality is called.

There exists some doubt as to the exact significance of the
first element. The name Bodwine is frequently found in O.E.
documents, but a trace of the w is nowhere preserved except
in the solitary instance under Type I. All the other spellings
contain m> which, however, may be the result of the coalescence
of w and n, the m taking the lip-action from the former, and the
nasalisation from the latter sound (cp. Rampton < Rafn-\ It is,
therefore, not absolutely necessary to assume the existence of an
O.E, pers. n. Bodm&r, of which there are no other traces, but
which would correspond to the O.H.G. Botmar (Forstemann, I).

It is not difficult to explain the variety of spellings recorded
of this name. The t of Type II 3 and the modern pronuncia-
tion arose out of confusion with the noun " bottom." Intervocalic
d seems to become open in the dialect (Type II 4 and local
pronunciation). The k after the s has been assimilated, but the
latter retained its voiceless quality. Various spellings show an
attempt on the part of the writers to connect the second element
with "hill."

BOUGHTON [butn].

Type L

1086 Buchetun, D.B.
1225 Buketon, Index.
1316 Bucketon, F.A.
1318 Bucton, Index.

BRADMORE 21

Type II.
/] /Non. Inq.

1346 Bughton ft
1377 j Index.

1535 / iVal. Eccl.

1571 Boughton, Index.

Type II L
1346 Button, F.A.

" The tun or farmstead of Bucca" The phonetic development
of this word presents a number of interesting features. The k
preserved in Type I was opened before / (Phonology, § 20) ;
the result was the first form of Type II, pronounced [buxton].
Before the gh [x], an &-glide arose which, combined with the
original u, formed a long vowel [u] spelt oil in the second form
of Type II, and the modern name. Curiously enough, this u
does not seem to have been diphthongised, probably on account
of the preceding labial (see Phonology, § 4).

Type III shows assimilation of k to t (Phonology, § 13).

BRADEBUSK (in Gonalston Parish).

c. 1500 Brodebuske, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The broad bush." The second element is the Scand. busk
(cf. Bonbusk). Erode- is a variant of broad ; the a in open syllable,
found in the modern spelling, points to the influence of Scand.
breiftr.

Of this place nothing is left but the ruins of a hospital,
which derived its name "from a remarkably broad thorn tree
which grew near it" (White, Directory, 1853, p. 489).

BRADMORE.

Type L

1086 Brademere, D.B.
1216-1307 Brademar, Testa de N.
1294 Brademare, Woll. MSS.
1302 Brademere, F.A.
Type IL

c. 1500 Bradmore, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1534 Brademore, Index.

22 BRADMORE

"The broad lake, or pool." The original mere of Type I
was later on replaced by the more familiar more, moor. The
first element stands for O.E. brad, "broad," with the vowel
shortened before the combination dm (Phonology, § i).

BRAMCOTE [braemket].

Type I.

0^ fBroncote } ,
lOoo {-. \ D.B.

(Brunecote J

c. 1200 Brancote, Woll. MSS.

Type II.
c. 1200 Bramcote, Woll. MSS.

I284JBramcote, F.A.
I3I6J

Type II L

I34o JBrauncote, F.A.
1428}

" The cot or dwelling in the place cleared of brushwood by
means of fire." The first element I take to be M.E. brand which
is recorded in the N.E.D. as meaning the " act, means or result
of burning." Instances of its occurrence in pi. ns. are given
by Prof. Wyld (Lanes. PI. Ns. p. 297). On the continent this
element occurs frequently in place nomenclature.

Type I retains the original n, the d having been lost between
the two consonants. The o of the first D.B. spelling may stand
for a before nasals (Stolze, § 2), or u as in the alternative spelling.
This u is a mistake of the D.B. scribe, who was probably thinking
of the rather frequent pers. n. Brun. The change of n to m in
Type II is due to the assimilatory influence of the initial b
(see Phonology, § 13). Type III represents the Anglo-French
pronunciation of a before nasals (Phonology, § n).

N.B. It would also be admissible to derive the name from
Brand, a pers. n. of Scandinavian origin (see Bjorkman).

BRECKS (" The Brecks," a tract of light forest land to the
west of Boughton).

This word is of Scand. origin ; it comes from brekka, " a
slope" (Vgf.). Neither the N.E.D. nor the Dial. Diet, contains it.

BRINSLEY 23

BRENTSHILL (a lofty eminence covered with traces of ancient
earthworks, near Barton).

"The steep hill"? With this name may be compared Brent
Knoll near Athelney in Somersetshire which also shows traces
of an old camp. The first element seems to be the dialect word
(Yks., Leics.) brent, " steep." The s may be regarded as a late
addition that owes its existence to the erroneous assumption
that the first part of a compound pi. n. must appear in the
genitive case. (Cp. Merrils Bridge?)

BRIDGEFORD or BRIDGFORD (East).
1086 Brugeford, D.B.
1302 Brigeford, F.A.
1345 Estbryggeford, Index.

" The ford by the (ruined) bridge " ? The u of D.B. stands
for O.E. y (Stolze, § 15). In Roman times, the place seems to
have been called " ad pontem," but this is by no means established
(Victoria County History, II, pp. 6, 7, 17).

It is quite true that no traces of a Roman bridge have been
discovered. The original Roman bridge may have been a
wooden structure which was allowed to decay in post-Roman
times.

BRIDGEFORD or BRIDGFORD (West).
1086 Brigeforde, D.B.
1203 Brigiford, Index.
1302 Briggeford ad Pontem, F.A.

There has been a bridge at this place since the days of
Edward the Elder (924), so that the ending " ford " seems some-
what out of place. It is, however, possible that " ford " means
" road across a river," whatever the actual means of passing from
one bank to the other may be. Or is " ford " a name that can be
applied to any place on a river or brook ?

BRINSLEY.

Type I.

1086 Brunesleia, D.B.
1216-1307 Brunesleg, Testa de N.
1291 Brunnesley, Tax. Eccl.
1312 Brunnesleye, Woll. MSS.

24 BRINSLEY

Type IL

1216-1307 Brinseley, Testa de N.
1316 Brinnesleye, F.A.

"The leak or open field of Brun, or Bryne'.' The name
Brun is very frequent in O.K. ; the variant Bryne (Type II)
seems to have taken its place and survived1. At the time of the
D.B. survey, a man called Brun held four bovates in this place :
it is highly probable that he was the owner or settler who gave
his name to the locality. In that case, Type II is due to
analogy with the co-existing variant Bryne. If this is correct,
Brinsley would be one of the very few pi. ns. called after persons
about whom anything is known.

BROADHOLME.

1086 Brodeholm, D.B.
ii6(D| (Index.

1 29 1 1 Brodholm ^Tax. Eccl.

1428) [F.A.

1637 Bradham, Map in Camden.
1704 Brodham, Map of 1704.

"The broad holme, or island." The word * holm is probably
of Scand. origin. The o for O.K. a in the D.B. entry is remark-
able, as the change of a to M.E. ^ is not, as a rule, found as early
as the date of the great survey (Stolze, § 3).

The spellings of 1637 and 1704 represent attempts at
etymology. Camden's a in the first syllable may be due to early
shortening of d before dh (cp. Bradmore.)

BROUGH [braf].

"The burh, or fortified place." In Thoroton's History
(i7th cent) the place is called Bruff\ by that time it was "only
a name." It' is derived from O.E. buruh, a designation applied
to fortified places, especially to all walled towns and camps.
Brough is the site of the Roman station called Crocolana
(MacClure, p. 109).

1 It is, however, not impossible that the « of Type I may represent a Norman
rendering of the sound of the rounded O. E. y.

BROXTOW 25

BROUGHTON (Upper) [brotn].

Type I.

1086 Brotone, D.B.
1291 Brocton, Tax. Eccl.
1316 Brokton, F.A.

Type II.

1346 Broghton, F.A.
1571 Broughton, Index.

Type III.

1302 Brotton, F.A.

" The tun or farmstead by the brook." The development of
the O.K. Broctun is similar to that of Boughton (q.v.). Before
the kt, o was shortened (Type I) ; then kt became ht (Type III),
then an ^-glide developed (Type II 2). M.E. ou seems to be
represented by 5 in the modern dialect (Phonology, § 9). Type
III shows assimilation, kt> tt.

Upper Broughton occupies the eastern slope of a steep hill
overlooking the Leicestershire village of Nether Broughton.

BROXTOW (formerly the name of a hundred ; it now appears
in Broxtow Hall, a farmhouse in the parish of Bilborough).
fBrocolvestou

1086

Brochelestou

D.B.

| Brolvestou
\Bruchelestou

c. 1175 Brocolvestou ) .,, „ .___
, . \ Woll. MSS.

c. 1190 Brogcholvestowej

1284 Brocolstowe) .
1428 Brokestowe J

1457 Brocholwestouwa alias Brokestou, Index.
(Brokstowe)
lBrox(t)all }

O.K. Brocwulfes stow, " the place of Brocwulf" The operation
of various phonetic laws has produced a vast number of more
and more abbreviated forms.

Although the pers. n. involved is not recorded in the
Onomasticon, it must have existed in O.K., as would appear

26 BROXTOW

from this pi. n. and the one found in the Crawford Charters
(p. 70). The name is found as Proculf in O.H.G. (Forste-
mann, i).

The second element is of somewhat doubtful meaning. It is
usually employed in O.K. as signifying " place, locality " ; very
often, however, its sense is that of " sacred site, burial-place "
(see Middendorf, s.v.). In the present case it may have the
latter meaning. If so, Broxtow would have been the burial-
place or mound of a certain Brocwulf, where the men of the
hundred assembled.

Isaac Taylor explains the name as meaning "place at the
Badger's hole " which is, of course, untenable.

BUDBY.

1086 Butebi, D.B.
1278) ( H.R.

1316} Buteb^ { F.A.

"The byr or farmstead of Butr, or Butti? The second
element being of undoubtedly Scand. origin, the same may be
expected of the first. The names Butr and Butti are not found
in English sources, but are recorded by Rygh (Gamle Person-
navne). The change from t to d is due to the voicing influence
of the surrounding sounds.

N.B. The O.K. name Budda can hardly be contained in the
pi. n. seeing that the early spellings all exhibit a t.

BULCOTE [buka].

1086 Bulecote, D.B.
1278 Bulkete, H.R.
(Bolcote) .
iBulcotj RA-
1637 Boucot, Map in Camden.

" The cote of the bull, the cattle shed." The O.K. equivalent
of modern "bull" occurs in compounds- only ; this is one of
those cases. A parallel name is found in Lambcote (q.v.).

BULWELL [locally : bulal ; otherwise : bulwal].
1086 Bulewelle, D.B.
1316 Bolewell, F.A.

BUNNY 27

The meaning of the second element is clear. As to the first,
various explanations may be offered :

(1) It may stand for the O.E. pers. n. Bulla.

(2) It may represent the O.E. *bule, "a bull" (see prec.
name).

(3) It may describe the sound produced by the flowing
water of the spring. Although I am unable to suggest what
the exact form of the O.E. name was, I feel sure that this
latter is the correct explanation. The well or spring from
which the locality derives its name is still in existence and
known to the people as " the Bulwell " without any addition ; on
the maps it is marked "Bulwell Spring." There is a copious
flow of brilliantly clear water rushing out of the red sandstone
with a bubbling1 noise. In a few places the water rises from
the bottom of a small pool as if it were boiling. In the N.E.D.
the noun bulling is recorded as occurring once, describing " the
action of water issuing from a spring, bubbling." It is there
compared with French bouillir, Latin bulllre\ but it is evident
that both are independent onomatopoefic formations2. The
same word is encountered in German with the addition of a
frequentative r : bullern, " Blasen werfend gerauschvoll aufwallen ;
ein dumpfes Gerausch machen."

BUNNY.

1086 Bonei, D.B.
1227-771 „ (Non. Inq.

1284} Boneye IF.A.

1 This word is derived from * bullan by reduplication, often found in onomatopoetic
formations : cp. the German stirren and the Latin susurrare.

2 This particular combination of sounds is such a perfect imitation of the noise of
"bubbling" water that it is often formed ad hoc and independently. The following
quotations will show how onomatopoetic words come into existence, affording at the
same time a welcome illustration and parallel of the origin of the pi. n. under
discussion. They are taken from one of the most typical works of German Romanti-
cism, Bettina von Arnim's "Goethes Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde" (Reclam's
edition). " ...und dann die runde grime Quelle, an der wirstanden, die so ewig uber
sich sprudelt, bul, bul, und Du sagtest, sie rufe der Nachtigall... " (p. 287). "Dort
im Park zu Weimar gingen wir Hand in Hand unter den dichtbelaubten Baumen,
das Mondlicht fiel ein... dann fiihrtest Du mich an die Quelle, sie kam mitten aus dem
Rasen hervor, wie eine griine krystallne Kugel, da standen wir eine Weile und horten
ihrem Geton zu. * Sie ruft der Nachtigall,' sagtest Du, « denn die heisst auf persisch
Bulbul..."'(p- 565).

28 BUNNY

Thoroton in his History (l, p. 85) gives the correct etymology:
" Probably from Reeds." O.K. at bum e^e, " at the water full of
reeds"; the O.E. and M.E. bum of uncertain derivation is
translated by "canna, harundo, calamus" in early glossaries
(see N.E.D., bun, sb.). The modern English meaning of bun is
"a hollow stem, especially of an umbelliferous plant, a kex";
compare Fitzherbert, Husbandry (1523) : " The...lowe places, and
all the holowe bunnes and pypes that grow therin " (I.e.).

BURTON JOYCE.

Type L
1086 Bertune, D.B.

Type II.
c. 1170 Birtona, Woll. MSS.

1278) _. /H.R.

' \ Birton (_
1291] (Tax. Eccl.

1302 Byrton j pA
1428 Birton J

Type III.

1428 Burton Jorce, F.A.
1535 Burton Jorth, Joys, Val. Eccl.

Type I is one of the numerous blunders of the D.B. scribes.
It might stand for O.E. beorg tun, "the farm on the hill"; but
this sense is quite different from that of the more numerous
and reliable spellings that follow.

Type II = O.E. byrih tun, "the farm by the fortified place";
Type 111 = O.E. buruh tun meaning the same thing; buruh and
byrih are variants of the same word.

The addition of Joyce is accounted for by the place having
once been in the possession of that family : " Robertus de Jorz
tenet in B." (F.A. 1302).

BURTON (West).

1086 Burtone, D.B.
i2Qn rTax. Eccl.

1 316 1 Burton 4F.A.

1428] [F.A.

See preceding name, Type III.

CARBURTON OR CARBERTON 29

BYCARDYKE.

1189 Bikeresdic, Nottm. Ch.

^ f Bikerisdick ) TT _
1278 \ . ... I H.R.

I Bikensdik J

The second element is O.K. dzc, " ditch," as it developed on
Northumbrian territory, with k instead of tf (Biilbring, § 496).
It is difficult to say what the first element is. It may stand for
O.N. bekkr, " brook," with the nominatival r preserved, and the
English s added as a sign of the genitive. It is also possible
that the original compound was bekkjar die, bekkjar being the
regular O.N. genitive form, and that later on a superfluous s was
added when the original meaning of er had become obliterated.
If so, the meaning would be "the dyke of the brook."

The West Riding pi. n. Bickerton is explained by Prof.
Moorman as meaning "the enclosure by the water"; Bickerstaffe
in Lancashire contains the same first element. Prof. Wyld
translates it by " the shore of the brook " (Lanes. PI. Ns., s.v.).

The transition from e to i in the first syllable is probably
due to the influence of the following k : the change bekkr,
bekkjar>yi.'E. bicker is similar to that from O.K. strec, "straight,"
to Northern M.E. stric (Morsbach, M.E. Gramm. § 109).

The modern spelling does not contain s, and probably goes
back to the original type bekkjar (bekkr) die. It has a somewhat
fantastic appearance, having been influenced by analogy of
the preposition by, and car, a dialect word meaning "swamp,
bog" (see Carburton).

CALVERTON [" vulgarly " : kovatn ; otherwise : kav8tn,
kaelvatn].

1086 Calvretone, D.B.
1284 Calverton, F.A.

O.E. (Mercian) calfra tun, "the enclosure of the calves."
The sound development presents many interesting details. The
third pronunciation recorded above is entirely based on the
modern spelling.

CARBURTON or CARBERTON.

1086 Carbertone, D.B.
1278 Carberton, H.R.

30 CARBURTON OR CARBERTON

"The barley-enclosure, or grange, on the marshy land, or
car." See Barton with which it is identical. The prefixed car
meaning " a pool, low-lying land apt to be flooded, boggy grass
land" (Dial. Diet.) is derived from Scand. kiarr, "marshy
ground."

CAR COLSTON.

1086 Colestone, D.B.

^ f Kercolmston ) „,

1216-1307 IT.,,, \ Testa de N.

( Kyrkholmston J

1284 Kercolston |
1428 Kyrkalston J

"The farmstead of Col in the bog." The man's name Col
may be of O.K. or Scand. origin ; Dr Bjorkman is inclined to
take the latter view. The Testa de N. spellings are fantastical
attempts at etymology. For car see preceding name.

CARLTON (near Nottingham).
1086 Carentune, D.B.
1302 Carleton, F.A.

CARLTON-IN-LINDRICK.

r Caretone \
1086 J Carletone \ D.B.

[ Careltune j

1135-54 Carletuna, Index.
1291 Karleton in Lyndryk, Tax. Eccl.

CARLTON (South or Little).

1199-1216 Karleton, Index.

CARLTON-UPON-TRENT.

1086 i D.B.

( Carentune J

It is difficult, if not impossible, to say with any degree of
certainty whether the first element of these names is the Scand.
noun carl, corresponding to the O.K. ceorl, or a pers. name,
either Carl, or Carla. Dr Bjorkman seems to be in favour of
the latter explanation (p. 78), whereas Isaac Taylor (Engl.
Village Names, § 3), Prof. Skeat (PL Ns. of Beds., s.v. Charlton),

CAUNTON 31

Prof. Wyld (PL Ns. of Lanes, p. 93) and Prof. Moorman (PL Ns.
of W. Riding, pp. xvi, 42) adopt the former. According to the
last named authority, the O.E. prototypes were carla tun, carla
being the gen. pi. of Scand. karlt or carlana tun> with substitu-
tion of the weak gen. pi. carlana for the strong form carla
(Sievers, § 257, anm. 4). The meaning of the place-names would
be " the enclosure of the freemen." The meaning of ceorl, karl
was not always that of the present-day churl or carl, which are
descended from them. It was used in legal language to denote
the freeman standing between the noble and the slave.

The curious early spellings noted in the above list with its
omissions and transformations offer no difficulty to anyone
acquainted with the vagaries of Anglo-Norman scribes.

Lindrick = " lime- wood," from O.E. lind, "a lime-tree," and
*ric, which seems to be identical with Low German ricke,
" tractus, Hag, langliches Gebusch." See Jellinghaus, who quotes
the Westphalian pi. n. Bockryck, " beech copse."

CAUNTON.

Type /.

^ j Calnestone \
\ Carletun J
1166-7 Calnodeston, Pipe Roll XI.

c. 1 200 Kalnadatun \ .

^ T^ 1 i h Index,

c. 1216 Kalnadton J

1278 Callenton, H.R.
1302 Calneton | T- A
1316 Caneton J

Type II.
c. 1225 Calfnadtun, Index.

The various forms under Type I seem to point to a pers. n.
*Carlndft as the first element. The element nd& occurs in
pers. ns. both in Scandinavian and West Germanic. It is,
however, impossible to come to any definite conclusion unless
the existence of the name *Carlnd& could be authenticated. A
reinvestigation of the pi. ns. Kalladaberg, Kalladaland etc.,
quoted by Rygh (Gamle Personnavne, pp. 155-6), whose

32 CAUNTON

explanation cannot be accepted, might, perhaps, throw light
upon this question.

Type II seems a mere futile attempt at etymology on the
part of the scribe.

CAYTHORP.

Type I.

c.1170 Cathorpj
c. 1200 Cattorp j
1316 Cathorp, F.A.

Type IL
1216-1307 Kalthorp, Testa de N.

There is a Caythorpe in Lines., which appears as Carltorp in
D.B. This at once settles the etymology of the pi. n. The
meaning of the prefix car^karlvi&s discussed under Carlton (q.v.).
The development was as follows : Carfyorp > Carrfrorp (Type I,
which survived), or Cal(l)porp (Type II); arp>d}>t etc. (see
Phonology, § 7).

CHILWELL.

Type I.

ICidwelle \
Chidewelle
Cillewelle
Ciluellis j
1302 Chillewell, F.A.

Type IL
1284 Chelewelle, F.A.

This name also exists in Lancashire, in the modern disguise
of Childwall, and is discussed by Prof. Wyld (PL Ns. of Lanes,
p. 91). I take the first element to be the O.K. *celdt *cild\
which is not found as an independent word but appears in the
Kentish pi. n. Bapchild (see Jellinghaus, Anglia, XX, 299;
MacClure, p. 226). It is connected with Scand. keld, " a well,
spring, pool." The second element of Chilwell being O.K. wiell,

1 O. Bulg. klad$zi, "a well," is derived from a hypothetical Gothic noun *kaldiggs
which Dr Hirt takes to contain the root of modern Engl. cold (Etymologic der
neuhochdeutschen Sprache, 1909, p. 45).

CLIFTON 33

well, "spring," the meaning of the whole name most probably
is : " The pool containing a spring, the flowing well."

The variation in the vowel of the alternative did and celd
found in Types I and II respectively is explained by assumi'ng
that the former is the Southern, the latter the Northern O.E.
form (Bulbring, §§151, 154).
CLAREBOROUGH [klabra].

1086 Claureburg, D.B.
1189 Claverburc, P.R.
1278 Claverburg, H.R.
1286 Clauerburge, Index.

" The fortified place where clover grows." The vowel in the
O.E. clczfre or cldfre was shortened before the combination vr ;
the v was lost according to rule.

CLAYWORTH or CLAWORTH.

1086 Clauorde, D.B.

1155 Clawurda, P.R.

1225 Clawrd, Bor. Rec.

1278 Clawurh, H.R.

1316 Clauworth, F.A.

1637 Cloworth, Map in Camden.

"The farm in the clay land." It is remarkable that no
ancestors of the first and most frequent form of this name have
come down to us. All the early spellings, as well as the modern
alternative, point to a shortening of the first element having
taken place : O.E. clce$weorp > clce^weor]) >clawor£> ; before the
w an z/-glide arose (F.A. of 1316) which formed a diphthong with
the preceding vowel. This au had become monophthongised
by the time of Camden. The principal modern form probably
owes its existence to the fact that the etymology of the name
had at no period become altogether obscured. The soil of this
township is a rich clay.

CLIFTON (North and South) ; and CLIFTON near Nottingham.
Cliftune \

0/c , Clifton
1086 { L D.B.

Chstone

Clitone J
M. 3

34 CLIFTON

The etymology of this name is obvious, especially to those
who have visited the localities. The villages of North Clifton
and Clifton near Nottingham are situated near long cliffs.

The curious Clistone of D.B. can puzzle only those unfamiliar
with the vagaries of the Norman scribe.

CLIPSTONE.

1086 ( CHpestone
( Chpestune
1189 Clipeston, P.R.
1695 Clipstow, Map in Camden.

" The tun or farmstead of Clip? The man's name Clip is
recorded once as that of a moneyer (Onomasticon).

The modern spelling seems to imply that the second element
was O.E. stdn, " stone, rock, boundary or gravestone." There is
nothing in the early spellings to support this assumption ; on the
contrary, the second D.B. form in particular clearly shows the
second element to have been O.E. tun. The modern name has
simply retained the appearance given it in M.E. times by Anglo-
Norman scribes who habitually rendered the Engl. u before n
by o, often adding a superfluous e at the end. Camden seems
to have blundered in rendering the pronunciation Clip-stone
imperfectly.

CLIPSTONE-ON-THE- WOLDS.

See preceding name. No early forms.

CLUMBER.

1086 Clunbre, D.B.

1216-1307 Clumber, Testa de N.

White's Directory (1853) describes thje appearance of the
neighbourhood in the i8th century as follows (p. 586): "About
a hundred years ago, it was one of the wildest tracts of Sherwood
forest, being then * little more than a black heath full of rabbits,
having a narrow river running through it, with a small boggy
close or two.' " Originally, the name Clumber belonged to a
wood, from which it passed to the modern magnificent mansion
and park of the Dukes of Newcastle now occupying its site.

CODDINGTON 35

Considering the former appearance of the locality, I take the
pi. n. Clumber to be the same as the independent word of
identical form still found in English dialects. In the Dial. Diet.,
the following senses of the noun clumber (clumper) are recorded :
(i) "a lump, a heavy clod of earth" ; (2) pi. "shapeless blocks of
stone strewn over the surface of the ground " ; (3) " a clump or
patch of trees, plants." The N.E.D. derives this word from O.K.
clympre, "lump, mass of metal." It is very probable that the
word was originally applied (in the second sense of the Dial.
Diet.) to a mass of shapeless boulders whose appearance struck
the early inhabitants as sufficiently singular to characterise the
site.

Modern German cognates are Klumpen, " unformliche Masse,"
and Klumper, " Kliimpchen."

mb is often written nb in D.B. ; see early spellings of Cromwell
and Lambcote.

COATES.

1316 Cotes, F.A.

"The dwellings, houses, or huts." The O.E. singular was
cot, "a house, cottage."

CODDINGTON.

1086 Cotintone, D.B.

1175 Cotintona, Woll. MSS.

1316 Codington, F.A.

There exist in O.E. the pers. ns. Cotta and Codda, and it is
very difficult to say which of the two is really contained in the
above pi. n. The two older spellings seem to point to the
former, the third to the latter. It is also possible that the original
tt became voiced under the influence of the surrounding vowels,
a process that might have been assisted by the presence of
another t causing dissimilation.

It is equally questionable whether the ing is the result of the
pers. n. having originally appeared in the patronymic or in the
gen. sg. However, as all the old forms contain the vowel z,
the former was most probably the case.

3—2

36 COLLINGHAM

COLLINGHAM.

1086 Colingeham, D.B.
1189 Collingeham, P.R.
1284 Colingham, F.A.

" The home or village of the Collings" The pers. n. Co!/,
Col(l}a etc. is comparatively frequent in late O.K. records.
Dr Bjorkman is of opinion that it came from Scandinavia.

The same patronymic seems to occur in the continental
pi. n., O.H.G. Collinchova (Forstemann, il).

COLSTON-BASSET [kousn, or less frequently koulsn].

1086 Coleton, D.B.
1160 Colestun, Index.
1302 Colston Basset, F.A.

" The tun or farm of Col!' See Car Colston. Basset is the
name of a noble family that once held land in this place ; see
Bassetlaw.

COLWICK [kolik].

{Colewic j
Colewi > D.B.
Colui J
1225 Colewic, Bor. Rec.

The first element of this name is undoubtedly the pers. n.
Coly which also occurs in Colston (q.v.). What the second part
means, it is difficult to say for certain. If the first element is of
Scand. origin, as Dr Bjorkman assumes, the second may be
expected to be derived from the same source. In that case,
-wick would go back to the O.N. vtk, " creek, bay," and " Cols
creek " would be the interpretation of the modern pi. n.

There also exists, in the English language, the word wickt
" farmstead village." It goes back to O.K. wlc^ " dwelling-place,
village," but is found in that form in the Northumbrian dialects
only, the Southern and Midland type being wick (in pi. ns. only),
with the c (k) fronted. (See Bulbring, § 496.) Cp. Papplewick.
If the O.E. wic occurred in this county it would have the latter
form unless it could be proved that it was imported from north
of the Humber.

COTGRAVE 37

COSSAL.

1086 Coteshale, D.B.

c. 1200 Cozale, Woll. MSS.

1284 Gossale } _ A
„ , > r.A.
1302 Cossale j

"The healh or valley of Cot(ta).n The z in the Woll. MSS.
spelling stands for ts according to Norman-French practice.
ts has become ss through assimilation. The change from initial
c to g in the first F.A. form is by no means an isolated one ;
cp. the spelling of Cotgrave in D.B.

COSTOCK or CORTLINGSTOCK.

1086 { Cortingestoche ) D R

( Cotmgestoche j

1166-7 Cordingestoch, P.R.

1302 Cortelingstocke, F.A.

1535 Cortelyngstoke, Valor Eccl.

1637 Corthigstoke, Map in Camden.

" The dwelling-place or village of the Cortlings" O.K. Cortlinga
stoc. For the exact meaning of stoc see List of Elements. The
pers. n. Cartel is not recorded in any of the collections of names.
It must, however, have existed. The O.K. Cyrtel is found in the
Crawford Charters (p. 52), and the editors have added further
instances of pi. ns. containing it. See also Skeat, PL Ns. of
Cambridgeshire, s.v. Kirtling. I take both names to be derived
from an older *Curt (cp. Crotus, Crotilo, Werle, Index), by
means of the diminutive suffix il, #/; the addition of il produced
Cyrtel, whereas Cortal gave rise to CorteL On the continent,
the same pers. n. seems to be contained in the Low German
Krotillandorf (Forstemann, II). The varying position of r is
easily explained, as metathesis in pers. ns. is not infrequent.

The name Curt may be identical with the Germ, adjective
kurz. The surname Kortzel is found in modern German.

COTGRAVE.

Type I.

1086 Godegrave, D.B.
1157 Cottegaua.

_ (Bodl. Ch. and R.

Cotegrave F.A.

38 COTGRAVE

Type II.

c (Re?. Lenton Abbey, quoted
? Cotesgrafe \ * _, J , ^

\ by Thoroton, I. 166.

" At the grave of Cot(ta), O.E. at Cottan (Type I) or Cottes
(Type II) grafe."

GOTHAM.

1086 { ?tun 1 D.B.
( Cotes J

1302 Cotum, F.A.

" At the dwelling-houses or cottages." The D.B. spellings
represent the O.E. dat. pi. and nom. pi. respectively. The
former survived (from O.E. cet cotunt), the final m being later
taken to stand for -ham, -home, as usual. Cp. Coates, Cottam.

COTTAM (under Leverton).

1302 Cotum, F.A.

The same as Gotham, without the erroneous etymological
spelling, as far as the additional h is concerned.

CROMWELL [kramel, but usually kromwel].

1086 Crunwelle, D.B.
1278) (H.R.

1302 [• Crumwell -
1637 J

F.A.

Map in Camden.

" At the winding brook," O.E. at crumb(um) welle. From O.E.
crumb, " winding, crooked," and well, " a brook." The develop-
ment of sounds is well in accord with the general rules. The
original, and natural pronunciation of this pi. n. is hardly known
outside the immediate neighbourhood. In Ireland, however, the
Protector is still called [kramal], which seems to prove that
hatred has a better memory than love or admiration. Or does
it merely show that the Irish have not yet come under the
spell of the printed word to the same extent as their English
brethren ?

CUCKNEY 39

CROPWELL BISHOP, and CROPWELL BUTLER.

!086 { ?°Pjille I D.B.
( Crophelle )

1216-72 Cropil, Index.

(a) 1316 Croppehull Episcopi, F.A.
1336 Crophull Bisshop, Index.

(b) 1284 Crophill Botiller )
1302 Croppilboteler )

1368 Crophull Botiler, Index.

c. 1500 Cropwell, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" At the hump-shaped hill." The first element is the Scand.
kroppr, " a hump or bunch " (Vigf.) ; it occurs in pi. ns. found in
the Landnama Bok. The modern spelling is due to confusion
with well, which undoubtedly was assisted by the development
of a labial glide after the / when the h had been lost. The
additions explain themselves : the Archbishop of York and the
noble family of Butler were at one time the respective owners of
the two villages.

Thoroton gives the correct etymology of this name when
he says (l, 189) that they (viz. C.-Bishop and C.-Butler) were so
named " from a round Hill which is between them, now called
Hou-Hilir

CUCKNEY.

Type L

1086 Cuchenai, D.B.

1 200 Cucheneia, Bodl. Ch. and R.

1278 Cuckenay, H.R.

1302 Cockeney, F.A.

1329 Kukeney, Index.

Type II.
1250 (Richard de) Kukeney (in)

Kuyekeney, Bodl. Ch. and R.

" At the quick, running water, or brook." There must have
been two O.E. alternative forms of this name : at cucan e$e
(Type I) and cet cwican e$e (Type II), cticu being a variant of

40 CUCKNEY

cwicu, "quick, alive." (See Biilbring, § 464.) With this name
we may compare the Low German Quickbom, and the O.H.G.
kecprunno, " lebendiges Wasser, Quelle," in the poem of Christ
and the Samaritan Woman (14: "uuar maht thu guot man,
neman quecprunnan ? " The Vulgate has : " unde ergo habes
aquam vivam?" St John iv. 11).

The second element is O.K. ege, " water, river, stream."

DALBY (brook near Hickling).

DALINGTON [daelintn].

1086 Dallingtune, D.B.

"SO

1156 VDerlintun, P.R.

H57J

" The fun or farmstead of the Deorlings." The D.B. form
shows assimilation of rl to // which is quite in accordance with
the almost universal practice of its compilers. On the other
hand, it is surprising to find a(r) for er so early as the date
of D.B. The phonetic development of erl is treated in the
Phonology (§7).

DANETHORPE.

1086 Dordentorp, D.B.

1637 Dernthorp, Map in Camden.

quoted by Thoroton from
? \ Dornethorp V^

unknown sources.
I Darnethorp J

"The thorp of Deorna." In D.B., O.E. eo is represented
by o ; the pronunciation probably was [ce], mid-front-wide-round.
The O.E. prototype was Deornan frorp, of which the first n had
become denasalised in the pronunciation of the Normans under
the dissimilatory influence of the following n, the result being
the voiced point stop, d. Zachrisson (pp. 120 sqq.) has collected
a number of similar changes.

The development of er (> ar,>d> ei) is treated elsewhere
(Phonology, §7).

DOVER BECK 41

DARLTON [daltnj.

1086 Derluveton, D.B.

1278 } _ . , f H.R.

' }• Derleton \ _ .
1316] (F.A.

1695 Darleton, Map in Camden.

" The tun or farmstead of Deorlaf? The D.B. spelling is the
most reliable in this case. There existed another Deorldfestun
in O.E. (Cod. Dipl. 1298), which has resulted in the modern
Darliston^ Staffs. The existence side by side of these two
names — one with and the other without s — clearly demonstrates
that the genitival s may be absent even if the first element is a
pers. n. following the strong declension.

DAYBROOK (under Arnold).

Apparently a modern name derived from that of the brook
on which the hamlet is situated. There used to be cotton mills
in this neighbourhood worked by water-power. It is said that
the brook was frequently stopped during the night, so that the
water might accumulate for the day's work : thus the brook
carried water in the daytime only. I give this somewhat singular
account as it was related to me. This explanation is very doubtful.

DEAN (brook near Hickling).

This name may be of Celtic origin ; there is a river Dane in
Staffordshire, and another in Cheshire. Isaac Taylor (Words
and Places, ch. IX) enumerates a large number of river-names
containing a similar element found in various parts of Europe
formerly occupied by Celts.

DEVON (river) [dlvn].

1680 Devon, Index.
A Celtic river-name ; see Dean.

DOVER BECK.

1225 Doverbec, Bor. Rec.

This name is a tautology. The first part is of Celtic origin,
having a common ancestor with modern Welsh dwr, dwfr,
" water." When the original meaning was lost, an explanatory
superfluous beck, from Scandinavian bekk(r\ " brook," was added.

42 DRAKEHOLES

DRAKEHOLES.

This small hamlet, of which no early forms are available, is
situated "in a narrow part of the hills through which the
Chesterfield canal passes by means of a tunnel." The meaning
may be : " the holes of the dragon, or dragons," O.K. dracan, or
dracena kol(as). Cp. Low German Drakenloch, a small valley
leading out of the Urpetal (Jellinghaus, p. vi).

DRAYTON (East and West).

, Draitone ,

1086 \ \ D.B.

Draitun

I3I6J

Drayton, F.A.

"The hidden tun or farmstead." There exist numerous
Draytons all over the country. Prof. Skeat (PI. Ns. Cambs.
p. 9) was the first to explain their etymology. He compares
the element drai- with a squirrel's dray, which he says is derived
from an O.E. drcz§ with the wider sense of " retreat, hiding-
place."

The appearance of the modern village of West Drayton
seems to bear out the suggested etymology. West Drayton is
situated in low-lying, boggy country, surrounded on all sides by
distant hills. It is not discovered by the traveller until he has
come close upon it. When dwellings were low and brushwood
and trees more plentiful, the seclusion of the spot must have
been still more apparent. East Drayton, however, is quite open.

DRINSEY NOOK.

The " Nook " is a slight projection of dry land among
meadows subject to floods. It was an island before that part
of the country was drained. In the absence of early spellings
one can only guess at the meaning. I take it to have been
O.E. Drenges ege, " Dreng's island." The word Dreng is used
both as a pers. n., and an appellative. The latter, which is the
original of the pers. n., comes from Scandinavian and designates
members of that class sometimes spoken of as rddcnihtas in
O.E. literature (PI. Ns. of the W. Rid. p. xxiii). They were the
successors of the old pe$nas, " retainers of a chief, noblemen,"
principally employed in warfare. Above the ceorl (see Carltori)

EARRING 43

in station they often enjoyed the privileges of the mediaeval
nobility (see Vinogradoff, Growth of the Manor, p. 220; Engl.
Society in the nth Cent. p. 62).

It is doubtful whether the word is used in the first or second
sense here. The West Riding pi. n. Dringhouses, older Drengehous,
most probably contains the appellative in the plural : drenga husy
" the houses of the soldiers or noblemen."

ey > iy according to rule ; the form Dring is found in
M.E. (Phonology, § 6). ys > ns through assimilation (Phonology,
§13)-

DUNHAM-ON-TRENT.

1086 Duneham, D.B.
1155 Duneha, P.R.
1316 Dunham, F.A.

The second element of this name is undoubtedly O.K. ham,
"home, homestead, village." The first may be either O.K. dun,
"hill, mountain," or the genitive of the pers. n. Dun(d). The
place being situated on a gentle eminence, the former alternative
may be taken as the most likely interpretation. Thus the
meaning would be "the village on the hill."

It has been suggested that this place derives its name from
the " dunes," i.e. hills of blown sand found in the neighbourhood.
This is impossible, as the word dune meaning " a low sand-hill "
is of comparatively recent introduction, having come into the
English language through the medium of French speech. The
N.E.D. gives 1213 as the first date of its occurrence.

DUNSELL-IN-TEVERSAL.

There are no early forms. It may be derived from O.E. dun
seld or setl (Biilbring, § 444), " the dwelling on the down or hill."
But this is a mere guess for which there is no reliable evidence.
However, the farmhouse bearing this name is actually situated
on a hill.

EAKRING.

Type I.

1086 I *C?ringh? 1 D.B.

( Echeringhe
1174-5 Ekeringa, P.R.

44 EARRING

Type II.

1637 Akringe, Map in Camden.
1704 Akring, Map 1704.

Type II L

1156 Eikeringe ) _

,-,. . \ Index.

1 200 Eigrmg J

1278 Aykering, H.R.

1 29 1 \ T, . . . [ Tax. Eccles.
( Eykrmgk J

1302 Eykring |
1428 Aykering j

In spite of the numerous early spellings it is impossible to
explain the etymology of this name with any degree of certainty.
I take it to have been a patronymic family name in the gen. pi.
followed by some such word as ham or tun. It may have been
Eddwceceringa ham, " the home of the descendants of Eddwcecerr
This very long name would most certainly be shortened and its
pronunciation might have been simplified at a very early period,
through the following stages : eadceringa > eaceringe (> modern
Eakring), or cecringe(> Type II), or with later shortening of the
initial vowel, ecringe (> Type I).

The forms quoted as Type III I take to be due to popular
etymology. The pi. n. was explained as eikar ing, " the meadow
of the oaks," and I am told that this interpretation fits the
locality very well, eikar is the Scand. gen. pi. of eik, " oak tree,"
ing the M.E. form of eng, " meadow," derived from the same
language (see PI. Ns. of the West Rid. p. xl).

EASTWOOD.

Type I.
1166-7 Est Twait, P.R.

(

1225 Estwaite, Bor. Rec.

, Estweit

c. 1200 •! __ . (• Woll. MSS.
Hestweit

1483 Estwyt

1495 Estwhaite J. Index.

1590)

1642]

EDINGLEY 45

Type II.
? (Eswaicte or) Eastwood, Thoroton, II, 236.

Type III.
1086 Estewic, D.B.

"The thwaite or outlying farm in the East." The second
element is of Scandinavian origin : O.N. fiveit, " piece of land,
paddock, parcel of land ; originally used of an outlying cottage
with its paddock." As it is of very rare occurrence in this
county, it was replaced by the more familiar wood (Type II).

The D.B. form is due to a misreading of c for /, these two
letters being frequently interchanged on account of graphic
resemblance.

EATON.

Type I.
Etune

1086

Etone

D.B.

Ettone
^Ettune
1302 Eton, F.A.

Type II.
(Eaton or) Idleton, White, Directory, 1853.

"The tun or farmstead by the river (Idle)." The O.E. proto-
type seems to have been : Idel ea tun, " the farm by the brilliant
river" (see Idle, p. 72). The distinctive addition to the river
could be left out, as it was certainly known in the neighbour-
hood as seo ea, "the river," pure and simple.

EDINGLEY [edirjli].

1302 Edingley, F.A.

1637 Heddingley, Map in Camden.

" The leak or field of the sons of Eda, or of Eada, or of
Eddwin" Both O.E. Edinga leak and Edanleah, as well as
Eddwin(es) leak, might result in the modern form.

Camden's spelling proves that the e was pronounced short ;
the initial h means nothing.

46 EDWALTON

EDWALTON [edw'oltn, edltn].

1086 Edwoltun, D.B.
1302 Edwalton, F.A.

" The tun or farm of Eddweald" The absence of the genitival s
is noteworthy. Of the two pronunciations recorded, the second
is the only natural one. The shortening of the initial vowel
(before dw} and the subsequent loss of w beginning an unstressed
syllable are in accordance with well established rules.

EDWINSTOWE or Edwinstow or Edenstowe (Edensta, Hope).

Type I.

1086 Edenestou, D.B.
1278 Edenstow, H.R.
1428 Ednestowe, F.A.

c. 1500 ) f Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1 Edenstow '

1637 J ( Map in Camden.

Type II.
c. 1500 Eddingstow, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

It is very strange that the old spellings do not contain a w
in a single instance. The etymology seems to be : " The stow
or place of Eddwine" It is said that King Edwin's body was
brought to Edwinstowe after the battle of Heathfield, A.D. 633,
" and from what we know of this obscure period it does not seem
unlikely that such may have been the case'1 (Guilford, p. 84).
This view is confirmed by the meaning of the suffix stow, "a
holy place, sanctuary, sepulchre." In the present name it may
have designated the burial-place of the king. See Middendorf
on stow, and cp. Broxtow.

Type II shows an interesting development of unstressed
(w)in, on which see Alexander, The Suffix ing.

EGMANTON [egmantn].

1086 Agemuntone, D.B.
H.R.

" The tun or farm of Ecgmund" The O.E. g should result
in modern dg (*Edgmanton). The present form is either a

ELSTON 47

mere spelling, or the fronted g has been changed to the back-
stop under Scandinavian influence.

The development of the unstressed u is interesting: u>o>a>a.

ELKESLEY [locally : el(k)sli ; otherwise : elkasli].

( Elchesleig }
1086 J Elchesleie I D.B.

( Elcheslie j
1278 Elkesle, H.R.
1316 Elkesley, T.A.

( Ellersley 1

c. 1500 4 Elkesley

Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

I Elsley
1599] [Map.

1637 r Elsley < Map in Camden.
1704 J ( Map.

Probably : " the Leah or field of Rale? This pers. n. is not
recorded in the Onomasticon ; we find, however, Ealac. It must
be the abbreviated form of a full name beginning with Ealh-,
Bale-. If the first spelling taken from the Inq. P.M. is not
merely an erroneous one, the original pers. n. involved
would have been either Ealhheard or Ealhhere^ both of
which are remarkably frequent in O.E. That a very primitive
form of a pi. n. should be employed by a writer about the
year 1500 is not so improbable as it would seem at first sight;
for he may have been drawing from local documents of great
antiquity, which are now lost.

On the name Ealc see Staffs. PL Ns., s.v. Elkstone.

ELSTON.

Type L

1086 Elvestune, D.B.

Type II.

1302 Eyliston, F.A.

It is difficult to give the etymology of this name on account
of the scarcity of early spellings. The most probable derivation
seems to be from Eilafes tun, " the farmstead of Eilaf" This

48 ELSTON

assumption would at once explain the v in Type I and the ey in
Type II. The pers. n. involved is Scandinavian in origin. (See
Bjorkman, s.v.)

ELTON.

1086 Ailtone, D.B.
1284 Elton, F.A.

" The tun or farm of ^Egel" This pers. n. is a late, probably
Norman variant of the older jEftel. The relation between the
two has been fully discussed by Dr Zachrisson (pp. loosqq.).

EPPERSTON.

1086 1 5preSt°ne 1 D.B.

| Epstone j

1225 ) _ f Bor. Rec.

\ Epreston \ _. A
1302 ] ( F.A.

" The tun or farm of *Ecpeorkt* This pers. n. is not recorded
in the Onomasticon. It may, however, be safely assumed to
have existed as the corresponding continental form Eoberht
exists (Forstemann, I). It is derived from eoh-berht, which
explains the/ in the English type : this arose out of the b through
the unvoicing influence of the preceding h which disappeared.
Cp. Scotch neeper, "neighbour," from O.E. neahgebur, which
exhibits a similar change.

1637 {

EREWASH (river).

c. 1175 Yrewis, Woll. MSS.

Erewash, Camden, p. 550.
Arwash, Map in Camden.

The termination is identical with the modern dialect word
wash, " any shore or piece of land covered at times by water ; a
mere ; an inundation " (Dial. Diet), which is also the name of
the well-known arm of the sea between Norfolk and Lincoln,
the Wash. The word is, no doubt, connected with the root
contained in to wash and water.

The first element may be a pre-English river-name */r-, *Er-t
which seems to be contained in the Lancashire Irwell. But
this is very doubtful.

FARNSFIELD 49

EVERTON.

1086 Evretone, D.B.
1189 Everton, P.R.

" The tun or farmstead of Eofer? Note the absence of the
genitival s. The O.E. pers. n. Eofer and its compounds are
comparatively frequent.

FARNDON.

Type I.

1316 Farnedon |
1402 Ferndon J

Type II.

1086 Farendune, D.B.
1392 Farendon \
1543 Farunden I Index.
1586 Faringdon J

Type IIL
1637 Farmdon, Map in Camden.

In spite of Type II, I take this name to be derived from O.E.
fearn dun, " fern -covered hill." Type I represents the original
form without any unusual alteration, er being merely a spelling
of cer into which both M.E. ar and er had developed. As to
Type II, I assume that a vowel-glide arose between the r and n
which is represented by various symbols. Farendun then
developed into Faringdon (1586), a change which has been
discussed on another page (Phonology, § 13).

Camden's spelling is either a blunder or shows that the n
had become assimilated to the initial/. See Phonology, § 13.

FARNSFIELD.

Type L

1189 Farnefeld, P.R.

1637 Farnfelde, Map in Camden.

Type II.

1086 garnef SI D.B.
(Franesfeldj

1331 Farnesfeld, Index.

M. A

50 FARNSFIELD

Type II seems to imply a pers. n. (O.K. Fr<zna, with meta-
thesis?) as the first element on account of the genitival s.
However, I give preference to Type I, explaining the name as
O.E. fearnfeld, "the open space, or plain covered with fern."
The s was introduced on the mistaken notion, derived from
analogy, that the first element was a pers. n. Dr Zachrisson
gives numerous instances of a similar "loose" or inorganic s
(pp. 118 sqq.).

FELLEY.

1240 Felley, Bor. Rec.

This may stand for O.E. feld leak, dat. feld lea$e, " the open
field," or " the field in the plain." The place is situated partly
on a lofty eminence, and it seems probable that the name
originally referred to the lower part of the locality. The
disappearance of d between the /'s is natural.

The view expressed above might be confirmed by the fact
that there existed an exactly similar name in Friesland —
Veldlagi, quoted by Forstemann (II).

FENTON.

0£ (Fentune) ^ „
1086 ta \ D.B.

(Fentonej

1316 Fenton, F.A.

Considering the geographical position of this place, there
can be no doubt as to its etymology. " The farm in the fen,"
from O.E,.fenn, "mud, dirt, fen." The country is drained now.

FlNNlNGLEY (Finlah, Hope).

Type I.

1086 Feniglei, D.B.
1428 Fenyngley, F.A.

Type IL

1278 Finningelay, H.R.
1302 Finningley )
1316 Fynyngeleyej

Two explanations of this name are possible according to
which type is considered original.

FISKERTON 5 1

(1) "The leak or field of the Finnings, the sons of Finn!1
This pers. n. is of Scandinavian origin, and always borne by
Norsemen, either in history or fiction. A family of the same
patronymic is found in Southern Germany : Finninga quoted
by Forstemann (ll).

(2) I am myself inclined to believe that Type I represents
the original name more truly than Type II which is derived
from the former. O.E. fenninga tun, "the farm of the dwellers
in the fen," is a most appropriate name for the locality situated
in the old marshes. The suffix -ing was used in Germanic to
derive the name of a tribe from the locality they inhabited.
The best known examples of this usage are the designations
of the two nations into which the Goths were divided1. The
Ostrogothi were called — in Latin garb — Greutingi, because
they inhabited sandy plains (cp. O.E. greot, " sand "), whereas
the Visigothi were known as Tervingi, because they lived in a
country covered with woods (cp. O.E. treow, "tree"). An O.E.
example of a corresponding derivation (of which there are many
more) is quoted from a charter by Dr Middendorf, s.v. heah\
heantunninga gem&re.

The transition from e to i before n is not without parallel in
the English dialects. Instances of such a change are quoted in
the Dial. Grammar, § 55. See also Horn, § 38.

FISKERTON.

Type L

1086 Fiscartune, D.B.
1278 Fiskerton, H.R.
1316 Fyskerton, F.A.

Type II.
1278 Fiskiston, H.R.

"The tun or farm-house of the fisherman, or fishermen."
The O.E. original was either fiscera tun (gen. pi., Type I), or
fisceres tun (gen. sg., Type II). In the ordinary course, the O.E.
sc should be represented by sh in the M.E. and modern forms.

1 Zeuss, Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarstamme. Miinchen, 1837.

4—2

52 FISKERTON

The sk is explained by assuming influence of Scand. fiskr,
"fish/' which may also have been used as a pers. n.

To this very day this village is a favourite resort for
fishermen.

FLAWBOROUGH.

Type I.

1086 Flodberge, D.B.

Type II.

1316 Flaubergh, F.A.

The second element is the O.K. beorg, " mountain, hill,
mount," the modern spelling of which has been influenced by
the more frequent borough, the representative of O.E. burh.
This part of the name is explained by the fact that the little
village is situated on a hill.

I can make nothing of the first element, which appears in two
strange spellings.

FLAWFORD (under Ruddington).

There are no early forms. The first element seems to be
identical with that contained in the preceding pi. n.

FLEDBOROUGH.

1086 Fladeburg, D.B.
1278 Fleburg, H.R.
1302 Fledburgh, F.A.

"The burh or fortified place of Fl&da" An O.E. Flczdanburgy
which might have been the ancestor of the modern name, is
recorded in a charter (Cart. Sax. 76,238).

FLEET (river).

From O.E. fleot, "stream, channel"; the word is connected
with fleotan, " to float, sail, swim." In modern H.G. we find its
cognate Fliess, "small river," M.H.G. vliez. The Low German
form is Fleet, from older vlet.

FLINTHAM.

_, (Flintham } _ „
1086 <— „.. Y D.B.
(FlmtehamJ

1284 Flintham, F.A.

GATEFORD 53

From O.E. flint, " rock," and ham, " home, habitation, village."
It is difficult to say what is the exact sense intended to be
conveyed by the composition of these two elements. It might
have been the " house in the rock, or by the rock, or built
of rock " etc.

FULWOOD.

Although there are no early forms, the etymology of this
name is quite clear. The O.E. ancestor is ful wudu, " the foul,
dirty, boggy wood." Before the combination Iw, the u was
shortened, whereas in the independent word, foul, it remained
long and was diphthongised.

GAMSTON (near West Bridgford).

1086 Gamelestune, D.B.
1302 Gameleston, F.A.

GAMSTON (near East Retford).

1086 Gamelestune, D.B.
1278 Gameleston, H.R.

" The tun or farmstead of Gamal" The D.B. forms preserve
the O.E. appearance of this name almost completely. The
pers. n. is of Scandinavian origin.

GATEFORD.

Type I.

1278 Gaytford, H.R.
c. 1500 Gaytforth, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type II.
c. 1500 Gatford, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

"The goat ford." From O.E. gdtaford, which, with the a
shortened at an early period before the combination tf, resulted
in Type II. The other type preserved in the modern spelling
exhibits the influence of Scand. geit> "goat." See Bjorkman,
Scand. Loanwords, p. 42. The th instead of d also points to
Scandinavian origin ; cp. O.N. fjorftr.

Fords are often named after the animals that passed through
them, as Oxford, Swinford, Hertford.

54 GATEFORD

There is a Gateforth in the West Riding wholly Scandinavian
in appearance. Dr Moorman interprets it as " the ford of the
goats." The same name is borne by a place in O.H. German
territory, Geizefurt in Hesse (Forstemann, II).

GEDLING.

Type I.

1086 Ghellinge, D.B.
1278 Gedling, Kedling, H.R.
1302 Gedling
1346 Godeling

Type II.
1189 Gedlinges, P.R.

Type II L
1637 Gadling, Map in Camden.

I take this name to be derived from O.K. on gadelingumy
"among the companions in arms" (Type I). The nominative
plural gcedlingas is the ancestor of Type II. Camden's a
(Type III) goes back to O.K. <^, whereas the other forms con-
tain e which most probably is due to a kind of secondary
z-mutation (see gczdeling in Sievers and Biilbring, Indices). In
M.E. both gedeling and gadeling are found (N.E.D.).

Gilling in Yorks. apparently has the same origin ; it occurs
as in (on) Getlingwn, in G&tlingum in Bede (Miller, O.E. Bede,
p. 43). On the continent are found O. Low Germ. Getilingthorp
and O.H.G. Gellingin, modern Gollingen near Sondershausen
(Forstemann, ll).

GlBSMERE.

1086 Gipesmare, D.B.
1302 Gyppesmere, F.A.

The second element is O.E. m$re, " lake, pool." In the D.B.
form, the a is due to the influence of Scand. mar, " the sea." This
substitution of mare for mere in D.B. is particularly noticeable in
Yorks. pi. ns. (See Stolze, § 7, anm. 3; Jellinghaus, p. 307.)

The first element seems to be a pers. n. It may be identical
with the one contained in O.E. Gypeswlc, modern Ipswich (Cod.

GIRTON 55

Dipl., Index). The initial g of the O.K. name must have been
fronted, so that the y cannot but represent an original West
Germanic palatal vowel ; otherwise the disappearance of the
initial g in Ipswich could not be explained. The unfronting of
this sound in the Notts, pi. n. seems to be due to Scandinavian
influence which has also been at work in the second element. The
meaning is " Gippes pool." The pers. n. involved is not recorded
in the Onomasticon. It may be contained in the Norwegian pi. n.
Gipsen discussed by Rygh (N. Gaardnavne, p. 345).

The combination ps was changed to bz under the influence
of the surrounding voiced sounds.

GlLTBROOK (under Greasley).

In the absence of early spellings nothing definite can be said
about this name. It may stand for O.K. gylden broc, " the golden,
i.e. yellow brook." The first element may have been influenced
by the adjective gilt. Similar river-names occur on the con-
tinent; O.H.G. Goldaha, O. Low Germ. Goldbiki, O.H.G. Gold-
gieze are enumerated by Forstemann (ll).

GIRTON.

1086 Gretone, D.B.
1278 ] r H.R.

1291 >Gretton< Tax. Eccl.

1316] (F.A.

1704 Girton, Map.

"The tun or farmstead in the sand," O.K. greot tun. The
country round Girton is very marshy and sandy in places, and
both to the north and south of the village considerable dunes
have been formed by the drift sand from the Trent. O.K. greot
means " sand, rubble," and is identical with O.H.G. grioz, modern
Germ. Gries. The Hessian pi. n. Griesheim has the same mean-
ing as Girton.

The phonetic development is quite regular: M.E. e<eo is
shortened before tt ; metathesis of r is characteristic of the dialect
(Phonology, § 15); the modern spelling ir represents the sound
into which er had developed.

56 CLAPTON

CLAPTON.

1216-72 Clapton, Cal. Inq. P.M. i.

Probably from O.E. Glceppan tun, "the farmstead of Gkzppa"
The pers. n. is found in O.K., and also in O.H.G. as Claffo,
Clapho etc. (Forstemann, I) ; or possibly the Scand. name Clapa,
traced as occurring in England by Dr Bjorkman, may be con-
tained in this pi. n.

GLEADTHORPE GRANGE (under Worksop) [gled)?op].

1086 Gletorp, D.B.

1278 Gledetorp, H.R.

1853 Gledthorpe, White's Directory, p. vi.

It has been suggested that the first element is O.E. glad,
" bright, clear, glad " ; the second is Scand. frorp, " village,
hamlet." The meaning would be " the bright, pleasant hamlet."

It is, however, very doubtful whether the variant *gl<zd,
containing a long vowel, ever existed. It is said to occur in
poetic texts, and might be represented in M.E. by the spelling
glead (N.E.D., s.v. glad). I prefer to leave the etymology of the
first element doubtful, and would refer investigators to similar
names : Gleadless, Gledhow, and Gledstow Hall, all in the
West Riding of Yorkshire.

GOLDTHORPE (under Hodsock).

There are no early spellings. I take this to be derived from
Gold&n porp, " the hamlet of Golda or Golde" Whether this pers.
n. is of O.E. or Scand. origin I am unable to say.

GONALSTON [ganasn].

(1) r Gunnulfestone \
1086 [ D.B.

(2) I Gunnulvestune J

(3) ( Guneliston )
1278 1 [ H.R.

(4) [ Gunohston )

GRANBY 57

(5) 1302 Gunnolston }

(6) 1316 Gonelston > F.A.

(7) 1 346 Gonaldeston J

(8) 1637 Gumalston, Map in Camden.

O.K. Gunnulfes tun, " the farmstead of Gunnulf" The latter
is a Scandinavian man's name. No. I evidently is copied from
an O.K. document with/ instead of the M.E. v. The h in No. 4
and the m in No. 8 are scribal blunders. The d in No. 7 is due
to confusion with the well-known Scand. female name Gunnhild.

The history of the unstressed vowel in the second syllable is
interesting : u > o > a > d.

GOTHAM [goutm].

1086 Gatham, D.B.

1152 Gataham, Index.

1316 Gotham, F.A.

O.K. gdta ham, " the home of the goats, the goat village." The
Index form is evidently copied from an O.K. document. Thoro-
ton (I, 36) has the following explanation : " a Dwelling or Home
of Goats."

GOVERTON (under Bleasby) [gouvatn].
1302 Goverton, F.A.

O.K. Gdrfriftes tun, " the farmstead of Gdrfrift" This pers. n.
is found once in an O.E. document. It is very frequent on the
continent, as Gairfrid in a very primitive form, later G$rfrid
(Forstemann, I). The loss of the first of the two rs through
dissimilation is natural ; so is the development of d, represented
by modern [ou]; cp. O.E. gat > goat.

GRANBY.

Type L

1086 Granebi, D.B.
1284 Granbi ) .
1302 Granebyj

Type II.

1086 \- . ( D.B.
_ \ Grenebi \ T .
1184 J I Index.

58 GRANBY

"The by(r) or farm of Grant." The pers. n. forming the
first element comes from the Scandinavian language ; so does
the ending. The spelling under Type II is due to an attempt
at connecting the name with the adjective O.E. grene, " green."

GRASSTHORPE or GREISTHORPE [gres]?op].

1086 ) f D.B.

1268 }GreSt0rP { Index.
1302 Gresthorp

F A
1316 Grethorp )

1424 ) „ ^ f Index.

1 Gresthorp I ,, . ~ ,

r Map in Camden.

All the old spellings point to M.E. gres porp, " grass thorpe
or village." The form gres is explained by Dr Bjorkman (Scand.
Loanwords, p. 30) as due to Norse influence. This tallies
with the fact that the second element too is derived from the
Scandinavian.

I can make nothing of the second modern spelling : it is
hardly likely that the Scandinavian male name Grts, Gryse
(Bjorkman, s.v.) has had any influence. The first modern form
shows influence of Standard English grass, which has, however,
not yet affected the local pronunciation.

GREASLEY [grizli].

Type L

1086 Griseleia, D.B.
1428 Grisseley, F.A.

Type II.

1216-72 Greselley, Inq. P.M. I.
1284 Gresley \
1302 Gresseley I F.A.
1346 Greseley J

Type III.
1284 Grelley, F.A.

Type IV.
1637 Graseley, Map in Camden.

GRINGLEY 59

The original meaning is preserved by Type I : " the leak or
field of Gris" The latter name of Scand. descent is treated by
Dr Bjorkman. Type II, which seems to have survived eventually,
although I cannot explain the quantity of the first vowel satis-
factorily, arose out of the confusion with M.E. gres, " grass "
(see Grassthorpe). Type III is derived from Type II, si [zl]
having become assimilated to //. In Type IV the e is replaced
by a on the analogy of the modern standard form grass (or
graze),

GREET (river).

958 (ondlang) greotan, Cart. Sax. 1029.

The above quotation from a charter is of very questionable
value, and I am inclined to set aside its evidence altogether, as
far as the final n is concerned. I take this name to represent
O.E. great ea, or ege, "gravelly, sandy river," from O.K. great,
" gravel, sand," and ea, e$e, " water, water-course." There exists
another river Greet in Worcestershire. The termination has
disappeared completely as in the original river-name Blyth (q.v.).

On O.H.G. territory a corresponding formation Griezpah is
found (Forstemann, ll).

GRIMSTON.

1086 Grimestune, D.B.
1302 Grymeston, F.A.

From O.E. Grimes tun, " the farm of Grtm(r)" The pers. n.
involved is Scandinavian in origin. The long I was shortened
before the combination mst.

GRINGLEY (Little) (Grinley, Hope).

Type I.

(a) 1086 1 D.B.

( Grenelei j

I278 Grenlay * p

1316 Grenleye, F.A.
1327-77 Grenley, Non. Inq.

60 GRINGLEY

(b) 1375 Grynley, Index.

Type IL
c. 1300 Gringelay, Index.

Type III.
1704 Little Grimley, Map.

O.K. on bare grenan leage, "on the green field or plain."
The neighbourhood is noted for its meadows. Clareborough,
which derives its name from "clover," is close by.

O.K. e was shortened during the M.E. period after having
been raised to I (Type I b\ Type II arose out of confusion
with the following name. The genuine etymology is preserved
in the modern local pronunciation, as recorded by Hope, but
not in the official spelling. The change from in to ing is
remarkable ; it is probably due to confusion with the following
name.

The inventor of Type III fancifully connected the name
with the pers. n. Grim contained in Grimston, Grimsby etc.

There is a place called Grindley in Staffordshire which has
the same origin and meaning. The d arose out of a phonetic
glide between n and /.

GRINGLEY-ON-THE-HILL.

Type I.

1086 Gringeleia, D.B.
c. 1200 Gringhelaya, Cal. Rot. Chart.
1278 Gringele, H.R.
1316 Gringeley, F.A.
1 327-77 Gryngeley, Non. Inq.
1372 Grynglay, Index.

Type I I.
1086 Greneleig (?), D.B.

f Greynley ) . , T ...... }

I J . * \ of the Hill I .. . ' ,
1535 j Grenely J • Valor Eccles.

I Grynley on the Hill J

Type II most probably arose out of confusion with the
preceding name. As a matter of fact, it is extremely difficult, if

GUNTHORFE 6l

not at times impossible, to distinguish between the two in early
records. In the Inq. P.M. c. 1500, e.g., both are hopelessly
mixed up. The D.B. spelling quoted under Type II may refer
to the preceding place.

I take the first element to be a variant of the O.N. pers. n.
Grlmketell, Grimkell, Grinkell. The existence of a type Gringel
is conclusively proved by Prof. Wyld, who refers to the above
pi. n. and further adduces Grimgelege and Gringelthorp (PI. Ns.
of Lanes., s.v. Cringlebarrow Wood, p. 102).

It is highly interesting to trace the development of that
personal name through the succeeding stages of shortenings and
assimilations. First the I is shortened before the combination
mk> and the last syllable loses its vowel : Grlmketell> Grimketll.
Then t is assimilated to /, m to k : Griijkel(l). After that the k
is voiced under the influence of the surrounding sounds ; result,
Gringel.

The meaning is " GrimkeFs field or meadow."

GROVE.

1086 I ( D.B.

1216-1307 > Grave J Testa de N.

1302 j [ F.A.

From O.K. cet fram grafe, "at the grove." Taking into
account the modern spelling, this is the only explanation I can
offer, although the very late persistence of the a in the above
forms might speak against that derivation, and in favour of
O.E. cet ]?(zm grcefe, " at the grave, or sepulchral mound." It
is, however, possible that this persistence is only apparent, the
spelling being copied from earlier records.
GUN THORPE [gan)>op].

Type I.

1086 Gulnetorp, D.B.
? Gunildethorp, Thoroton, III, 25.

Type II.

1086 Gunnetorp, D.B.
1278 Guntorp, H.R.
1302 Gunthorp, F.A.
1489 Gownthorpe, Woll. MSS.

62 GUNTHORPE

If the spelling quoted by Thoroton as an ancient one is
really genuine and was, as is not unlikely, taken by him from
old local records, the etymology of the name is clear : Gunnhildar
porp, " the village of Gtmhildr." The latter is a feminine pers. n.,
Norse in origin, and rather frequent in M.E. times. It is very
rare that places are called after women. The D.B. spelling
under Type I may very well be an attempt at representing a
pronunciation *Gunelthorp< Gunildarporp. It is just what one
would expect the compiler of D.B. to do. The havoc played by
Anglo-Norman scribes among the liquids and nasals of English
place-names is well illustrated by numerous examples collected
in Dr Zachrisson's book (pp. I2osqq.). Metathesis of dl (>ld)
is found in several instances in D.B. (Stolze, § 30).

If the above explanation of Type I is accepted, Type II is
but a further shortening of the original. If it is rejected as
based upon doubtful or spurious evidence, the name may be
taken to contain as first element the O N. masculine pers. n.
Gunner.

It may be mentioned here that the occurrence of Gunhild in
a pi. n. is better attested for the Yorks. Gunthwaite, which is
spelt Gtmnyldthwayt in a document of 1389 (Descriptive
Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, I, Index).

HABBLESTHORPE, see APPESTHORPE.

HAGGONFIELD (under Worksop).

The absence of early spellings makes it impossible to suggest
an etymology with any degree of certainty.

HALLAM [heilam].

1331 Halum] T ,

\ Index.
1541 Halomj

1853 Halom, White, Directory.

O.K. at healum, " at the valleys." The place is situated at
the foot of a lofty range of hills. The ending represents the
dat. pi. of O.E. healh. All the early forms contain but one /, so
that the first syllable was open, which explains the quantity
of the vowel.

HARWELL OR HAREWELL 63

Isaac Taylor (Engl. Village Names) explains this name as
meaning "at the slopes." The exact sense of O.E. healh is
very uncertain ; the transition from " valley " to " slope " is easy
and natural.

HALLOUGHTON [hotn] (Hortn, Hope).

1291) TT . (Tax. Eccl.

0\ Halton \- .
1428] (F.A.

1637 Haulton, Map in Camden.

O.E. healh tun, " the farmstead in the healh or valley." We
have to deal with two types, of which the first and most
primitive is, curiously enough, represented by the modern
spelling only. The latter may rest on local tradition strengthened
by records not generally available.

The O.E. prototype has developed in two directions. Type I :
A glide arose between / and h similar to that in borough from
O.E. burkt buruh and spelt in the same fashion. This accounts
for the modern official form. Type II : The h was dropped
between the / and the /; afterwards an ^-glide developed before
the /which then disappeared. The old spellings and the modern
pronunciation illustrate the latter line of change.

HARBY.

jHerdebH

1086 -LT . , ,\ D.B.
Herdrebi

1291 Herdebi, Tax. Eccles.
1302 Hordeby, F.A.

The additional r in the second D.B. form is due to a blunder.
The name stands for O.E. heorda by(r), "the herdsmen's dwelling,"
from Mercian heorde, " a herd/' and Scand. byr, " dwelling." The
o in the F.A. spelling is a M.E. representative of older eo. The
phonetic development of the name is regular : d is lost between
two consonants, er becomes ar (Phonology, § 8).

HARWELL or HAREWELL.

1086 Herewelle, D.B.
1227-77 Herewell, Non. Inq.

64 HARWELL OR HAREWELL

The etymology of this name is uncertain. Various suggestions
of a more or less convincing nature can be offered.

(1) The first element looks like O.E. here, "army, band
of thieves," in a special sense "the Danish army." It is not
unlikely that this spring (well) took its name from the fact that
an army of the Norsemen once camped near it on one of the
numerous plundering expeditions mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle. If this suggestion is accepted, the meaning of the
pi. n. would be <zt pare here welle, " at the spring or brook of the
Danish army." Similar names are found on the continent.
Forstemann (ll) records O.H.G. Heribrunnum, Herihurnon.

(2) The adjective heoru-weallende, " fiercely boiling," occurs
in O.E. poetry and might very well be applied to a spring or
brook. A similar compound heoru-well, "the fiercely boiling
spring," is a possible ancestor of the modern name. There is
nothing extraordinary in the suggestion of a fierce and raging
well or stream of water. Several brooks called Wuodaha in
O.H.G., modern Wutacfr, meaning "raging brook," are found
in Germany.

The phonetic development is regular. The alternative
spelling represents an attempt at popular etymology.

HARWORTH [haere]?] (Harroth, Hope).

1086 Hareworde, D.B.

1278 Harewurh, H.R.

1346 Hareworth, F.A.

From O.E. Hearanweorp, " the homestead of Hear a" The
pers. n. involved is recorded once in the Onomasticon. The
final h in the H.R. spelling is an unsuccessful attempt by the
Norman scribe to render the unfamiliar spirant p.

HATFIELD (under Norton).

1278 Haytfeld, H.R.

1291 Hattefeld, Cal. Rot. Chart.

1 See Schroder, p. 8. I do not agree with the interpretation of this name as
"producing rage, or madness." What the idea underlying the creation of this name
was, may be gathered from the following quotation from Grabbe's " Hermannschlacht "
(Zweiter Tag) : " Helft doch unserer armen Retlage. Sie wollen den Bach
iiberschreiten, und so klein er ist, wehrt er sich und schwillt ganz drgerlich auf\ "

HAUGHTON 6$

fHethfelctt
1332 ^Hadfeld > For. Rec. ed. Stevenson, p. 399.

(Hatfeld j
1571 Hatfield, Index.

O.K. hapftld, " the heathy field, or plain." The H.R. spelling
distinctly points to influence of Scand. heiftr, " heath." The a
of the modern form is the result of early shortening of O.K. ^
before the combination tf. The stopping of the open J) before
/is a curious feature. Mr Duignan gives the same explanation
for the Staffs. Hatfield. The pi. n. spelt Hceftfeld in Bede is
modern Hatfield.

Hatfield is now the name of two farms in** Norton, but
originally it was applied to the district in the north of the
county marked by sand and fen. It is, therefore, clear that the
O.K. k&p feld was first employed to designate the whole plain,
and that the village which sprang up in it became known as m
ha}) fMe, " in the heath field."

HAUGHTON.

Type I.

1086 Hoctun, D.B.
(Hoctune) T ,
1203 jOcton }IndeX-
1278 Hockton, H.R.

Type II.
1375 Hoghton, Index.

"The tun or farm of Hoc'.' Although there is no sign of
a genitive termination, I take the first element to be the
Scandinavian man's name Hauk(r\ anglicised to Hoc. The
phonetic changes resulting in the modern form are in accordance
with general rules. O.K. Hok(r}tun (perhaps containing the
Scand. genitival r, see Bjorkman, p. 184) > Hoktun with shorten-
ing of o before kt (Phonology, § i); this is Type I. Before /,
k was opened, developing into h (Phonology, § 20), a change
which led to Type II and eventually to the modern form. On
au for M.E. ou see Phonology, § 9.

M. 5

66 HAWKSWORTH

HAWKSWORTH.

Type I.
1189 Houkeswarda, P.R.

Type II.
1086 Hochesuorde, D.B.

(Hokeworth ) .
1302 \ F.A.

(HokesworthJ

"The homestead of Hauk(r) or Hoc" Type I and the
present-day spelling exhibit the Scandinavian pers. n. in its
more primitive shape. The diphthong ou was anglicised to o
which is found in Type II. On modern au for M.E. ou see
Phonology, §9.

HAWTON.

Type I.
1086 Holtone, D.B.

Type II.

1086 Houtune, D.B.
1227-77 I f Non. Inq.

1291 | Houton < Tax. Eccles.
1302 ( F.A.

Type III.

1270 Hautone, Index.

O.K. holt-tun, "the dwelling in the wood," from O.K. holt,
"holt, wood." The name is identical in meaning with the
numerous Woottons < wudu tun. In Type I, the original / is
preserved ; between it and the preceding o, an ?/-glide arose.
The / then disappeared (see Phonology, § 9). In M.E., the ou
of Type II soon developed into au, giving rise to Type III
which is represented by the modern spelling (see Phonology,

§9).

HAYTON.

1154-89 Haythona, Index.

1278 ) __ (H.R.

\ Hay ton L.
1327-77] (Non. Inq.

1428 Heyton, F.A.

Probably heift tiin, "the farm in the heath." The first
element is Scand. heift(r\ the cognate of O.E. fazp, " heath."

HEMPSHILL 67

HAYWOOD OAKS.

Haywood stands for M.E. hey wood, "a fenced in or enclosed
wood"; O.E. he^e, a derivative of O.K. haga, means "a hedge,
fence."

HAZELFORD FERRY [haezlfad].

1278 Hesilford, H.R.

The meaning is obvious. In northern M.E., the name of the
plant involved was hesel, from Scand. hesli, "a collection of
hazels." See Rygh, N. Gaardnavne, p. 57. The latter form is
found in the spelling of 1278. This probably is the correct form,
whereas the modern name has been influenced by the Standard
English variant hazel. In White's Directory (1853), the name
is spelt " Heaselford," ea representing M.E. £ from older e in
open syllable.

HEADON [hidn].

1086 Hedune, D.B.
1302 Hedun, F.A.
1362 Hedon, Index.

O.E. at ]?&re hean dune, " at the high hill." The n of the
weak dative must have been lost at a very early period (Sweet,
N.E. Gr. §§ 1030-33). O.E. dun, " hill," is the ancestor of modern
down, " open high land."

HECK DYKE (brook).

The second part is O.E. die, "ditch," see Bycardyke. I cannot
explain the first element.

HEDGROVE (in Southwell).

No early forms. It is possible that the name stands for
hedge grove [hed} grouv], with loss of the middle consonant [3] ;
cf. Phonology, § 12.

HEMPSHILL [hemsel].

Type L

1086 Hamessel, D.B.
1275 Hamdisel \
1278 Homeshullj

5—2

68 HEMPSHILL

Type II.

(a) c. 1200 Hemdeshill, Woll. MSS.

1216-1307 Hemdeshil, Testa de N.
1275 Hemdeshyll, H.R.

(b) 1209-10 Hindeshull, P.R.

(c) 1702 Hempsall, Index.

The first element has the appearance of a man's name in the
genitive case. The second seems to stand for either O.E. (W.
Sax.) sett, (Northern) seftel, stld, " seat, abode, residence," or O.E.
hyll, "hill." The spellings under Type II b and c are influenced
by analogy of hind, "female deer," and of hemp, the plant,
respectively.

HESLEY.

1217 Heselay, Index.

" The hazel lea, or open field." The first element is Scandi-
navian kesliy " hazel grove," see Hazelford.

HlCKLING [iklirj].
'

Hegelinge j
1284 Hickelinge, F.A.
1291 Hiding, Tax. Eccles.

An O.E. patronymic : at (H)iclingum, " at the dwelling-place
of the family of Hiceir The Iclingas were a noble family to
whom St Guthlac belonged. It is, however, by no means certain
that Hickling was a settlement of that particular clan. The
descendants of any man called Hicel would be styled Hicelingas.

The e in the D.B. forms stands for O.E. i according to a
frequent practice of Anglo-Norman scribes (see Stolze, § 9).

HOCKERTON.

0^ ( Hocretune \
1086 \ _ I D.B.

1 Ocreton J

c. 1 200 Hocretona, Index.
1302 Hokyrton, F.A.

"The tun or homestead of Hoc" This pers. n. is Scandi-
navian in origin (see Hawkswortk). The r represents the Norse
genitival ending (see Bjorkman, p. 184).

HOLME 69

HODSOCK.

Type L

1086 Odesach, D.B.
1302 Hodesak \

1316 Hoddisack I F.A.

1346 Hodelake (sicl))

Type II.
1278 Hoddeshock, Inq. P.M. II.

The second element of this pi. n. is O.K. dc, " oak " ; the first
is a pers. n., probably Scandinavian Oddi. The h may be due
to influence of the O.K. pers. ns. Hod, Hoda, Hodo (Onomasticon) ;
it is more likely, however, that it is a mere inorganic addition,
initial h being a very unstable element in this dialect (see
Phonology, § 19).

The vowel of O.K. dc was shortened at two different periods
in the unstressed syllable : (i) In O.K. times ; result a, Type I.
(2) In M.E. ; result o (< <?), Type II and modern spelling. The
second h of Type II is due to confusion with hoc, "a heel, pro-
montory."

N.B. It may be mentioned here that Hodesac is found in an
O.K. charter (Cart. Sax. 1282) among Worcestershire field names
and boundaries.

HOLBECK or HOWBECK or HOLBEACH.
1329 Holbeck, Index.

" The brook in the hollow." From O.K. holh, " hollow," and
Scand. bekk(r), " a brook." The termination -beach goes back to
O.K. bcec, with palatalised c, the native equivalent of bekkr. This
word is found in pi. ns. ending in batch, bach, beach, and is discussed
at length by Professor Skeat in his PL Ns. of Cambs. (pp. 44 sq.).

It is impossible to say whether the O.K. or Scand. form was
the original one.

The vocalisation of / is treated elsewhere (Phonology, § 9).

HOLME.

c. 1 200 Olm, Index.
1316 Holme, F.A.

This common English pi. n. is derived from Scand. holm(r).
Its meaning is " island in river, land rising from water." There

70 HOLME

is an open pasture on the Trent bank at Normanton called " the
Holme." The above pi. n. seems to have had the same meaning
originally.

HOLME PIERREPONT.

1086 Holmo, D.B.
1302 Holm, F.A.

For the meaning of M.E. holm see the preceding name. The
final o in D.B. is remarkable ; I do not pretend to be able to
explain it.

The distinctive addition is due to the fact, that the Pierre-
pont family of Norman descent, now the Earls Manvers, owned
and still own the manor : " Annora de Perpunt tenet manerium
de Holm? F.A. 1302.

HORSEPOOL (now the name of a decayed farm near
Thurgarton).

1086 Horspol, D.B.

1302 Horppol (sic\)\

1316 Horspol J

The name explains itself.

HOUGHTON, see HAUGHTON.

HOVERINGHAM.

Type L

(a) 1278 OfTringham, H.R.

. 1428 Overyngham, F.A.
1535-43 Oringgam, Leland.

(b) 1086 Horingeham, D.B.
1278 Hofrungham, H.R.
1316 Horingham, F.A.

Type II.

1346 Heveringham |
1428 Heveryngham J

From O.K. Eoforinga ham, " the home or village of the
family of Eofor" Type II shows the regular descendant of
O.K. eoy which is e. The presence of o in Type I is probably the
result of a peculiar development of O.E. eo before a labial (v) in

HUCKNALL UNDER HUTHWAITE /I

the dialect. The Scand. man's name lofr, the equivalent of
Eofor — which, by the way, means " boar " — may have influenced
the first element, just as it did in the pi. n. York (see Place Names
of the W. Riding, p. i).

The addition of an inorganic initial h (Type I b, Type II)
cannot surprise us (see Phonology, § 19).

The same patronymic name occurs on the continent.
Ebringen (Breisgau) goes back to O.H.G. Eburingen, and
Everghem, near Ghent, is derived from O. Low Germ. Everinge-
hem (Forstemann, I and II).

HUCKNALL TORKARD.

_^ , Hochenale
1086 \ ...
Hochenale

i D.B.

1190 Hukenhall, Woll. MSS.

1216-1307 Hukenhall, Testa de N.

1284 Hukenall \

1302 Huckenale Torkard > F.A.

1316 Hokenall

1327-77 Hukenhale, Inq. P.M. II.

O.K. &t Huc(c)an heale, f< at or in the valley of Hucca^ This
pers. n. is recorded in the Onomasticon as Hue and Hucco. It
seems to be a short or " pet" form of a full name beginning with
Hyge-.

The distinctive addition owes its origin to the fact that
the manor was once held by the Norman family of Torkard:
"Johannes Torkard tenet in Hukenatt" F.A. 1284.

HUCKNALL under HUTHWAITE or DIRTY HUCKNALL
[dati(h)akn8].

c. 1500 Durty Hucknall, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1611 Hucknoll Huthwaite, Index.
1704 Dirty Hucknall. Quoted by Horner Groves,
Hist, of Mansfield, from parish register
(p. 170).

See preceding and following names. The flattering addition
of dirty (M.E. dritig, from Scandinavian, see Bjorkman, Scand.
Loan Words) is probably due to the former condition of the

72 HUCKNALL UNDER HUTHWAITE

roads and the surrounding country. I am told that whereas
Hucknall-T. stands on limestone, which absorbs water quickly,
this village is situated chiefly on clay.

HUTHWAITE [hajnveit], now the official name of the place
above.

Probably a late settlement, as is shown by the Scand. origin
of the second element, frveit, " piece of land, an outlying cottage
with its paddock " (Vigf.). The first element may be the pers. n.
taken from the neighbouring Hucknall : Hucfrwait > Huthwaite
by assimilation of kp to ./>(./>).

IDLE (river).

627 Idla, Beda, Hist. Eccles.
1302 Yddil, Index.

The second element may be O.K. ea, e^e, "water, stream,"
which was lost entirely as in Greet, Blyth (q.v.). If that is so,
I would suggest that the first element was O.E. Idel. The
recorded meanings of this adjective — " empty, desolate, useless "
— do not seem to be applicable to a river. It is, however,
believed by some scholars that the original sense was " shining,
brilliant," it being related to Greek aWco (see Kluge's and
Hirt's Etym. Dictionaries, s.v. eitel). If that is so, the sense of
O.E. seo Idele ea would be " the bright, clear river."

IDLETON, see EATON.

KELHAM.

1086 Calun, D.B.

89 \ __ . ( P.R.
1 Kelum '

1225 JA I Bor. Rec.

1227-77 Kelm, Non. Inq.

1244 | T f Index.

* > Kelum 1 _, A
1302 J ( F.A.

1316 Kelme, F.A.

1350 Kelom "I

1453 Kelum j- Index.

1578 Kellam J

From O.E. at celdum, " at the water-courses." This name
corresponds to the Latin aquis. The initial ^-sound proves that
the noun involved is derived from the Scandinavian language,

KEYWORTH 73

O.N. kelda, " well, spring, brook flowing from a spring." The
modern spelling in -ham is due to false analogy with pi. ns.
ending in O.K. ham, " home."

The same meaning attaches to the neighbouring Averham
(q.v.).

KERSALL.

Type I.

1086 Cherveshale, D.B.
Type II.

1 302 Kyrneshall { F A

1316 Kyrnissale f

The second element is O.K. healh (dative heale), "a valley."
The pers. n. contained in the first element cannot be determined
with accuracy. The v in D.B. may be a misreading for u, which
in turn might stand for n ; if that be so, Type I would be the
same as Type II. The latter may contain the O.K. male name
Crin or Crina, recorded in the Onomasticon. Metathesis of r is
frequently met with in this dialect (Phonology, § 15). er in the
modern form is a mere spelling variant for ir, both representing
the same sound in present-day English.

KEYWORTH [locally : kjua)?; otherwise: klwA}>].

Type I.
1086 Caworde, D.B.

Type II.

1200 Kyeword, Cal. Rot. Chart.
1216-1307 Kewurch, Testa de N.
c. 1294 Keword, Woll. MSS.

{Kewrth \
Kewrht I F.A.
Keworth J
1637 Kyworth, Map in Camden.

The D.B. scribe seems to have mistaken the first element for
the pers. n. Cawa, Ceawa. I take this name to stand for O.K.
cyworfr, " the cow enclosure, or farm." cy represents either the
genitive singular or the nominative plural of O.E. cut "cow."
The spellings show that by the year 1200 the accent has been

74 KEYWORTH

shifted from the y to the u developed out of the w. After this
change, the y (i) degenerated into a mere palatal glide [ j]. With
these sound-changes may be compared the analogous history of
modern English ewe< O.E. eowu. The combination ey in the
modern form is a mere spelling device to express this glide,
which is represented by e or y in earlier records. The polite pro-
nunciation is based entirely on the written form, whereas locally
the etymologically correct form survives.

KlLVINGTON.

0, f Chilvintun )
1086 ^ _, . . \ D.B.

( Chelvmctone J

1291 Kilington, Tax. Eccl.

1302 Kylvington

1428 Kylyngton

1637 Skillington, Map in Camden

From O.E. Cylfinga tun, " the tun or homestead of Cylfds
descendants." The c in the second D.B. spelling clearly demon-
strates that a patronymic name forms the first element. Cylfa
is once recorded in the Onomasticon. From a number of early
forms it would appear that the v was dropped at an early period
in pronunciation but retained in writing. From this fact one
would expect the local pronunciation to be [killintn, killirjtn].
The initial 5 of Camden's map must be due to a blunder.

KlMBERLEY.

0 - f Chinemareleie ) „ _,
1086 \ _, . ,. \ D.B.

I Chinemarelie )

c. 1200 Kinemarle, Woll. MSS.

1227-77 Kymm'ley, Non. Inq.

1291 Kynmarley, Tax. Eccles.

1316 Kynmarleye j pA

1428 Kymerley j

1589 Kymmerley alias Kymberley, Index.
O.E. Cyneni&res leak, " the field or open country of Cynem&r."
It is remarkable that the genitival s is absent from all the early
spellings. The phonetic history can be easily traced through
the centuries, and affords instructive examples of the various
processes of shortening and assimilation to which pi. ns. are liable.

KINOULTON 75

KlNGSTON-UPON-SOAR.

Type L
1086 Chinestan, D.B.

1216-72 J «. / v f Index.

_ > Kyn(n)estan \ T _ _ ,
1256 J I Inq. P.M. I.

1291 Kynstan, Tax. Eccles.

1302 Kyneston|FA

1 346 Kynston j

1637 Kynston, Map in Camden.

Type IL
1592 Kyngston, Index.

O.E. cyne-stdn, " royal stone." The first element is the O.E.
adj. cyne-, " royal," which occurs in compounds. I am unable to
say what the "royal stone" involved was, or why it was so
named. It must be remembered that in O.E. times, the title of
"king" was applied not only to the rulers of large dominions
but also to the petty chiefs of minor clans ; hence its frequent
use as a modern surname. In fact, the word originally had the
wide meaning of "nobleman, one of a noble family" (see
Kluge, Etymol. Worterbuch, s.v. Konig}.

The change from a to o in the ending is not due to phonetic
development but to erroneous etymology, the s being considered
the genitival ending of some pers. n. preceding the more familiar
tony O.E. tun. Thoroton the historian must have been labouring
under the same delusion when he explains the name as, "So
called, probably, from an Owner, as most Towns of that termina-
tion, in this County, generally."

Popular etymology is also responsible for the change from
Type I to Type II.

KINOULTON.

1086 Chineltune, D.B.
1152 Cheneldestoa, Index.

1284 Kynalton ) „ .

,, . }• -b.A.
1302 Kynolton J

O.E. Cynewealdes tun, "the farmstead of Cyneweald" This
is an example of the complete loss of the genitival s which is

IF.A.

76 KINOULTON

preserved only in the most archaic form. The phonetic develop-
ment is regular (see Phonology, §§ 18 ; 9).

The final a for n of the Index is, of course, a scribal mistake.

KlRKBY-IN-ASHFIELD.

1086 Chirchebi, D.B.

r Kirkeby ^
1 240] Kirkby I Bor. Rec.

I Kyrkeby J
1302 Kirkeby

1316 Kirkeby super Asshefeld
A Norse name, of which many instances are found both in
England and in Scandinavia : " the church village," from O.N.
kirkja and by(r\ It may be remarked here that the combination
ch in D.B. does not express the sound of ch in modern English
church, but represents k before palatal vowels (Stolze, § 40, I, 2).
The distinctive addition refers to the district in which the
village is situated : O.E. cesc fild, " the field or plain of the ash-
tree(s)."

KlRKLINGTON.

Type I.

1086 Cherlington, D.B.
1291 Kirtelyngton, Tax. Eccles.
1302 Kyrtelington | .
1428 Kyrtelynton )
c. 1500 Kyrtelyngton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type II.
1346 Kyrkelington, F.A.

1437 ) __. . f Index.

*0/ [ Kirklmgton \ , _ , ,
c. 1500] (Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The dwelling-place of the family of Cyrtel" O.E. Cyrtelinga
tun. The pers. n. involved is discussed under Costock. It is
formed from a name Curt by addition of the diminutive ending
il which caused mutation of the preceding vowel.

The change from tl to kl may be due to purely phonetic
forces. However, the analogy of the independent word kirk may
have had some influence in rendering Type II the predominant
form.

KNAPTHORPE » 77

The Yorks. pi. n. Kertlington is spelt Kirtlington and Kirk-
lington in Cal. Inq. P.M. temp. Edw. I. It seems to contain the
same patronymic.

KlRTON.

Type L

1086 Circeton, D.B.

Type II.
1086 Chircheton, D.B.

c. 1200 1 v , f Index.

, \ Kyrketon \
1316) { F.A.

( Kyrkton
C-I50°lKyrton

"The church town, or village." Type I is entirely English
in character, whereas Type II substitutes Scand. kirkja for the
cognate Anglo-Saxon cirice. In D.B. c before palatal vowels
is used to render the sound of modern English ch [t/], whereas
ch in the same position stands for k (see Stolze, § 40, I, and
cp. Kirkby).

KNAPTHORPE (under Caunton).

1086 Chenapetorp, D.B.
1278 Konaptorp, H.R.
1302 Knapthorp, F.A.

"The hamlet of Knapp, or Knappi" This pers. n. is not
given by Dr Bjorkman. However, the second element of the
pi. n. fcorp being of Scand. origin, it is safe to conclude that the
first too comes from the same source. Rygh (G. Pers. Nav.
p. 161) gives examples of the occurrence of Knappr, Knappi in
O.N. pi. ns.

It might also be suggested that this name contained the
O.K. substantive cnap(p), "top, mountain top," M.E. knape^.
I am, however, strongly in favour of the first interpretation.

The vowels e, o between the k and n were put in by the
Normans who found it impossible to pronounce the two con-
sonants in this combination.

1 Leland says of Belvoir Castle that it "standith on the very Knape of an highe
Hille."

78 KNEESALL

KNEESALL [nlsa] (Kneaser, Hope).

1086 Cheneshale, D.B.

1189 Cneeshala, P.R.

1230 Keneshale, Index.

1278 Kneshale, H.R.

1302 Kneshall |

1316 Kneshale j

The second element is O.E. healk, " valley." I cannot explain
the first, although I suspect it to stand for O.E. Cnihtes, or
cnihtes, the genitive of either the pers. n. Cnikt, or the identical
noun meaning "boy, servant, attendant, retainer." If it could
be proved that the genuine development of O.E. ih in this dialect
was late M.E. I, this theory would receive considerable support.
The Dial. Grammar is too untrustworthy a guide to be relied
upon in such cases. I have been informed that old people in
the district say [nit] for night, but have never been able to
establish this fact beyond doubt. The voiceless s in the pro-
nunciation recorded above would seem to point back to early
M.E. ts (cp. Cossal).

The vowel-glide between the k and the n in Norman
documents is explained elsewhere (see Knapthorpe ; and the
following name).

KNEETON or KNEVETON.

Type I.
1695 Knighton, Map in Camden.

Type II.

1086 Chenivetone, D.B.
C.U90 Chnivetunl Wo
c. 1210 Knltona )
1284 Knyveton, F.A.
1291 Kenyveton, Tax. Eccles.

O.E. cnihta tun, " the farmstead, or settlement of the servants."
The exact sense in which the O.E. cniht is used here is obscure.
Originally it meant " servant," as its German cognate Knecht
still does. In course of time, the O.E. word assumed a
different meaning, being applied to the retainers of a king or

LANEHAM 79

powerful lord whom they served as warriors, or men-at-arms.
They belonged to a new nobility, ranking above the lower orders
from which they had sprung. The word is, however, most
certainly not used here in its still further specialised M.E. sense,
that of " chevalier." Isaac Taylor (Engl. Village Names, § 3)
counts fifteen villages called Knighton in England.

On modern ee [I] for O.E. ih see preceding name.

The v of Type II remains to be explained. I take it to
represent the faint palatal open consonant of the early M.E.
Knighton, as it appeared to the Normans who were unfamiliar
with that sound (see Zachrisson, pp. 119 sqq.).

Considering that the mediaeval documents were often written
by foreigners, and were moreover copied one from another, it is
not surprising that so late an authority as Camden should furnish
us with the most useful spelling.

LAMBLEY.

1086 Lambeleia, D.B.

1316 Lameleye, F.A.
" Lamb lea, or field." O.E. lamb leak.

LAMCOTE.

Type I.
1086 Lanbecotes, D.B.

Type II.

1086 Lanbecote, D.B.
1316 Lambecote, F.A.

O.E. lamb cotas, " the lamb cotes " (Type I), cet lamb cotum,
" at the lamb cotes " (Type II); mb is often spelt nb in D.B. ; see
early forms of Clumber, and Cromwell.

LANEHAM.

1086 Lanun, D.B.

i278)T l H.R.

. [• Lanum < _ A
1316] j F.A.

O.E. at lanum, " at the lanes," dat. pi. of lane, " lane, street,
narrow way between hedges or banks." The modern spelling is
another instance of the O.E. dat. pi. ending -um being mistaken
for ham, " home."

8O LANGAR

LANGAR.

1086 ) f D.B.

c.iic4LangarelWoll. MSS.
1241 Langar, Cal. Rot. Chart.

1302 ) f F.A,

[ Langer \ ,,
1637 j { Map in Camden.

O.K. se langagdr, " the long triangular strip of land." The
second element gar corresponds to the O.H.G. g$ro, modern
German Gehre, which is encountered in numerous field names
throughout Northern Germany. It is discussed at length by
Dr Jellinghaus (p. 283). The modern Engl. equivalent is gore,
"a triangular piece of land."

LANGFORD.

1086 Landeforde, D.B.

1302 I

1346 \ Landeford, F.A.

1428]

1470 Lanford

1472 Lan forth

Index.

1555 Landford

"The ford leading to the plough-lands." The change of
n (< nd) to ng [n] is very remarkable. It did not take place
until a comparatively late period. The dialect word lang,
" long," may have had some influence.

O.K. land has the special sense of " cultivated land, estate."
There was a pi. n. called Lanfurt in Friesland (Forstemann, n)
which contained the same element, land, meaning " ager, rus."

The spelling in -forth (1472) betrays influence of Scand.
fiorftr.

LANGWITH.

1291 Langwaith, Cal. Rot. Chart.
1571 Langwith, Index.

It is impossible to say whether the second element stands for
Scand. vaft, " a wading place, ford," or for viSr, " tree, wood,
forest." See other examples of this confusion under VaS and
ViSr, pp. 394 and 395 of Lanes. PI. Ns. However, I feel

LEEN 8 I

inclined to explain the name , as meaning " long ford." For
such a name there are several analogies : Langwith Wood,
Yorks., appears as " Haya (an enclosed wood) de Langwath "
in 1286 (Index), and there is a Longford in Lanes.

LAXTON.

Type I.

(a) 1086 Laxintune, D.B.
1278 Lexington, H.R.

c. 1300 Lexinton, Index.

(b) 1278 Lessinton, H.R.

Type II.

1201 ) , f Tax. Eccles.

\ Laxton \ TT „
1302] (H.R.

" The tun or homestead of Leaxa, or the Leaxings" This
pers. n. is found once in O.E., in the Index to Kemble's Cod.
Dipl. as first element of a pi. n. : Leaxan oc, " the oak of Leaxa''
The phonetic development can be traced through the early
spellings without difficulty. The ss < ks of Type I b distinctly
points to Norman influence.

LEAKE (East or Great L., and West or Little L.).

1086 1 D.B.

| Leche j

1227-77 Leyk, Non. Inq.
( Esterlek )

1302 < „. * i > F.A.

( Westerleke j

., ( Esterleak ) ,, . ~ .
J^37 •( „, i -t r Map in Camden.
{ Westerleak J

" At the brook." The name is derived from an O.N. word
fykr, " a brook, rivulet," which is a cognate of O.E. lacu, " lake,
running water," and connected with modern Engl. to leak. The
village of East Leake is situated in a hollow of the South
Wolds through which a small rivulet flows.
LEEN (river).

c. 1200 Liene, Woll. MSS.

1 535-43 Line Ryver, Leland, I, 103.
1637 Lin, Camden, p. 547.
M. 6

82 LEEN

Apparently a Celtic river-name. There is a river Len in
Kent, and we also find a Leenane in co. Galway, a Leane in
co. Kerry, and a Leanane in co. Donegal. See Stevenson,
Asser's Life of King Alfred, p. 318, where a similar river-name
is discussed.

The name Lenbach is found on Bavarian territory.

LENTON.

1086 Lentune, D.B.

1189 ) T f Nott'm Charter.

' \ Lenton \ _ .
1291 J ( Index.

Linton ) _

T r Camden, p. 547.

Lenton j

" The tun, or settlement on the river Leen." See Leen.

LEVERTON (North and South).

Type I.
1086 Cledretone, D.B.

Type II.

(a) 1086 Legretune, D.B.

c. 1 200 Legherton, Cal. Rot. Chart.

I278 f ff ef °" I H.R.
[ Sudleg ton J

(b) 1189 Leirton, P.R.
1216-1307 Leyrton, Testa de N.
1281 Norhtleyrton, Inq. P.M. I.

Type III.
1173-4 Leuerton, P.R.

The etymology of this name is very obscure. Type III,
which may be the most reliable spelling, looks as if it were
derived from an O.E. compound Leofhere(s) tun. The same
personal name seems to be contained in " Liverpool," see PI. Ns.
of Lanes.

For a possible explanation of the relations between d [S], g,
and z;, in Norman spelling see discussion under Averham.

LITTLEBOROUGH 83

LiDE (more correctly Lythe} (Wapentake, now part of the
hundred of Thurgarton).

Type I.

1086 Lide Wap, D.B.

Wapentakium de...Lith, F.A.
Lythe, Thoroton.

Type II.

1278 Lye, H.R.

(Thurgarton a) Lee, Thoroton.

This name seems to be that of a river. Perhaps from O.K.
li]?e ea, " the gentle stream." Itpe is identical with modern
Germ, linde, both meaning " mild, calm, gentle, pleasant." The
adjective was occasionally applied to flowing water, as in a M.E,
version of the Psalter, quoted in N.E.D., s.v. lithe : " His stremes
leften lithe " (et siluerunt fluctus ejus, cvi. 29).

See Blyth, which has the same meaning.

The loss of intervocalic & (Type II) is a regular feature.

LlMPOOL (under Harworth).

c. 1500 Lympole, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Probably from O.E. at lind pole, "at the pool of the lime-
trees."

LlNBY.

1086 Lidebi, D.B.
1316 Lyndebi, F.A.

O.E. lind by(r), "the dwelling near the lime-trees." From
O.E. lind, " lime-tree," and Scand. by(r\ " a dwelling, village."

The D.B. scribes frequently omit n before other dental
consonants (Stolze, § 32); this is due to a peculiarity of their
Norman-French pronunciation : the i in the above spelling was
nasalised, and the consonant n dropped.

LITTLEBOROUGH.

Type I.

1535 Litilborowe, Valor Eccles.

6—2

84 LITTLEBOROUGH

Type II.

1086 Litelburg, D.B.
1428 Lytilburgh, F.A.
1535 Litilbrugh, Valor Eccles.
1637 Lyttleburgh, Map in Camden.

"The small fortified place, the small Roman fort." The
word O.E. burh is often applied to old fortifications especially
of Roman origin. It is constantly used of Rome itself, of London
and other walled cities. Littleborough is generally believed to
stand on or near the site of the Roman station Agelocum or
Segelocum. Cp. Brough.

Type II represents the O.E. nominative lytlo bur(u)h, whereas
Type I stands for the dative at bare lytlan bury^ with u for y
by analogy of the nom. and accus. cases, Sievers, § 284, anm. 4.

LOUND.

1086 ) _ ,( D.B.
0 \ Lund \ TT _.
1278) (H.R.

1302 Lound, F.A.

"The wood, copse." From Scand. lundr, "wood, copse."
The lengthening of the u before nd took place in England after
the word was introduced into the language. This word enters
into the composition of numerous pi. ns. both in Scandinavia
and in the Norse districts of Great Britain. It is also found as
an independent word in various forms in the English dialects.

The name of the university town of Lund in Southern
Sweden is identical in origin.

LOWDHAM [laudm].

1086 Ludeham, D.B.
c. 1170 Ludam )
c. 1 200 Ludham j

1278] - .. ( H.R.

> Ludham * ^ ,-, ,
1291 j I Tax. Eccles.

1302 Loudham, F.A.
1637 Lewdham, Map in Camden.

This name cannot be explained with any degree of certainty.
The first element may contain the O.E. pers. n. Luda, which

MANSFIELD 8$

seems to be an abbreviated variant of a full name beginning
with Lud, Leod-, such as Ludhere, Leodm&r etc. Ludan ham
would mean " the homestead of Luda."

Camden's spelling looks very suspicious. It is most probably
a mere blunder.

It might also be suggested that the first element was O.K.
hlud, " loud," which I take to mean " stormy, windy " as well :
cp. O.K. hlyda, a name for the month of March, derived from
hlud, "windy," and therefore identical with the ventdse of the
French revolutionary calendar. " The stormy-homestead " seems
to possess a parallel in the O.H.G. Hludinhusir (Forstemann)
which may mean " at the stormy houses," but the first element
may equally well be a pers. n. in the genitive case. Cp. Bleasby.

LYNDHURST-ON-THE-FOREST.

1637 Lyndhurst Wood, Map in Camden.
Formerly a wood and part of the forest. The meaning is
obvious : " Lime-wood," from O.E. lind, " lime-tree," and hyrst,
" a wood, copse, grove."

MANSFIELD.

Type I.

A.

(a) 1086 Mamesfelde, D.B.
1163 Mammesfeld, Index.

1291 \ ( Tax. Eccles.

Mamesfeld _ .

_ .
RA.

(b) 1291 Mannesfeld, Tax. Eccles.

B.

(a) 1189 Mamefeld, P.R.
(b} 1278 Man'efeld, H.R.

Type II.
A.

(a) 1086 Mammesfed, D.B.

(b) 1227-77 Maunnesfeld, Non. Inq.
1278 Maunsfewd, H.R.

1428 Maunsfeld, F.A.

1564 Mawnsfeld, Index.

1657 Maunsfeld, Map in Camden.

86 MANSFIELD

B.
(a) 1249 Malmefeud, Inq. P.M. I.

The O.K. prototype of this name was Mammesfeld (Types I A
and II A), of which a variant Mamman feld (Types I B and II B)
existed. These O.E. prototypes of which, as will appear later,
the latter was probably the more original one, are most faithfully
preserved by the Index spelling of 1163, and the P.R. of 1189
respectively.

The name developed on two different lines among the English
and the Norman-French communities. Type I, the native form,
survived eventually in the pi. n.; Type II, characterised by the
development of a u between a and n (Phonology, § n), and the
vocalisation or disappearance of /(cp. Zachrisson, pp. 146 sqq.)1,
owes its origin to the peculiarities of Norman-French pronuncia-
tion. From the latter type, the name of the river on which
Mansfield stands is taken ; it is therefore wrong to say that the
town derives its name from the river, just the opposite being the
case (see Maun).

In both types we perceive the change from medial m to n ;
those forms marked (a) contain the former, those marked (b) the
latter consonant. This development may be due to several
causes acting simultaneously.

(1) Dissimilation of the sequence m — m—f\ two consecutive
m's followed by f are difficult to pronounce. This applies
especially to Norman-French speakers (see Zachrisson, pp. 120
sqq.).

(2) The vowel between the m and the s must have disappeared
very early, at least in pronunciation if not in spelling. In the
combination ms, s would exercise a very strong assimilatory
influence upon the preceding nasal.

(3) Popular etymology connected the first element with the
word man.

Having explained the development of the name through M.E.
and modern times as exemplified by the variety of early spellings,
we may now return to the original O.E. form. The meaning of

1 / having become u in Anglo-Norman, al could be written for au as in Malmefeud
(Type II B, a).

MANSFIELD 8/

Mammes fttd is obvious : " the plain of Mamma" This name
applied to the whole district, the town, or rather the original
settlement being called " on Mammes /tide? The final e of the
D.B. form (Type I A, a) may be regarded as the last and only
trace of the O.K. dative ending. As has already been said
Mamman feld was probably more original than the -es type.
The pers. n. Mamma should follow the weak declension, and
must have done so originally ; however, as was shown in the
case of Annesley (q.v.), the ending an was replaced by the strong
es at a very early date in the Midland dialects.

The pers. n. involved is not recorded in O.K. sources. It
may, however, be safely inferred to have existed, because it
occurs among those West Germanic tribes which remained on
the continent. We find O.H.G. Mamo, Mammo as the names
of persons, and Mammindorf, modern Mammendorf, Bavaria, as
the name of a place (Forstemann, l).

Who the personage was, that gave his name to the plain and
town, it is impossible to say. It even is not unlikely that he
never existed except in the imagination of the early settlers.
The locality may have had a British name, which contained the
element Mam-, of doubtful meaning and derivation, which is also
found in the early forms of Manchester. This Mam-, whose
significance the Anglo-Saxons did not know, would promptly
be interpreted and used as the pers. n. with which they were
already acquainted. They did this the more readily, as the
majority of Teutonic pi. ns. were formed on the principle of
pers. n. plus designation of locality (see Bradley, Engl. Histor.
Review, Oct. 1911, p. 823). Similar cases of distortion and mis-
interpretation of British pi. ns. are cited by Isaac Taylor (Words
and Places, ch. Xll).

Apart from the erroneous, but natural derivation of this
name from that of the river, another different and highly in-
genious explanation has been offered, namely, that it was bestowed
upon the locality by the Counts of Mansfeld in Saxony who
came here to attend at the tournament of King Arthur. It may
seem a pity to many that the hard facts should destroy so
romantic a fiction.

88 MANTON

MANTON.

1086 Mennetune, D.B.

O.E. Manan tun> " the farmstead of Mczna." This pers. n. is
recorded in the Onomasticon. The long vowel was shortened
before the combination nt at different periods, which accounts
for the variation in vowel of the only two recorded spellings
given above.

MAPELBECK.

Type I.

1086 Mapelbec, D.B.

c. 1300 Mapilbec, Index.

1302 Mapelbek )

1316 Mapulbek j

f Mapulbeke ) T _, ,,
c. I50CM __ \ , . h Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
( Malebeke J

Type II.

..
Mapelberg )

" The maple brook." From O.E. mapul(treo\ " maple (tree),"
and O.N. bekkr, "brook, rivulet" (Type I). The small water-
course on which the village stands is now without an individual
name.

Type II contains O.E. beorg, "hill, mountain," as second
element. It is impossible to say whether this represents the
original name which was later changed to the prevailing
form. Mapelbeck is, as a matter of fact, situated at the foot of
a hill which might very well have been called " the maple hill."
It must, however, be mentioned here that the compilers of D.B.
are by no means trustworthy guides in matters of etymology, as
they too frequently employed the expedient of substituting
more familiar forms for those with which they were not acquainted
(see Bramcote).

MAPPLEWELL.

"The maple spring." The place probably takes its name
from a spring in that locality, which is also famous for the
petrifying qualities of its very cold and pure water.

MARNHAM 89

MARKHAM (East, or Great).

1086 Marcham, D.B.

MARKHAM (West).

1086 Westmarcham, D.B.

From O.K. mearc ham, "the home or dwelling on the
boundary." The meaning of O.K. mearc was " boundary, mark,
district"; it refers to the boundaries of states, but more frequently
of fields and estates. The word mearc land was used to describe
the waste land which often formed the boundaries of extensive
clearings, and it is not impossible that the original Markham
was situated on the confines of such a district. A political
boundary may also have been implied, an assumption which is
rendered likely by the fact that East Markham is situated on
the watershed ridge of the Trent and Idle, and thus on a
natural boundary which might easily have become a political
one.

MARNHAM.

Type I.
1086 Marneham, D.B.

c. 1175 Marnaham, Woll. MSS.
1302 Marnhame, F.A.

Type II.

( Coucher Book of Walley Abbey,
c. 1 190 Mansham ] _, _

Cheetham Soc., 1847, p. 5.

I take this name to stand for O.E. M&rwines ham, "the
homestead of MSrwine" a pers. n. recorded in the Onomasticon.
Type II represents the more natural development of the proto-
type, with the tf? shortened before rw, and subsequent loss of
initial w and n before s in the unstressed syllable. In Type I,
which survived, the same changes took place with the one
exception that the s instead of the n was dropped. It is very
likely that the two types go back to two forms of different
length, and therefore, stress, viz. the nominative and dative
respectively : M&rwines ham, and <zt M&rwines Jidme, though
what the exact distribution of accents was I am at present
unable to suggest (see Wyld, in PL Ns. of Oxf. pp. 5 sqq.).

90 MARTIN OR MORTON

MARTIN or MORTON.

1086 Martune, D.B.

1217 Marton ) .

., [ Index.

1216-72 Martun j

c. 1500 Marton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The boundary farm or enclosure." The first element may
have been either O.K. m&re, " boundary," or mearc with the same
meaning. Although the k would readily disappear between r
and / (Phonology, § 12), it is safer to adopt the former alter-
native in the absence of spellings containing a c or k. The
word mcere is used exclusively of the boundaries of estates and
fields. (Lanes. PI. Ns. p. 370.) What was the nature of the
boundary here referred to, it is impossible to say. See Markham.

Both modern spellings are due to popular etymology : the
first owes its existence to the analogy of the Christian name
Martin, the second to that of the numerous pi. ns. Morton. There
is, however, some phonetic justification for the former, as the
unstressed vowel after dental consonants, and more especially if
followed by another dental, is often pronounced i in English
dialects (Horn, § 149, 2 a).

Martin forms the north-eastern hamlet of Harworth parish,
adjoining Bawtry, which is situated in Yorkshire. The boundary
between the two counties seems thus to go back to a very old
division.

MATTERSEY or MATTERSEA.

Type I.

1086 Madressei(g), D.B.
1278^ rH.R.

1316 I Mathersey] F.A.
1428 ] ( F.A.

c. 1500 Mathersey, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type II.

1291 Marsey, Tax. Eccles.
1335 Mersey, Valor Eccles.

MAUN OR MAN QI

Type III.

(a) c. 1500 Madersay, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1535-43 Madersey, Leland.

(b) c. 1500 Mattesey thorp, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1535 Matersey, Valor Eccles.

" The island or low-lying water meadow of MczShere" The
same personal name is contained in the Worcestershire pi. n.
Madresfield. The second element is O.K. e$e.

Type I preserves the original most faithfully. The spellings
under Type II show the regular loss of ft between vowels. If
this form had survived one would expect the modern pronuncia-
tion to be [mazi]. Type III, which accounts for the modern
spelling, arose out of the stopping of ft before r (III a) ;
the d thus produced was unvoiced during a later period, probably
from a desire to vary the nature of the sounds which in this
long word were all voiced.

The ending sea in the alternative modern spelling is an
ingenious attempt at etymology.

The nature of the ground in the neighbourhood, as described
by Leland, seems to be in accord with the meaning of the suffix.
He says: "...and a Mile farther I saw the Course on the lifte
hond of. ..Ryver, over the which I passid by a Bridge of... hard
at the entering into Madersey Village. Thens I rood a Myle yn
low wasch and sumwhat fenny Ground...."

MAUN or MAN (river).

1300 Main(esheued)* \ Stevenson, Forest
1332 Mamm(esheued)*/ Records, 399, 401.
1613 Man, Drayton's Polyolbion.
c. 1900 Man, or Maun, Ordnance Map.
* i.e. head of river Maun.

The name of this river is derived from that of the town
of Mansfield. Similar "back-formations" are enumerated by
Dr Bradley in Essays and Studies, I, pp. 32, 331. The variations

1 "Thus Kimbolton, in Huntingdonshire, is derived from the personal name
Cynebald ; but the river on which the place stands has been provided by the map-
makers with the name Kim.... The name of the river Brain is a figment invented to
account for Braintree."

92 MAUN OR MAN

in spelling are explained under Mansfield (q.v.) ; ain for an is
a peculiarly central French development ; see Saundby.

MEDEN (river) [midn].

The termination may be the reduced form of an O.E. amma,
or a similar word for "stream"; see Witham. I propose to con-
nect the first part with O.E. meed, " meadow." The meaning
"meadow stream" seems a most appropriate one for this par-
ticular water-course. A corresponding O.H.G. Madibah is re-
corded several times (Forstemann, ll).

MEERING.

Type I.

1086 Meringe, D.B.
1302 Meryng, F.A.

Type II.

This is a patronymic name, which is proved by the forms of
Type II. I believe this to have been O.E. (non- West-Saxon)
Merwingas, " the family or tribe of the Merwings" (Type II), of
which Type I is the dative pi. at Merwingum.

This name is identical with that of the noble family of the
Merovings, who as a dynasty preceded the Carolings in France
and North- Western Germany. The original pers. n., of which
this is the patronymic, must have been W. Germ, mdru, " bright,
famous " (see Hirt-Weigand, Deutsches Worterb., s.v. Mare).

The Meringas are mentioned in an O.E. charter (Cod. Dipl.
809), and the same patronymic occurs in the O.H.G. pi. n.
Maringen, modern Mohringen (Forstemann, II). The name
Mating, Mering is frequent in the O.H.G. period, and is repre-
sented by the modern German surname Mehring.

Isaac Taylor, in his work entitled "Words and Places," refers
to the Merovingians in connection with the above pi. n. and gives
numerous references (ch. VII).

MILTON OR MILNETON 93

MERRILS BRIDGE (West Drayton).

1225 de ponte Miriild ) _,

1 Bor. Rec.

1316 Mirielbrigge

"The bridge by the pleasant slope," O.E. seo myrige helde,

from myrig, modern " merry/' here used in its old and original

sense of " pleasant, delightful " as in " Merry England," and

helde, West-Saxon hielde, " slope, declivity." The O.E. y of the

first syllable is represented by i in the M.E. forms. The e in

the modern spelling may be the result of a peculiar dialect

development of O.E. y, or may be due to the influence of the

independent word, merry, which comes from the Kentish dialect.

For an explanation of the final s see BrentshilL

Merrils Bridge is a very ancient structure situated at the

foot of a gentle slope.

MiDDLETHORPE (under Caunton).

c. 1500 Midelthorp, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1704 Midlethorp, Map.
The name explains itself.
MlLNTHORPE (under Norton).

Probably from M.E. milen thorp, " the mill thorpe or hamlet."
The O.E. word for a mill is mylen. See Milton.

MILTON or MILNETON.

Type I.
1278 Milneton, H.R.

{Milnton ) T „ , ,
\ Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
Mylneton j

Type II.
1086 Miletune, D.B.

Type III.

c. 1500 Molton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

O.E. mylen tun, " the enclosure, or farmstead by the mill."
See Milnthorpe. .

Types II and III show loss or assimilation of n between /
and t. The o of Type III, which probably stands for u, may be
due to a particular M.E. development of O.E. y after labials.

94 MIRFIELD HALL

MIRFIELD HALL.

I take Mirfieldto stand for O.K. se myrige feld, " the pleasant
plain, or field." See Merrils Bridge for old meaning of myrige.

MISSON (Mizon, Hope).

,. f Misna ) T

1086 \ _, \ D.B.

[ Misne j

1278 Misin, H.R.

1321 Mysyn | .

* J }• Index.
1379 Misen J

1637 Masson, Map in Camden.

I cannot interpret this name. It seems to contain a river-
name as first element; the a and e of D.B. seem to stand for
older ea, "river," so that the prototype would be O.K. czt M...ea>
"(the habitation) by the M... river." This ea or a would be lost
subsequently as in Blyth (q.v.).

Camden seems to have blundered.

I cannot refrain from quoting the following delightful inter-
pretation of the name contained in White's Directory (1853,
p. 640): " Misson Parish lies... on the north side of the Idle,
bounded on the west by Yorkshire, and on the east by Lincoln-
shire, and is partly in the latter county, which is here so inter-
mixed with Nottinghamshire, that the boundaries of the two
counties are almost indefinable, from which circumstance the
parish is supposed to have been anciently called Misne or
Myssen."

MlSTERTON.

1086 Ministretone, D.B.

0 ( Misterton ) T

1278-^ [H.R.

( Mist ton J

1316 Misterton, F.A.

O.E. mynster tun, " the minster-town, or habitation by the
church." The meaning of O.E. mynster is " monastery, nunnery,
church, cathedral " ; in this case it probably refers to an old pre-
Norman structure. The loss of n after initial m may be due to
dissimilation (Phonology, § 14).

Misterton in Leicestershire has the same origin ; it appears
as Minstertona in 1313 (Index).

MUSKHAM 95

MORTON or MORETON (under Babworth).

0/: ( Mortune ) ^ ^

1086 I -T , I D.B.

I Nordermortune J

c. 1200) ,, f Index.

.. \ Morton \ „ A
t 1316) (F.A.

MORTON (Fiskerton-with-Morton).

1331 \

1368 I Morton, Index.

1754 J

The meaning is obvious: "the tun or habitation on the
moor." The distinction made in D.B. seems to have been lost
subsequently.

MUSKHAM (North and South).

JNordmuscham ]

1086 \ , \ JJ.JD,

( Nord Muscham J

JI43 ) i»/r f Index.

ii8g)MuscampjpR

1316 Suthe Muskham, F.A.

1637 Muscombs, Map in Camden.

O.K. Muscan ham, " the home or dwelling-place of Muscat
This pers. n. is not recorded in the Onomasticon. It must,
however, have existed as it is found on the continent ; Forste-
mann (l) quotes from German documents Musco, Musgo, and
refers to the modern German surname Musch. There is a pi. n.
in Hesse exactly identical with the one under discussion :
Musckenheim, from O.H.G. Muscanheim.

The same pers. n. seems to be contained in the Scandinavian
pi. ns. Muskedalen, Muskerfd which are left unexplained by
Rygh (N. Gaardnavne, p. 375). If the English name is not
altogether of Norse origin, the retention of the pronunciation sk
must at any rate be ascribed to Scandinavian influence.

Camden again presents us with a fanciful spelling; he probably
thought the name was connected with combe. The final s is the
sign of the plural, there being two villages of the same name.

The Index and P.R. forms betray Norman influence: the

96 MUSKHAM

ending was taken to represent camp, the Norman-French
descendant of Latin campus, frequently found in pi. ns. such as
Fecamp.

NETHERFIELD.
" The lower field."

NETTLEWORTH (under Warsop).

1216-1307 Nettelwurd, Testa de N.
c. 1500 Nettilworth, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1637 Nettleworth, Map in Camden.

" The enclosed homestead, habitation among the nettles " ?
There is no evidence either to prove or disprove this interpretation
conclusively.

NEWARK-UPON-TRENT.

1066 Newarcha, Cod. Dipl. 878 (a starred charter).

Newerca \

1086 - Neuuerce L D.B.
, Newerche j
J Niwewerch, P.R.
I Niwerch, Nott'm Charter.
1278 Newerk, H.R.
etc.

O.K. Jxzt niuwe weorc, "the new fortification." The old
fortifications, probably a continuation of Roman works, were
destroyed by the Danes, but rebuilt in the reign of Edward the
Confessor, when the place received its present name.

The meaning of the O.E. weorc, " fortification," is still pre-
served in the compound earth-work, and in the special military
sense of "the works." Cp. also "out-works." The modern
German Werk has the same sense.

For er > ar see Phonology, § 7.

NEWBOLD (under Kinoulton).

Type L

1086) XT ., f D.B.
£ Neubold \ „ A
1284] (F.A.

NEWTHORPE 97

Type II.

1157 Niwebote|pR
1159 Niwebota J

O.K. }>(zt niuwe botl, or bold, " the new dwelling." The noun
appears in both forms botl and bold in O.E. (Sievers, § 183, 20),
which accounts for the difference between Types I and II.

NEWINGTON (under Misson).

O.E. at b&m niuwan tune, " at the new homestead." This
name is found in all parts of England. For the change of
unstressed an to ing see Phonology, § 13.

The same name in the nominative case se niuwa tun is the
prototype of the equally numerous Newtons.

NEWSTEAD ABBEY.

1189 (Prior de) Novo Loco, Nott'm Charter.
1205 Novus Locus in Shirewood, Cal. Rot. Chart.

{New Place \
Newstede !• Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
Newstead J

The Priory, less correctly, Abbey of Newstead was founded
in 1170 by Henry II in what was then part of Sherwood Forest.
Most probably the site had to be cleared of trees and undergrowth
and was therefore called Novus Locus by the monks, though it
is impossible to say whether this was a translation of a M.E.
Newe stede or whether the latter was based on the original
Latin name. The New Place of 1500 certainly looks as if it
were a translation from the Latin ; this variant may have been
the form adopted by the Norman- French among clergy and
nobility.

NEWTHORPE.

1086 Neutorp, D.B.
1341 Neuthorp, Index.

This name requires no explanation.

M. 7

98 NEWTON

NEWTON.

1086 Niwetune, D.B.
c. 1250 Neuton, Index.

O.E. se niuwa tun, " the new homestead," see Newington.
NORMANTON-ON-SOAR.

1086 j*°rmatTel D.B.
( Normanton j

NORMANTON-ON-TRENT.

1086 Normentune, D.B.
1268 Normanthon, Index.

NORMANTON-ON-THE-WOLDS.

1086 Normantone, D.B.

O.E. norftmanna tun, " the enclosure or dwelling-place of the
Northmen." These places owe their names not to the Normans
but to their non-Frenchified kinsmen, the Scandinavian invaders.
It might be urged against this that the suffix tun is Anglo-
Saxon and not Norse in origin. We must, however, bear in
mind that the pi. n. was invented and used by the original
Anglo-Saxon inhabitants among whom the newcomers made
their settlements ; pi. ns. combining a Scandinavian pers. n.
with an Anglo-Saxon designation of locality must be viewed in
the same light.

The loss of fr between r and m is normal.

NORNEY (under Styrrup).

This place, of which there are no early spellings, is situated
to the north of Blyth on a small river. I take it to stand for
O.E. norfterne e^e, " the Northern brook, or island." The develop-
ment would be as follows : nor^rne^e > norftnei > Norney.

NORTON (in Cuckney Parish).

1282 Norton, Bodl. Ch. and R.

"The north town, or habitation." This village forms the
northern part of Cuckney.

NOTTINGHAM 99

NORWELL.

1086 Nortwelle, D.B.

0 f Nortwell ] T
I278iNorwellfH-R-
1316 Northewelle ) .
1428 Northwell f

" The northern spring or brook."

NOTOWN (under Bleasby).

As there are no early spellings it is impossible to attempt an
explanation.

NOTTINGHAM [notigem, Dial. Gramm. § 273] (Nottingum,
Nottingyum, Nottinum, Hope).

Type I.
868 etc.
930

0 f A.S. Chron. passim.

\ Snotmgaham \ - . _ . ,

(Cod. Dipl. II, 170.

1086

( Snotmgeham )

( Flor. of Worcester.
c. 1150 Snotmgaham \ ~ . _. ,

( Symeon of Durham.

c. 1250 Snotingham, MS. Jesus Coll. Oxon. (E.E.T.Soc. 49).
1353 Snotyngham, Leicester Records.

) AT f Index.

\ Notingham 4 T . „

) (Leicester Records.

Type II.

1131 } XT (P.R.

V Notingeham 1 , ,
1153) ( Index.

1278 Notingham, H.R.
c. 1300 Notingeham, Henry of Huntingdon.

1304 ) AT f Index.

"!
1336

N.B. The majority of the early spellings quoted above are
taken from Dr Zachrisson's book on " Anglo-Norman Influence
on English PL Ns." (pp. 51, 52).

O.K. Snotinga ham, " the homestead of the family of Snot."
The pers. n. Snot occurs as that of a tenant in D.B. The name
Snothere is also recorded in the Onomasticon. There may have

7—2

100 NOTTINGHAM

existed an O.H.G. pers. n. Snozo which seems to be contained
in the pi. n. Sn0zindorf(Fdrstema.nn, I). The weak form of the
O.E. name, * Snotta, survives in M.E. Snotte, the surname of a
certain Peter mentioned in the Close Rolls (Cal. of Close Rolls,
p. 570, quoted by Mr Stevenson).

Type I represents the native Anglo-Saxon form ; Type II,
with the initial 5 dropped, owes its origin to Norman-French
influence. Romance-speaking peoples find great difficulty in
pronouncing certain initial consonant combinations of the
Germanic languages. When a word was borrowed, such com-
binations were naturally got rid of, either by prefixing an e> or
by inserting some vowel between the two consonants, or by
simply dropping the obnoxious initial sound. The latter alter-
native was adopted when the Normans1 had to use the name of
the O.E. Snotinga ham, and that of the neighbouring Sneinton,
which has a similar origin, being derived from O.E. Snotinga tun
(see D.B. spellings under Sneinton}. The fact that the clipped
form survived in the former case only is accounted for by the
circumstance that Nottingham, with its castle, became a most
important stronghold of the conquerors, who settled in such
numbers in the town that it had to be divided into two distinct
communities, an English and a French one (see Zachrisson,
pp. 51 sqq.).

There still exists a general belief, even among people that
ought to know better, that the name of the "Queen of the
Midlands" signifies "the home of the caves." But however
romantic and appropriate this interpretation2 may be, it will
have to be abandoned. The notion is taken from a passage in
Asser's "Life of King Alfred" (ed. W. H. Stevenson, M.A.,
Oxford, 1904, p. 230), which reads: "Snotengaham...quod Britan-
nice ' Tigguobauc ' interpretatur, Latine autem ' speluncarum
domus.'" The learned editor of the text remarks that the

1 Dr Bradley (E. and St. p. 39) facetiously remarks "that the people of
Nottingham will bear them no ill-will on this account."

2 I cannot refrain from quoting the following delightful explanation of the name
given with the utmost assurance by Mrs Gilbert in her pamphlet entitled " Recollec-
tions of Old Nottingham " (p. 7) : " Snottengham, from Snottenga (caves) and ham
(home), subsequently softened into Nottingham."

NUTHALL OR NUTTALL IOI

British name actually does mean "dwelling of th^cayes" or,
more literally, " cavy house " ; but this has nothing to dovwith
the English form, which is quite a new creation.' ThSs inte/pVera-
tion was later on eagerly seized upon by antiquaries, wild made
it the basis of fanciful elaborations in which they delighted,
being concerned more with grotesque fiction than with sober
facts. Camden in particular must be credited with having
amplified and widely circulated the original mistake of King
Alfred's biographer. The passage is so quaint and characteristic
that it may find a place here : " Where, on the other banke (of
the Lin) at the very meeting well neere of Lin and Trent, the
principall Towne that hath given name unto the Shire is seated
upon the side of an hill now called Nottingham (by softning the
old name a little) for Snottengaham ; for, so the English Saxons
named it of certaine caves and passages under the ground,
which in old time they hewed and wrought hollow under those
huge and steepe cliffs, which are on the South side hanging
over the little River Lin, for places of receit and refuge, yea
and for habitations. And thereupon Asserius interpreteth the
Saxon word Sottengaham in Latine Speluncarum domum, that
is, An house of Dennes or Caves, and in the British Tuiogobauc,
which signifieth the very selfe same " (Camden, 547).

NUTHALL or NUTTALL [natl].

1086 Nutehale, D.B.

1284 Notehall \

1302 Notehale I p A

1316 Notehall j

1428 Notehale J

O. E. on hnutu heale, " in the nut valley, in the vale where
the nuts grow." Similar names, as hnut fen, hnut wic, are
quoted by Middendorf from O.E. charters. This is one of the
few names that show early substitution of hall for the second
element. The principal modern spelling owes its origin to the
same erroneous conception of the meaning of the ending.

The o of all the F.A. forms stands for M.E. u according to
Norman-French practice (Sweet, N.E. Gr. § 775).

IO2 OLDCOATES OR ULCOATES

QLDCOATES or ULCOATES (Alecotes, Hope).

Type I.

Oulecotes, F.A.
I346J

1348 Oullecotes, Index.

1428 Oullecotez, F.A.

1445 Owelcotes, Index.

(b) 1269 Ulcotes, Cal. Rot. Chart.

1278 Ulecotes, H.R.

1414 Ulcotes, Index.

1535 Ulcotts, Valor Eccles.

Type II.
1086 Caldecotes, D.B.

O.K. ulan cotas, "the houses of the owl, or near which the
owl lives, is seen or heard." The vowel of the first syllable
remains long in Type I a, ou or ow being the M.E. (Norman-
French) symbols denoting the long //-sound. This vowel is
shortened before the combination Ik in Type I b ; from the latter
the second modern spelling originates. The principal official
form owes its origin to the interference of popular etymology.
At some time or other the dialect pronunciation of the two words
owl and old may have been very much alike, and may have
caused the substitution of the latter for the former. The only
information given by the Dial. Diet, is that M.E. u becomes [au]
or [a] in Nottinghamshire, whereas old is pronounced [6d]. The
transcription of the local pronunciation furnished by Hope is very
ambiguous ; if it is interpreted in accordance with the ordinary
principles of modern English spelling, it would mean [eilkouts]
or [elkots]. In spite of inquiries instituted in the locality itself a
pronunciation deviating from the spelling could not be traced.

The D.B. form is without support. The scribe seems to
have substituted a name with which he was more familiar.
There is a Coldcotes in the West Riding. Dr Moorman interprets
this as meaning "the cold cottages, on an exposed situation."
Isaac Taylor (Words and Places, ch. x) is of opinion, that this
name like that of Cold Harbour (i.e. auberge) was given to
certain structures erected on frequented roads, where travellers

OMPTON 103

could obtain shelter but neither food nor fire1. When such a
name belongs to a place not in the immediate neighbourhood of
an ancient road, it seems to me to mean not "cottage on an
exposed position/' but "temporary building, house without a
fire-place," such as one may still find in the fields used as barns
and temporary shelters for cattle.

The Hessian pi. n. Eudorfis explained by Sturmfels (p. 21) as
meaning " Dorf, wo sich der Uhu gerne aufhalt" — "village where
the owl delights to dwell"; cp. O.H.G. htiwo, Mo ; Awila, "owl."

OLDWARK SPRING.

Stukeley, the antiquarian, found extensive Roman remains
near this place. The meaning is therefore : " the spring near
the old work or buildings." See Newark.

OLLERTON or ALLERTON.

1086 Alretun, D.B.

1 1 89-99 Alretona ) T

. . >Index.

1190 Alretun J

1278 Alverton, H.R.

1316 \ (F.A.

1377 I Allerton j Index.

1637 j I Map in Camden.

Probably from O.K. ^Elfheres tun, " the enclosure or home-
stead of ^Elfhere^ The H.R. spelling of 1278 is the most
valuable. It does not, however, enable us to say for certain
that the pers. n. contained in the first element is ALlfhere rather
than either ^Elfred or ^Elfric or ^Elfweard.

The change from al to aul>ol>ol is explained elsewhere
(Phonology, § 9).

OMPTON.

0^ f Almuntone ) ,_. ^
1086 i .. ^D.B.

( Almentone J

1216-1307 Alemunton, Testa de N.

1278) , ( H.R.

1 Almeton \

1316] (F.A.

c. 1500 Elmeton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

1 Cp. the German pi. n. Kalter Herberg, older ze kalter herberge (dative) in the
Eifel district, Rhenish Prussia.

IO4 OMPTON

"The tun or homestead of Ealkmund" The development
of the stressed vowel is similar to that in Ollerton (q.v.). It is
noteworthy that in both pi. ns. the genitival s of the first
element is absent from all the recorded forms.

The spelling Elmeton shows the influence of the independent
word elm-tree, with which it was connected by popular etymology.

ORDSALL.

1086 Ordeshale, D.B.

1375 Ordesale, Index.

1637 Ardsall, Map in Camden.

I take this name to be derived from O.E. Ordrices healh,
" the valley of Ordric." A person of the latter name is said in
D.B. to have held land in this locality. It is possible that he
gave his name to the village (see Gamston near Retford).

The phonetic development can be easily explained. Of the
two r's the second one in the unstressed syllable was dropped
(Phonology, § 14), whereas the fronted c would become assimi-
lated to the following s.

Camden's spelling means nothing.

ORSTON.

Type I.

1284 Orston )
1428 Horston J

c. 1500 Horson, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1637 Ouston, Map in Camden.

Type II.

1086 Oschintone, D.B.
1242 Orskinton, Inq. P.M. I.

From O.E. Ordrices tun, "the farmstead of Ordric? Type II
arose out of confusion with Ossington (q.v.). The d was lost
between the two r's at an early period ; the pers. n. itself occurs
as Orric in O.E. The same name took a different line of change
in Ordsall (q.v.). This variety of development may probably
be accounted for by a different distribution of stress.

The initial //, which has no significance in this dialect, may

OSMONDTHORPE IO5

represent an attempt at connecting the name with horse.
Camden's form and that of 1 500 are interesting in so far as they
may represent the contemporary pronunciation.

OSBERTON (under Scofton).

Type I.

1086 Osbernestune, D.B.
1428 Osberton, F.A.
1637 Osburton, Map in Camden.

Type II.
c. 1500 Esbarton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

O.E. Osbeornes tun, " the farmstead of Osbeorn" This pers. n.
is of Scandinavian origin. Its prototype was Asbiorn, but when
it was introduced into England, it became anglicised in form, the
a (from a before ns) being changed to o and io to eo. Type II
contains another Norse variant of the same pers. n. <&sbiorn (see
Bjorkman, p. io). It is curious to meet Type II in so late a
document only ; this seems to indicate that the scribes of the
1 5th century must have had access to old and reliable sources,
and that tradition in the spelling of pi. ns. was very strong.

The complete disappearance of the genitival s is a note-
worthy feature of this name. The various forms assumed by e
before r are explained elsewhere (Phonology, § 8).

OSMONDTHORPE (under Edingley).
1086 Oswitorp1, D.B.
1331 Osmundthorp, Index,
c. 1500 Ossonthorpe, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
" The dwelling-place or hamlet of Osmund!' This pers. n. is
found both in O.E. and O. Norse, in the latter language as
Asmundr, which, however, would readily assume the English
form (see preceding name). The nature of the second element
speaks in favour of Norse origin (see Bjorkman on Asmund,
p. 21).

The spelling of A.D. 1500 evidently represents the con-
temporary pronunciation, with m dropped in the beginning of
an unstressed syllable.

1 Evidently a misreading ; the scribe mistook Osmutorp for Osuuitorp.

106 OSSINGTON

OSSINGTON.

1086 Oschintone, D.B.
1173-4 Oskinton, P.R.
1216-72 Occington, Index.
1278 Oscington, H.R.
1327-77 Ossyngton, Non. Inq.

" The tun or farmstead of Osketin" This is the Scandinavian
pers. n. Asketill, of which numerous examples are found both
in the original and the new domains of the Norsemen. The
change from a to o is accounted for by the fact that the element
as was found as os in native Anglo-Saxon names (see preceding
name). The substitution of the ending in for /// is explained
by Dr Bjorkman (p. 17) as due to confusion of the two Latin
suffixes Inus and illus. A similar transformation is noted by
Professor Wyld, who finds the pers. n. Roskin for Rosketill in
the Lanes, pi. n. Rossendale.

The phonetic changes are regular (see Phonology, §§ I ; 13).
This name furnishes another instance of the transition of un-
stressed in to ing (Phonology, § 13).

OSWARDBECK (Wapentake).

Type I.

_^ f Oswardebec Wap. ) _ _
1086 \ ... ... \ D.B.

I Wardebec Wap. j

1153 Oswardebec, Index.
1189 Oswardesbech, P.R.

_ ( Oswardebeck ) TT _
1278 J TT \ H.R.

| Hoswordbec j

Type II.

\ Oswaldebeck )

1216-1307 i~ ., , . \ Testa de N.
' ( Oswoldebeck J

1444 Oswaldbeck, Index.

No attempt has been made to classify or discuss the variety
of spellings found in the Inq. P.M. c. 1500. They afford an
instructive example of what divergent results the united actions
of phonetic tendencies and popular etymology may produce :

OXTON 107

Oswaldbeck, Osberbeksoke, Hoswoldbekesoke, Oswalbeke, Oswardbek,
Osilbeke, Ossonbek, Osbaldbekoop, Walbeksoken, Osylbeke.

This wapentake derives its name from a brook called
O swear des bekk, "the brook of Osweard" (Type I). As 'the
second element is of Norse origin, O.N. bekkr, we may perhaps
infer that the pers. n. was originally of the same origin.
There exists a Scandinavian pers. n. Asvar&r, of which traces
are found in England (cp. Bjorkman, Index), and for which the
native equivalent Osweard might have easily been substituted
(see preceding names, and, on the subject of substitution in
general, Bjorkman, pp. 197 sqq.).

In Type II the pers. n. Osweald is erroneously introduced.

OWTHORPE.

Type I.

1086 Ovetorp, D.B.

c. 1190 Hustorp, Woll. MSS. (queried by the editor).
1216-1307 Uvetorp, Testa de N.
1302 Outhorp, F.A.

Type II.

1284 f?Plh°ipj F.A.
* ( Cupthorp j

" The thorpe, or dwelling-place of Ufi, or Uvi" The name
is Norse in origin ; Dr Bjorkman quotes several instances of its
occurrence in England. The v became vocalised after the u.
The initial h of the Woll. MSS. spelling means nothing (Phono-
logy, § 19). I cannot explain Type II; it must have arisen
out of a blunder of the scribe.

OXTON.

1086 i°xetunel D.B.
\ Ostone j

1278 Oxton, H.R.

1292 Oston, Index.

1302 Oxton \

1316 Hoxton I F.A.

1346 Oxton I

" The ox-enclosure." The name needs no further explanation.

108 PAPPLEWICK

PAPPLEWICK.

1086 Paplewic, D.B.

1189 Papewich, P.R.

1316 Papulwyk|FA

1428 Papilwyk J

O.K. papol wlc, "the pebbly creek or bay." The village is
situated on the eastern bank of the river Leen.

The second element, which is of Norse origin, is discussed
under Colwick. papol(-stan) means " pebble " in O.K.

PERLETHORPE or PALETHORPE (Palethorpe, Hope).
1086 Torp, D.B.
1166-7 Peurelestorp, P.R.
1278 Pevereltorp, H.R.

Peverltorp, Inq. P.M. II.
1316 Peverelthorp, F.A.
1637 Parlethorp, Map in Camden.

" The thorpe or village owned by the noble family of PevereL"
The Peverels came over to England with the Conqueror, but
apparently did not obtain land in Nottinghamshire until after
the date of the Doomsday survey. Many places appearing
simply as Torp in D.B. have later acquired a distinctive addition
from the name of the then owner, usually a Norman nobleman,
as Thorpe Basset, Thorpe Mandeville etc. It is rare, however,
to find a Norman name prefixed in true Teutonic fashion as in
the present name. A similar instance is found in Cossardthorpe,
an ancient name for Hodsock which has not survived.

The curious development of the stressed vowel, erl>arl>dl
> eil^ is a peculiar feature of the dialect (see Phonology, § 7).

The first modern spelling preserves an older type, whereas
the second is phonetically correct.

PLUMPTREE.

1086 Pluntre, D.B.
1302 Tlumtre, F.A.

f Little Plumptree ) T
1460 \ T \ Index.

I Parvus Plomptre j

1637 Plumbre, Map in Camden.

RADFORD 109

O.K. cet plum treowe, " at the plum-tree." In O.K. charters,
trees are often referred to in connection with boundary marks
and field names. The medial / represents the labial glide
which developed between the m and the t (Phonology, § -16).

POULTER (river) [pauta].

RADCLIFFE-ON-TRENT [raetlif].

Type I.

1086) „ [D.B.

\ Radechve \ T .
1240] 1 Index.

1258 Radeklive, Inq. P.M. I.
1284 Radeclyve, F.A.

Type II.

1291 Radeclyf super Trent, Tax. Eccles.
1428 Radclif, F.A.
1637 Ratclyf, Map in Camden.

" The red cliff." Type I goes back to O.E. cet fc&m readan
clife, whereas Type II, from which the modern spelling is
derived, stands for the nominative pcet reade clif. The village
is situated on a lofty red cliff on the southern bank of the Trent.
There is another place of the same meaning in this county
(see Ratcliffe) and a Radcliffe in Lancashire. Corresponding
German names also occur, as Rothenfels (Baden), O.H.G. Roten-
vels, and Rodestein^ called zi themo roten stenni in the older
language (Forstemann, II).

The O.E. ea was shortened at an early period before it had
changed to M.E. e (Phonology, § i). In the combination dkl,
the k caused the unvoicing of the preceding dental, after which
it was dropped (Phonology, §§ 17 ; 12).

RADFORD (in Nottingham).

Type L
1086 Redeford, D.B.

Type II.

c. 1240 Radeford, Bodl. Ch. and R.
1637 Radforde, Map in Camden.

1 10 RADFORD

O.K. cet fram readan forde, " at the red ford." The vowel of
the first element appears long in D.B. (e in open syllable = [if],
Stolze, § 19), but was later shortened before the combination df
(Type II). Retford in the north of the county has the same
meaning ; both places are situated on small water-courses just
inside a stretch of Bunter sandstone. Especially in the neigh-
bourhood of Radford the red colour of certain cliffs and of the
river-bed is noticeable. It must have struck those coming out
of the adjoining Keuper regions in particular as characteristic of
the locality. There is a German pi. n. Rotenforde (Province of
Saxony), older Low Germ. Rodemfuordi (Forstemann, II).

See Retford) and remark by Professor Wyld on Radcliffe
(Lanes. PL Ns.).

RAGNALL.

Type I.

1086 Ragenehil, D.B.
( Ragenil ^

I2I6-72 \ _, ' , ., T J

( Ragenhil V Index.
1329 Ragenhill J

Type II.

1287 Reynilthorp, H.R.

It is impossible to explain this name satisfactorily. The
second element may originally have been porp, and the first
a Scand. pers. n., either Ragnald or Regnald. The early
spellings seem to show substitution of the Norse female name
Ragnhild or Regnhild. (See Bjorkman, pp. in, 112.) The
confusion of the syllable -all (<ald) or -hill (<hild) with the
frequent second theme O.K. health or hyll respectively may have
led to the substitution of the latter and the dropping of what
would then appear as a third element -thorp.

RAINWORTH (under Blidworth).

The second element is O.K. weorp, worp, " enclosed home-
stead, habitation." I cannot explain the first part, as there are
no early forms. It may represent an old Celtic river-name
(cp. the German river-names Rhein, Regen)^ or the first element
of an O.E. pers. n. beginning with Regin-, such as Regenbeald,
Regenheard etc.

RATCLIFFE-UPON-SOAR 1 1 1

RAMPTON.

1086 ! RamPestune I D.B.
I Rametone J

fF.A.

"The tun or homestead of Hrafn" This Scandinavian
pers. n. is found in various forms in English records, as Rafn,
Raven, Ram etc. The latter type, with the articulations of/
and n combined into m, is contained in the above pi. n. The
development of a labial glide between m and t is a natural and
regular process (Phonology, § 16).

RANBY.

I086Jjane*bi}D.B.

(Ranebi j

1316 Raneby, F.A.

" The by(r) or dwelling of Hrafn!' The same pers. n. forms
the first element of the preceding and following names.

RANSKILL.

1086 Raveschell, D.B.
1278 Ravenskelf, H.R.
1704 Rawkild, Map.

" The well of Hrafn." The second element is Scandinavian
kelde, " a well," which is discussed under Bothamsall (q.v.). The
pers. n. appears in the same form as in the preceding pi. n.

The H.R. spelling substitutes O.N. skjalf, older *skelft "a
shelf, ledge, seat," for the original termination. This skjalf
occurs in the Yorks. pi. n. Ulleskelf, "the ledge of Ulfr" (see
PI. Ns. of the W. Rid.).

aw in the spelling of 1704 seems to be the result of the
vocalisation of v after a ; or is it a mistake ?

In the modern form, v has disappeared before n according to
rule.

RATCLIFFE-UPON-SOAR.

Type I.

1086 Radeclive, D.B.

1189-99 Radeclivam super Soram, Index.
1284 Radeclyve, F.A.

112 RATCLIFFE-UPON-SOAR

Type II.

1291 Radeclif super Soram, Tax. Eccles.
1637 Radclyff, Map in Camden.

Thoroton (I, 24) explains this name as meaning " Red Hill
or Bank''

See Radcliffe above.

REMPSTON.

1086 Repestone, D.B.

11 SS-^S Rempestuna(m), Nott'm Ch.

1302 Rempeston, F.A.

1327-77 Remeston, Non. Inq.

1637 Remston, Map in Camden.

" The tun or homestead of Reven" This pers. n. is a
variant of Raven, from an original Scandinavian Hrafn. The
development is similar to that of the same element in Ramplon
(q.v.), with this one exception, that in the present case the sign of
the genitive has been preserved. Thoroton gives an alternative
spelling Rampeston which shows that the two types of the
pers. n. were interchangeable.

RETFORD (East and West) (Redfud, Hope).

Type L
1086 Redforde, D.B.

1225 ) „ . , ( Bor. Rec.

J \ Retford \ . _
1227-77] (Non. Inq.

1278 Retteford, H.R.

1291 Retford, Tax. Eccles.

1316 Retteford, F.A.

1535 Redforth, Valor Eccles.

1704 Red ford, Map.

Type IL

II55~65 1 Radeford, Nott'm Ch.
1189 j

" The red ford." See Radford, which has the same meaning.
The divergence of types is explained there, d has become /
under the influence of the voiceless /. The late spellings

RUDDINGTON 113

containing d are due to attempts at etymological correctness.
The suffix -forth of the Valor Eccles. is introduced from other
pi. ns. which contain the Scandinavian fjorftr instead of the
English -ford.

White's Directory (1853, p. 660) says that "the two Retfords
were named after the ancient ford which crossed the Idle a little
below the bridge which now unites them, and was called the
red ford from its stratum of red clay being so frequently
disturbed by the passage of cattle etc., as to tinge the water
with its colour."

ROCKLEY (under Askham).

The second element seems to be O.E. leah> " field, meadow."
It is impossible to say what the first stands for ; it may go back
to O.E. hroc, "rook (bird)," or M.E. roc, "rock," or it may
contain the Scandinavian pers. n. Hrokr, found as Roc in
England.

ROLLESTON [roulstn].

(Roldestun \

1080^ _> n \ D.B.

1 Rollestone j

1189 Rodeston, P.R.

1287 Rolliston, H.R.

1 302 Roldeston |

1428 Rolleston j

1637 Rowlston, Map in Camden.

" The tun or farmstead of Rold" This pers. n. is an abbrevia-
tion of the Scandinavian Hroaldr (Bjorkman, p. 69). Id has
become //, after which change an &-glide developed between o and
// (Phonology, §§ 13 ; 9). The latter change is recognised by
Camden but not in the modern spelling.

RUDDINGTON.

Type I.

0/r f Roddintone ) ^ ^
1086 \ _, ,. A \ D.B.

[ Rodmtun J

c. 1190 Rudingtun, Woll. MSS.

1428 Rodyngton, F.A.

1637 Reddington, Map in Camden.
M. 8

1 14 RUDDINGTON

Type II.

1227-77 Rotington, Non. Inq.
1261 Rotinton, Inq. P.M. I.
1291 Rotington, Tax. Eccles.
1302 Rotynton, F.A.

The first element is a patronymic in the genitive plural,
derived from the O.E. pers. n. Rudda. The meaning of O.K.
Ruddinga tun is therefore "the homestead of the family of
Rudda, the Ruddings " (Type I). A similar O.E. pers. n., Ruta,
is contained in Type II ; there must have been confusion
between these two names. Camden evidently connects the
name with red — another instance of his unrestrained etymological
imaginativeness.

RUFFORD.

Type I.

(a) 1086 Rugforde, D.B.

1155 Ruford, P.R.

(b) 1156 Rufford, Index.
1278 Rafford, H.R.

1291 Rufford, Tax. Eccles.

(c) Rumford, Monasticon Anglicanum.

Type II.

1156 Rudford, P.R.
1275 Ruthford, H.R.

Type III.

1163 Rucford |pR
1198 Rochefordej
1637 Rucheforde, Map in Camden.

It is evident from the spellings under Type I #, that the first
element is O.E. ruh, " rough." The meaning therefore is " the
rough ford." The adjective may indicate either that the water
was turbulent, or, more probably, that the ford was difficult to
cross. There is a Rufford in Lanes., and a Rufforth in the
West Riding.

The original h has become assimilated to the following /

SALTERFORD 1 1 5

(Type I b). Before the long / the u was shortened Type I c
represents the O.K. dative &t ru(wu)mforde (or at fr&m ru(wa)n
forde, with change of nfto ^/"through assimilation). The other
types owe their origin to the peculiarities of Norman-French
pronunciation. The sound of h> the guttural spirant, was un-
known to the Norman's, so they substituted k for it, as Englishmen
will do at the present day with regard to German ch after back
vowels. The ch of Type III stands for the sound of k as in
many Norman records (Zachrisson, pp. 32 sqq.). By other
Normans, the unfamiliar spirant was mistaken for the, to them,
equally troublesome #, which accounts for Type II.

The late appearance of Camden's form must be explained
by assuming that he copied from an old source.

RUSHCLIFF (Wapentake).

1086 Riseclive, D.B.

1284 Riseclyve \

1302 Ryseclive I F.A.

1428 Rysshclyve)

This name needs no translation. Cliffs and mound^ were
favourite sites to hold meetings on (see Bassetlaw). The
second element of the early spellings appears in the dative (see
Ratcliffe\

The vowel of the O.K. hrysce is correctly represented by
M.E. i in the above forms. The u of the modern spelling is
due to the influence of the independent word, rush, introduced
into the standard language from another dialect.

It may be mentioned here that the sound of sh (from O.E. sc)
is very frequently represented by s in D.B. and other Norman
records (Stolze, § 42).

SALTERFORD.

1086 Saltreford, D.B.

This name may stand for O.E. sealtera ford, "the ford of the
salt-dealers." The manufacture and distribution of salt were of
great importance in ancient times. Salt-springs, salinae, and
" salt-streets " are frequently mentioned in mediaeval records

8—2

Il6 SALTERFORD

(see Crawford Charters, p. 115). There is another Salterford in
Worcestershire of apparently the same origin. Although the
Notts. Salterford was situated in the very heart of the desolate
forest, it is yet possible that one of the prehistoric cross-country
tracks passed through the neighbourhood, and that this was
frequented by salt-carriers.

Isaac Taylor (Engl. Village Names, § 5) derives this name
from a hypothetical sealh treo ford, "the ford by the sallow-tree."
It is impossible to say which of the two explanations is the
correct one.

SAUNDBY.

Type I.

1086 . D.B.

1278) c ... fH.R.
' l Saundebi '

Type II.

.. f OclUIlUCDl \ „ .

1346] (F.A.

c. 1500 Saunby, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type III.
1428 Saindeby, F.A.

Type I represents the original most faithfully. The first
element may have been O.K. sand, " sand," so that the meaning
would be " the sandy habitation."

I am, however, inclined to think that the Norse pers. n.
Sandi is involved, of whose occurrence in England Dr Bjorkman
(p. 1 1 6) gives one instance. The same name occurs as Sanda
in O.E. and as Sando in O.H.G.

Norman influence is responsible for the change from an to
aun in Type II which has survived (Phonology, § 1 1). ain from
an represents a Central French sound-change ; cp. French pain
< *pane, laine < lana etc. (Schwan-Behrens, Grammatik des
Altfranzosischen6, 1903, § 53, I a).

SAXONDALE or SAXENDALE.

Type I.
1086 Saxeden, D.B.

SCAFTWORTH

Type II.

1284 Saymdall, (?) F.A.
1291 Saxindal, Tax. Eccles.

1 302 I 0 , , f F.A.
\ Saxendale \ _ .
1472 j ( Index.

f Saxondale )

1637 Saxindale, Map in Camden.

Type III.
c. 1500 Saxbye, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

It is impossible to say what the O.K. prototype of this name
was. Whereas the second element of Type I is of O.K. origin,
Type II, which survived, contains its Norse equivalent, both
denu and dalr meaning the same thing, viz. " valley." The third
type contains another Norse word, byr, " habitation, village."

The first element, too, is of doubtful origin. There are three
possibilities; it may stand for: (i) the genitive of O.K. Seaxe,
" Saxons," which was Seaxna (Sievers, § 276, anm. 3 a) ; (2) the
genitive of the O.K. pers. n. Seaxa, or (3) of the Scandinavian
pers. n. Saxi.

Interchange of the suffixes den and dale is also found in the
early forms of the Lanes, pi. ns. Skelmerdale and Ainsdale.

SCAFTWORTH.

1086 Scafteorde, D.B.
1227-77 Skaftwurth, Non. Inq.
1278 Skastewurh, H.R.

r Skastworth \
c. iSOoJ Scastworth I Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

I Scarworth (!) J

"The weorfr or farmstead of Skafti" The pers. n. is
of Norse origin as is proved by the initial sk. If the O.K. cor-
responding form Sceaft (Onomasticon) were contained in this
name, the initial Sc would be pronounced sh. It is, however,
quite possible that the O.K. form was the original one for which
the Scandinavian equivalent was substituted later on.

Il8 SCAFTWORTH

The name Skapti is not recorded by Dr Bjorkman as found
in England. It occurs frequently in Iceland (cp. Landn. Bok, 79)
and also in Norway (Rygh, G. Personnavne, p. 219).

In the above spellings, st may be due to a misreading, the
original f being taken for the long s. Are the modern editors
responsible for this blunder ?

SCARLE.

^ | Scornelei, D.B. (Victoria County History).

\ Scorvelei, D.B., as transcribed by Thoroton.
1227-77 Southscharle, Non. Inq.
1316 Scarle, F.A.

The second element is O.E. leak, " field." The first seems to
stand for a pers. n. If the D.B. spelling as read by Thoroton is
correct, it represents the O.E. pers. n. Sceorf. The later spellings
and the modern form cannot, however, be directly descended
from an O.E. Sceorf es leak. The initial sk clearly points to
Scandinavian influence (cp. preceding name). One is, therefore,
compelled to assume that the Scandinavian pers. n. Skarf
(Bjorkman, p. 122) was substituted, which also accounts for the
change in vowel.

v was lost between r and /as the result of a general tendency
(Phonology, § 12).

SCARRINGTON.

1086 Scarintone, D.B.
1242 Scherinton, Inq. P.M. I.
1637 Sharinton, Map in Camden.

The first element seems to be the genitive plural of some
patronymic, of Scandinavian origin, as is clearly shown by the
initial sk. The recorded spellings are insufficient to form an
opinion as to the name involved : it may have been Skarf
(Bjorkman, p. 122) or SkarSi (Rygh, G. Personnavne, p. 220).

SCOFTON.

1086 Scotebi, D.B.

The initial sk proves that the first element is a Scandinavian
pers. n., most probably Skopti, recorded by Rygh (G. Personnavne,
p. 225). The meaning therefore is " Skoptis farmstead."

SCROOBY

SCREVETON [skritn].

Type I.

( Screvetone 1
1086 \ Screvintone > D.B.

( Escreventone J
1302 Screveton, F.A.

Type II.

c. 1500 Screton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1535 Scretton, Valor Eccles.

Type III.

1284 Scrouton, F.A.

1637 Skiwton (?), Map in Camden.

The first element must be of Norse origin as is demonstrated
by the initial sk (cp. Scaftworth). It probably represents the
genitive of a pers. n. following the weak declension. What this
name was, I am unable to say. Type III cannot easily be
reconciled with the rest.

SCROOBY.

1086 Scrobi, D.B.

1278 J 7 (

{Scrobia "\
Scrobi I
Scrowby j
Scroby J

The first element may contain the O.N. pers. n. Skorrz,
which Dr Bjorkman finds in the pi. ns. Skorreby, Scorby, Skorton
(p. 124). Metathesis of r frequently occurs in this dialect
(Phonology, § 15). The meaning is, therefore, " S karri's farm,
or hamlet."

The modern spelling is misleading. It perpetuates a M.E.
habit of writing oo both for O.E. o, and ^ from o in open syllable.
One would expect the pronunciation to be [skroubi].

120 SELSTON

SELSTON.

1086 Salestune, D.B.

1284) f RA.

[• Sehston 4 _ _ ,
1291 J (Tax. Eccles.

1316 Selleston, F.A.

The first element seems to be a pers. n. in the genitive case ;
perhaps O.K. Selua, or Scand. Seli(r) ?

SERLBY (Sarl-by, Hope).

1086 Serlebi, D.B.
1302 Serleby, F.A.
1637 Surlbye, Map in Camden.

" The by(r) or farmstead of Serlo" The suffix as well as the
pers. n. are from O. Norse. Dr Bjorkman (p. 117) refers to this
pi. n. as containing the above Scandinavian pers. n.

For the development of er into ur, ar, see Phonology, §§ 7 ; 8.

SHELFORD.

1086 Scelforde, D.B.

1278} c , ir , ( H.R.

L \ Schelford \ _ .
1284] I F.A.

The name Sceldfor is found on a coin struck about the year
890, and it is conjectured that this stands for the above pi. n.
(Onomasticon, s.v. Sihtric comes}. If this is correct, the etymology
at once becomes clear. There existed in O.K. the adjective
sceald, W.S. scield, "shallow," which appears in M.E. as shoal,
from the Anglian type (see Napier and Stevenson, Transactions
of the Philol. Soc. 1895-8, 532; Ekwall, Beibl. z. Anglia, XX, 209;
Schlutter, Engl. Stud. 43, 318). I assume that by the side of
the West Germanic adjective skalfta- there existed also a form
j&z/Qjffc-,which would produce Anglian scelde (Bulbring,§ 175 anm.).
The relation between the two types would be the same as that
between O.E. smolt and smylte, "quiet," strong and strenge,
"strong," etc. (Sievers, §299, anm. i).

I take, therefore, the above name to stand for O.E. (Anglian)
atj>&m *sceldanforde, "at the shallow ford." After the disappear-
ance of the adjectival ending, d would drop in the combination Idf.

The name Scealdan ford, " at the shallow ford," occurs in an
O.E. charter (Cart. Sax. 758; 802). Searle is certainly wrong in

SHERWOOD FOREST 121

explaining the first element as a pers. n. The unmutated form
of the adjective, from *skalfta-, seems to be contained in the
modern pi. n. Shalford in Surrey.

The corresponding form of the mutated adjective seems to
be contained in the Hessian name Schollenbach.

The following description of the neighbourhood is calculated
to support the proposed etymology: " Shelford...is a pleasant
village on a gentle eminence, which in very great floods is
sometimes completely surrounded by the Trent water... though
it is distant half a mile from the regular channel of the river..."
(White, Directory, 1853, p. 455). The Trent has evidently
changed its course in this locality.

SHELTON.

1086 j Scejtun I D.B.
1 Sceltone j

1302 Schelton, F.A.

1637 Shilton, Map in Camden.

The village is situated on a ridge overlooking the river
Smite. I am, therefore, inclined to connect the first element
with O.K. (W. Sax.) scylfe, Anglian scelfe, " shelf, ledge." The
meaning, therefore, is " the tun or homestead on the ridge."

SHERWOOD FOREST.

1189 Schirewude, P.R.

1272 Syrewde forest, Inq. P.M. I.

1278 Shirwod, H.R.

1393 Shyrewode, Index.

J Shirewood, Camden, p. 547.
\ Sherewood, Map in Camden.

Camden says that "some expound [this name] by these
Latin names Limpida Sylva, that is, A Shire or Cleere wood\
others Praeclara Sylva, in the same sense and signification"
(p- 55°)- It seems highly improbable, however, that it has
anything to do with the O.K. adjective scir, "bright, pure."
When the name was first given, the mediaeval mind had not yet
awakened to a sense of the beauties of the primeval forest. On
the contrary, large and dense woods such as this one inspired
superstitious fears ; they were regarded as inimical to civilisation,

122 SHERWOOD FOREST

the seat of man's worst enemies: "vasta solitudo,...saltus ferarum
et cubile draconum " are the terms used by a German monastic
chronicler1 in reference to a wood near Berchtesgaden.

Others connect the first element with modern shire. In the
earliest records, Sherwood is often spoken of as the "forest of
Nottingham " (Victoria County Hist. I, 365), which would seem
to support the derivation from shire-wood, " the wood belonging
to, or forming part of, the county."

But this is not wholly satisfactory either. I venture to
suggest that the word sclr- is used here in the same sense as in
Shireoaks (q.v.), and Shire Dyke, a little stream forming part of
the boundary between the counties of Nottingham and Lincoln.
Its meaning is "boundary, division." Jellinghaus (p. 316) con-
nects the word with modern Westphalian Sckier*y of the same
meaning, which enters into numerous Low German field names,
such as Sckiereneiken, " Shire-oaks," Schierenboken, "-beeches,"
Schierholz, "-holt, or wood." This last name is repeated in the
O.K. scirholt quoted from a charter in Jellinghaus' article3.
There exists also a Shirland in Derbyshire, which goes back to
older Scirlund (\t\f\. P.M. 56 He. Ill), lund being the Scandinavian
word for " wood." It may be noted here that O.K. stir-, " bound-
ary," is not connected with O.K. scieran, sceran, " to cut, shear " ;
Prof. Skeat in his Etymological Dictionary (1910, s.v. shire)
remarks that its root is unknown.

If this explanation is adopted, the meaning would be
" boundary forest." This seems a most appropriate name, seeing
that Sherwood Forest stretches along the boundary between
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and that part of its ancient
bounds, as laid down in the perambulations, actually coincides
with the modern line dividing the two counties. Moreover, we
learn from Tacitus (Germania, XL, I ; Annales, I, 61) that dense,
impenetrable forests were looked upon as the safest boundaries

1 See Gertrud Stockmeyer, Das Naturgefiihl in Deutschland im 10. u. n.
Jahrhundert. Leipzig u. Berlin, 1910, p. 8.

2 O. Saxon /remains unchanged in Low German; see Herm. Teuchert, Laut und
Flexionslehre der Neumarkischen Mundart, § 55, Zeitschr. f. deutsche Mundarten,
1907-8.

3 Cp. also the expression andlang sclre on hwtfSels heal, Cod. Dipl. 5, 358, 15.

SHIREOAKS . 123

by the Germans. Sherwood Forest certainly was of that
character. Boundaries separating peoples and tribes so fre-
quently coincided with forests that primitive Germanic *markd->
Gothic marka, "boundary," actually changed its>meaning in the
Scandinavian languages, which use the word mark in the sense
of "wood." In the O.H.G. fragment of a geographical didactic
poem known as " Merigarto," a passage is found illustrating this
function of large tracts of wood-covered land, which I cannot
refrain from quoting. It runs as follows :

"michili perga skinun duo an der erda.

die sint vilo hoh, habant manigin dichin loh.

daz mag man wunteren daz dclr ie ieman durh chuam.

ddmit sint del riche giteilit ungelthe1"

The phonetic development offers no difficulties. The vowel
I was shortened before the combination rw ; later on, ir and er
were levelled under one sound, a change which is reflected in
the modern spelling. For a similar development cp. sheriff,
from O.K. sclr-gerefa.

SHIREOAKS (Shireaks, Hope).

I2i6-i307 ™T2 u Testa de N-
(Chirbrok)

1272-1307 Shiroaks, Index.

1458 Schyroks, Bodl. Ch. and R.

1535 Sirokks, Valor Eccles.

1637 The Shireokes, Map in Camden.
The name in Camden's Map does not seem to apply to a
village but rather to a district. The "Shire Oaks" probably
were a number of trees or a small .copse near the boundary of
the county. Legend speaks of one tree only as having given its
name to the locality2. All the spellings, however, are in the
plural. John Evelyn in " Sylva" (1664) has an interesting note
on this supposed tree which, however, he knew by hearsay only.
He writes : " Shireoak is a tree... which drops into 3 shires, viz.
York, Nottingham and Derby."

1 " Large mountains appear there on the earth. These are very high, they have
many a dense forest. One may well wonder that man ever penetrated them. By
these the kingdoms are divided unequally."

2 See J. Stacye in White's " Dukery Records," pp. 70 sqq.

124 SHIREOAKS

The pi. n. Skyrack in Yorks. has a similar meaning, but is
entirely Scandinavian in form, as appears still more clearly in
the D.B. spelling which is Schyrayk.

The above spellings of Testa de N. are blunders due to false
analogy.

SlBTHORPE.

1086 Sibetorp, D.B.
1199-1216 Sibbetorp, Index,
c. 1200 Sibetorp, Woll. MSS.

1302 Sibbthorp, F.A.

" The habitation or village of Sibba or Sibbi" The pers. n.
may be of O.K. or Scandinavian origin. The nature of the
second element speaks in favour of the second alternative.
Sibbi is, however, not mentioned by Dr Bjorkman as a Norse
name found in England.

SKEGBY.

" The by(r) or dwelling of Skeggir The pers. n. as well as
the second element is of Norse origin. The meaning of the
former is "the bearded one."

SMITE (river).

( (a praty Broke or Ryveret ) T f ,
1535-431 11- MIT \ Leland, I, 106.

* \ caullit) Myte j

c. 1613 Snite, Drayton's Polyolbion, 26, 32.
1637 Snite, Map in Camden.

In O.E. we find the word smita, " a foul, miry place." See
Cod. Dipl. Ill, 166; 2-20; v, 105; 13-36. This is connected
with O.E. smltan, " to daub, smear, pollute." If this word or
some other derived from the same root is contained in the
above name, the sense would be " dirty, miry water, or stream."

The omission of initial s in Leland's form is remarkable.
Can he have copied it from a Norman-French document ?
Cp. the loss of s in Nottingham. The change of m to n after
s is due to assimilation.

SOAR 125

SNEINTON [snentn].

Type I.

(a) 1168-9) c f P.R.

9 \ Snotinton \ „ . „ t n.
1205 j I Cal. Rot. Chart.

(b) 1215 Snoditon, Cal. Rot. Chart.

(c) 1278 j rH.R.
1316 [ Sneynton -j F.A.
1571 ) I Index.

Type II.
1086 Notintone, D.B.

O.K. Snotinga tun, "the homestead of the Snotings" The
same family that settled at Nottingham (q.v.) seems to have
founded a village here. Type II represents the Norman pro-
nunciation with the initial s dropped as in Nottingham. As,
however, the Norman element was not so overwhelmingly strong
in this place as in the neighbouring fortified town, the native
form prevailed.

The phonetic development of this name presents several
interesting features, ng [rj] became assimilated to the following
/ ; the first t apparently was voiced under the influence of the
surrounding vowels (Type I b). After that change it disappeared,
so that the vowels of the first and second syllables, o and *,
collided and formed a diphthong. The diphthong oi being
unfamiliar to the English-speaking population — M.E. oi is of
French origin — it was soon replaced by ei which occurred in
their language as the descendant of O.K. egy <zg, and Scandinavian
ei. This diphthong which is preserved in the modern spelling
was monophthongised to e probably in the I5th century (Horn,
§114). This latter sound was shortened before the combination
nt in pronunciation, the result being [e] as in says [sez], said
[sed] etc.

The Norman form of D.B. seems to have been preserved in
the name of Notintone Place in Sneinton.

SOAR (river).

1253 Sor, Cal. Rot. Chart.

This may be a Celtic river-name ; Mr McClure (p. 264,
note 2) proposes to connect it with the Sarua of the Ravenna

126 SOAR

Geographer. A name Sordic (-ditch) is mentioned in the index of
Kemble's Cod. Dipl., and there exists a Sorbrook in Oxfordshire.
On the continent, one finds several river-names compounded
with Sor-, as O.H.G. Soraha, Sorna (Forstemann, II).

SOUTHWELL [saSa] (Suthull, Hope).

Type I.

958 at SuSwellan, Cart. Sax. 1029.
1086 Sudwelle, D.B.

1130 Sudwell ) T

"' „ X Index.

1331 SuthewellJ

.. ( Southwell ) ~ , .

1637 I Suthwell ( Camden' P- 549' and Map'

Type II.

I278-| f H. R.

1291 I Suwell -J Tax. Eccles.

1323 J [ Bor. Rec.

The etymology is obvious. " The modern name of the town
is supposed to have arisen from a spring or well on the south
side of the church ; now called Lady Well and Holy Well, a
noted spring situated on the right of the cloisters" (White,
Directory, 1853, p. 509). It is equally, if not more probable that
the name was given in contradistinction to Norwell, "the north
well," some seven or eight miles to the north-east1. The shorten-
ing of the vowel (O.E. u in suft), the loss of initial w and final /
are explained elsewhere (Phonology, §§ I ; 18; 21). Type II,
which has not survived, is an interesting example of the loss
of th [J?] before w, which is also encountered in the modern
pronunciation of southwester [sauwesta] (Horn, § 201).

SOWLKHOLME or SOOKHOLME [sdkm].
1189 Sulcholm, P.R.
1272-1307 Sulholm, Inq. P.M. II.
c. 1500 Solcome, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
1553 Suckholm, Index.
1637 Sowcam, Map in Camden.

1 " The church of Southwell had possessed a manor at Nor well before the Norman
Conquest " (Victoria County Hist. II, 153).

SPALFORD 127

O.K. sulk cumb, " miry, wet valley." Cp. sulig cumb, Cart.
Sax. 589. The second element, O.K. cumb, "a deep, hollow
valley," was originally borrowed from some Celtic language.
The first part, which does not seem to occur independently in
O.K. literature, is identical with O.H.G sulag, " miry pool, volu-
tabrum," found by Forstemann (ll) in numerous pi. ns. such as
Solach near Tegernsee from O.H.G. Suligilocfr.

The spellings in -holm are due to confusion with the pi. n.
element holme. Camden's form shows that, after the loss of the
h, the / had become vocalised ; ow stands for M.E. u(<u + u (/));
this u was shortened as in the Index spelling of 1553 and the
modern pronunciation. This interpretation of the pi. n. is borne
out by a description of the locality. " A quarter of a mile S.W.
of the village, is an excellent spring of water, where formerly
was a bath ; from it a small stream runs through the village,
and joins the Meden from Pleasley " (White, Directory, 1853,
P- 653).

SPALFORD.

1086 Spaldesforde, D.B.

1302 Spaldeford, F.A.

If the first element is a pers. n. as seems to be indicated by
the presence of the genitival sy it would be an O.E. Spald(a),
which is not recorded in the Onomasticon, but assumed to have
existed by Prof. Skeat on the evidence of its occurrence in pi.
ns. (PI. Ns. of Huntingdon, p. 352). The meaning would be
IC Spalda's ford." This pers. name might be identical with the
early Germanic Spatalus quoted by Werle (p. 54), which looks
like a diminutive in -al derived from the ancestor of O.H.G.
Spatto (Forstemann). tl becomes Id in certain O.E. dialects
(cp. botl — bold, Sievers, § 196, 2).

There is another possibility. The s in D.B. may very well
be spurious, cases of the insertion of an inorganic s by the
compilers of that survey being very numerous (Zachrisson,

1 In their edition of the Crawford Charters, Messrs Napier and Stevenson (p. 47)
explain Sulhford as " a ford approached on one or both sides by a sunk road or gully."
I do not agree with their interpretation, but prefer to connect this name too with the
O.H.G. word (see also Jellinghaus, p. 317).

128 SPALFORD

pp. 118 sqq.) If that is so, the first element might represent
O.K. spdtl, spdld) which two forms stand in the same relation as
botly bold quoted above, spdld means " saliva," but as there
exists a verb sp&tlan, " to spit foam," we may infer that spdld
could be used in the sense of "foam" as well. The name
" foam(y) ford " seems a very natural one.

The shortening of the vowel d and the loss of d are the
results of natural tendencies (Phonology, §§ i; 12).

STANFORD-ON-SOAR.

;i

Stanford

1086) ^^ fD.B.
1302]

fD.B.

IRA.

" The stone ford," O.K. stdn ford. The name applies either
to the condition of the river-bed, or to stepping-stones, by means
of which the ford was crossed. There are fifteen Stanfords,
Stamfords or Stainforths in England, the last-named being
Scandinavian in both elements. Isaac Taylor (Engl. Village
Names, § 5) says that they were so named because they were
" paved with stones." The name Steinfurt is found in Germany.

O.K. d was shortened before the combination nf previous to
becoming rounded in early M.E. (Phonology, § i a)

STANTON-ON-THE- WOLDS.

1086 Stantun, D.B.

1189 \ - (P.R.

\ Stanton \ _ _
1222 ) ( Bor. Rec.

1222 Estanton -i _

c-x. \TT 11 r -Bor. Rec.

1240 Stanton-super-Wold J

1637 Stannton, Map in Camden.

O.E. stan tun, "the stony homestead, the village on the
stony land." The country round about Stanton is extremely
bleak, and the land " of a sandy wet quality " (White, Directory,
1853, p. 404).

For the development of O.E. d see Stanford. Estanton is a
Norman-French form, with e prefixed to the initial combination
st in conformity with a general tendency prevalent among French
speakers (Zachrisson, pp. 55 sq.).

STAUNTON 129

STAPLEFORD [staeplfad].

1086 Stapleford, D.B.
1254 1 c^ j Index.

1284 / Stapllf°rd I F.A.

J34|! 1 Stapulford, Index.

" The ford by or leading to the pillar." The name is derived
from the stone cross which still stands near the church, and has
been declared to go back to Anglo-Saxon times to a date not
later than the ninth century (Guilford, p. 1 87). O.K. stapol means
" a pillar, boundary mark." In old German law, the word stapol
had a special sense : it denoted the pillar near which the courts
assembled and where judgment was given. This signification
may also have been possessed by the stapol from which this pi. n.
is derived (see Grimm, Rechtsaltertiimer, p. 804). Forstemann
(II, s.v. Stapf) quotes the following passage : " ad regis staplum,
vel ad eum locum, ubi mallus est." Ducange (Gloss. Mediae et
Infimae Latinitatis) explains " mallus " as meaning " Publicus
conventus, in quo majores causae disceptabantur, judiciaque
majoris momenti exercebantur a Comitibus, Missis dominicis,
aliisque Judicibus."

Prof. Skeat denies that the word stapol could be applied to a
stone pillar. He says : " A.S. stapol simply means a wooden
post or pole ; and Staple-ford merely means that such a post
marked the position of the ford. Where is the evidence that it
ever meant a sculptured pillar ? I take it to be all a fantastic
dream..." (Notes and Queries, n, S. II, 1910).

Prof. Skeat's view is supported by the fact that there exist
many other Staplefords in other counties where there are no
stone crosses. Both interpretations may be right, so that, until
further evidence is adduced, the reader must choose between the
two possibilities as the fancy takes him.

STAUNTON.

Type L

1086) rD.B.

e v Stanton \ .

1637) I Map in Camden.

M. O

I3O STAUNTON

Type II.

1216-1307) - (Testa de N.

\ Staunton \ _ .
1302 j I F.A.

This name is identical in origin and meaning with Stanton,
above. Type II, which persists in the current modern form,
represents the Norman-French pronunciation of this name, with
aun for an (see Saundby).

STAYTHORPE.

Type I.

c. 1175 Stiresthorp, Woll. MSS.

Type II.
(a) 1086 Startorp, D.B.

1278) „ f-H.R.

\ Starthorp \ _ .

1302] IF.A.

- r Sternethorp <*

1346} [F.A.

1 346 Starthorp )
1412 Sternethorp, Index.

f Sterthorp ) _

c. 1500^ _ Hnq. P.M. c. 1500.

I Starethorp J

1535 Stertherop, Valor Eccles.
{b) c. 1500 Stathorpe, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

"The habitation or village of Styr" This Scandinavian
pers. n. is most faithfully preserved in Type I ; it is a nick-name
in origin, meaning " strife, battle." English forms of the same
pers. n. are Ster, Sterre enumerated by Dr Bjorkman (p. 132).
These latter have been substituted for the original Styr (Stir) in
Type II. The n which occurs in several spellings is the ending
of the weak genitive, ar is regularly developed from ar ; ar
becomes a before open consonants (Type II b, Phonology, § 7).
The latter form survives in the modern spelling, ay standing for
M.E. a, now pronounced [ei].

STOCKWITH (West).

No early forms. For a discussion of the first element see the
name below. The second theme may be either Scand. va&,
" ford," or viftr, " tree, wood." Stocc wa& might mean " the ford

STOKEHAM 131

indicated by a " stock " or pole ; compare Langwith, and
Stapleford.

STOKE BARDOLPH.

1086 Stoches, D.B.
1302 Stok, F.A.
c. 1500 Stokkerdolffe, Inq. P.M. c. 150x3.

The original meaning of O.K. stocc is " stock, log, stump of a
tree." Isaac Taylor (Engl. Village Names) says concerning the
numerous places called Stoke that they derive their name from
their position " near the stump of a tree in a half-cleared forest."
Others believe that stocc was used to denote a " fenced-in place,"
i.e. an enclosure secured by means of "stocks" or wooden
palings (Alexander, PL N. Oxfordshire, p. 196). It is also con-
jectured that stocc had the meaning not only of " log," but also
of a collection of such, i.e. " a log-cabin " or " block-house." But
why should the vowel in all the modern names be long, when
the O.K. prototype contained a long or double consonant cc ?

Bardolph is the name of a former owner added in order to
distinguish the place from the other Stokes. The Inq. spelling
records a curiously corrupted pronunciation.

0/, f Stoches ) _ „
1086 4 « A . > D.B.
[ Estoches J

STOKE (EAST).

[0*

1302 |stoklT
1273-1307] (Index.

1586 East Stoake, Index.

See preceding name. The initial e of the second D.B. form
is not a remnant of a prefixed distinctive east but owes its origin
to a Norman-French habit of speech ; cp. French esprit from
Latin spiritus etc.

STOKEHAM.

1302 Stocum, F.A.
1412 Stokum, Index.

O.E. cet stoccum, "at the tree stumps," or, " at the log-cabins"?
The dative plural of O.E. stocc, of uncertain meaning. See
Stoke Bardolph.

9—2

0/, ( Straleia ) „ _.
1086 \ _ .. \ D.B.
I btraelie

132 STRAGGLETHORPE

STRAGGLETHORPE (under Cotgrave).

There are no early forms. Can the first element be a
corruption of a Scandinavian pers. n. * Strangulfrl

STRELLEY.

Type I.

I!D.:

:* i

1166-7 Stratlega j
1189 StradlegaJ

Type II.

(a) 1189 Stretlee, Nottm. Ch.

1216-1307) _ . (Testa de N.

t Stretleg \ _
1275 J [i«.A.

(b) 1291^ (Tax. Eccles.
1302 >Stredley < F.A.

1428 j I F.A.

(c) 1284) _ „ f F.A.

T V Strelley I . _ _,
c. 1500] I Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type IIL

( Stertley ) _

c. I50CH ~ . \ Inq. P.M. c. 150x3.
( Sterley j

O.E. (Mercian) on stret ley, "in the field by the street."
The O.E. (W. Sax.) street originally comes from the Latin
strata via and is usually employed of a Roman road. Such
a one must have run past Strelley.

Type I comes from the W. Saxon variant of the O.E. word,
a being the result of the shortening of older ^. The other types
contain e derived by the same process from the native Mercian e.
The development of the / may be traced in its various stages
through the early spellings. It is preserved intact in Type II a ;
then it becomes voiced under the influence of the surrounding
sounds (Type II b\ and is finally assimilated by the following /
(Type II c, Phonology, § 13).

Type III, which perished, shows metathesis of r.

The pi. n. Streatley occurs in Bedfordshire.

STURTON-IN-THE-CLAY 133

STURTON-IN-THE-CLAY or STURTON-LE-STEEPLE.

Type I.

1 166-7 Strotton, P.R.
c. 1 200 Strattone, Cal. Rot. Chart.

Type II.

1086 Estretone, D.B.
1216-1307 Strecton, Testa de N.
/ H.R.

_ Tax. Eccles.

Stretton \ _ ,

Index.

IF.A.

Neyerstretton \

Ouerstretton I T d

1384 Stretton en le Clay j
1425 Stretton in the Clay J
c. 1500 Stretton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type III.
c. 1500 Stirton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

O.K. (Mercian) stret tun, "the homestead by the street."
The Roman road to which the name refers is the one leading
from Lincoln to Doncaster. Type I is to be explained in the
same way as Type I of Strelley (q.v.). The P.R. spelling of o
for a is a scribal error ; so is the c which stands for t in Testa
de N. The initial e of D.B. is Norman-French in origin. The
y in the Index form of 1375 is a M.E. spelling for />, th\ u in
the form of 1383 of course stands for v.

Type III which prevailed shows metathesis of r (Phonology,
§15). er, ir, ur all represent one and the same modern sound
(Phonology, § 8).

The distinctive addition — Norman-French en le Clay, English
in the Clay — indicates the nature of the soil. Sturton is in the
North Clay Division of Bassetlaw Hundred.

" Sturton-le-Steeple owes the latter part of its name to the
far-seen array of twelve pinnacles with which the builders
thought fit to surround the parapet" of the church tower
(A. Hamilton Thompson, in " Memorials of Old Nottingham-
shire," p. 52).

134 STYRRUP OR STYRUP

STYRRUP or STYRUP.

Type I.

1086 Estirape, D.B.
1278 Stirap, H.R.
c. 1300 Styrap, Index.

1302) f F.A.

D \ Stirap \ .
1348 J v ( Index.

Type II.

1414 Sterap, Index.
c. 1500 Sterop, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The valley of Styr" This O.N. pers. n. has been discussed
under Staythorpe (q.v.). An English variant of the same name,
Ster> accounts for Type II. The second element represents
O.E. *hop, which is found as an independent word in M.E. only,
meaning " valley, hollow among hills."

The initial e of D.B. is Norman-French in origin.

SUTTON (near Granby).

1179 Suttuna, Index.
1284 Sotton, F.A.

SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD.

1086 Sutone, D.B.

I Sutton super Asshefeld ) _ A

i c , T- c u \ F.A.

( Sutton super Essefeld j

1535 Sutton super Lownde, Valor Eccles.

SUTTON BONINGTON.

1338 Sutton super Soram ) T ,

0 A of Index.

1395 Sutton super bore J

SUTTON-UPON-TRENT.

1412 Sutton, Index.

O.E. su)) tun, "the southern farmstead." It is, of course,
impossible to say with regard to which place or object this
name was originally given. It is one of the commonest pi. ns.
in England.

The shortening of O.E. u before //, the result of assimilation

TEVERSAL 135

of ]y by /, is a regular feature of sound-development (Phonology,

§§ i ; 13).

For the meaning of Ashfield see Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Lownde
is from O.N. lundr, " wood " (see Lound). Bonington is the
name of a separate parish (q.v.).

SYERSTON [saiastn].

Type I.

1086 Sirestune, D.B.
1302 Syreston, F.A.

c. 1500 {SyerSt°nl Inq. P.M. c. 1500.
( Syreston J

Type II.
c. 1500 Syston, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

O.K. Sigerlces tun, "the farmstead of Sigeric" This latter
is an O.K. man's name of frequent occurrence.

O.K. ige becomes M.E. I, modern [ai] regularly, c is lost
before s in an unstressed syllable (cp. Ordsall).

Type II shows loss of r before s (Phonology, § 13).

TEVERSAL.

Type I.

1086 Tevreshalt, D.B.
1227-77 Teversald, Non. Inq.
1284 Teversalt)
1316 Turessaltj

Type II.

1291 Tyv'salt, Tax. Eccles.
1346 Tyrvesalt )
1428 Tyvershaltj

The second element clearly stands for O.K. holt, " wood,
copse." To this day the district can boast of an abundance of
trees. In the unstressed syllable, o is unrounded (cp. Egmanton)
and final / — having first become d — is dropped.

There can be no doubt that the first element is a pers. n.
Prof. Skeat assumes that there existed an O.K. man's name
Tefer (PI. Ns. of Cambs.), whose first syllable, however, must

136 TEVERSAL

have contained a long vowel, or a diphthong, e or eo, for only from
one of these can both the e and the i of Types I and II respectively
be derived. The pi. n. Tiverton found in Cheshire and Devon may
contain the same pers. n. It is possible that an assumed Tefer
represents the recorded O.K. peodfrip with the Norman initial t
for p. An O.H.G. Tiufher, in Tiufherreshusun (Forstemann),
might be adduced here, although the initial consonants of the
English and continental variants cannot easily be connected,
unless we assume that t represents the Upper German variant
of O.H.G. d, from p.

THORESBY.

1086 Turesbi, D.B.
1316 Thuresby, F.A.

O.K. pores by(r), " the dwelling of por" The latter pers. n.
which is of Norse origin occurs frequently both as por and, less
often, pur.

THORNEY.

Type I.

1086 Torneshaie, D.B.
c. 1500 Thorney, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

Type II.

c. 1216 Thornehawe, Index.
1227-77 Thornhawe, Non. Inq.
1291 Thornhauwe, Tax. Eccles.
1302 Thornagh ) pA
1316 Thorhawe j

The two types differ in the form of the suffix : Type I
contains O.K. hege, Type II O.K. hagay both meaning "hedge,
enclosure." The name may, therefore, be translated by " thorn-
hedge, or enclosure." The modern spelling shows influence of
the more frequent suffix -ey from ege, " island." The s of D.B.
is due to false analogy : the clerk thought the first element was
a pers. n. Similar cases of inorganic s are frequently met with
in Anglo-Norman records (Zachrisson, pp. 118, 119).

THRUMPTON 137

THOROTON.

0 - f Torvertune ) _. „
1086 \ _ \ D.B.

( Toruentun J

1242 Thuruerton, Inq. P.M. I.

1284 Thorverton, F.A.

1363 Thoruerton, Index.

1637 Thoraton, Map in Camden.

" The tun or homestead of purferS" This Scandinavian
pers. n. occurs in various forms in English sources, such as
purferS, porfrft, Toruerd etc. (Bjorkman, p. 155).

THORPE-IN-GLEBE.

1086 Torp, D.B.

1302} _, . _. , . f F.A.

\ Thorp in Glebis \ ,T . _ ,
1535 j (Valor Eccles.

The original simple name of D.B. times meaning " the
village" had soon to be provided with a distinctive addition.
The Latin gleba, English glebe, is used in its wider sense, meaning
"a piece of cultivated land, field," as it still does in poetic
language.

THORPE-BY-NEWARK.

1086 D.B.

See preceding name.

THRUMPTON.

1086 Turmodestun, D.B.

1189 Turmodeston, Nottm. Ch.

c. 1240 Thurmunston, Woll. MSS.

1244 Thurmodeston, Cal. Rot. Chart.

1302 Thurmeton

F A
1346 Thrumpton '

" The tun or farmstead of pttrmod." This pers. n. represents
Scandinavian pormoftr on English territory. The spelling of
the Woll. MSS. betrays influence of the pers. n. purmund. In
the course of development, the entire second syllable disappeared

138 THRUMPTON

with the exception of m between which and the following t a
labial glide arose (Phonology, § 16). Metathesis of r is fre-
quently encountered in the pi. ns. of this county, and may take
place at any period (Phonology, § 15).

THURGARTON.

f Turgarstune \
1086 I Turgastune I D.B.

[ Torgartone )

c. 1170 Turgartona, Woll. MSS.
1189 Turgardton, P.R.
1278 Thurgarton, H.R.
1302 Thurgerton, F.A.

" frurgar's tun or farmstead." The pers. n. is the English
form of the O.N. frorgeirr, with a substituted for the cognate ei
(cp. Tollerton}. It is remarkable that only the D.B spellings
contain a genitival s. The P.R. form may have been influenced
by the feminine pers. n. frurgerft, the English variety of the O.N.
fargertir.

TILN or TYLN, TILNE.
Tilne

Tilne j
1227-77 Tylne, Non. Inq.
1278 Tilne, H.R.
1293 Tylne, Index.
1535 Tilneye, Valor Eccles.
1599] [Map.

1637 iTilneyJ Map in Camden.
1704] [Map.

O.E. at Tilan ege, " at Tilcts island." This hamlet is situated
on the eastern bank of the river Idle. The complete loss of the
suffix is a remarkable feature (cp. Blyth, Idle).

Tila is an O.E. man's name.

TOLLERTON 139

TOLLERTON.

Type I.

1086 Troclauestune, D.B.
1166-7 Turlaueston, P.R.

Type II.

1294 Thorlaxton, Woll. MSS.
1302 Torlaxton, F.A.

Types I or // (continued).
1284 Torlastonj
1428 Toralston )

c. 1500) _ . f Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

\ Torlaston \ T J

1571] (Index.

1578 Thorlaston, Index.

Type III.

J539 Torlaton, Bor. Rec.
1578 Torlarton, Index.
1637 Torloton, Map in Camden.

The second element is O.E. tun, " farmstead." Two different
pers. ns. seem to be contained in Types I and II respectively:
frorlaf and fcurlac. The former is an anglicised variety of O.N.
Jyorleifr, whereas the latter stands for O.N. frorleikr. O.E. d is
frequently substituted for O.N. eit see Bjorkman, p. 203 ; cp.
Thurgarton. The pers. n. contained in Type I seems to be
the original one, for which that of Type II was substituted.
The forms arranged in the third section may have descended
from either type, as k often disappears before s, and v is lost
before a consonant.

Type III is the ancestor of the modern form. It is not
probable that the r in the unstressed syllable represents the
ending of the O.N. nominatives frorleifr or porleikr. It is
more likely that after the loss of s, r and / changed places, rl
becoming Ir (Phonology, § 15). The Index spelling of 1578
proves that the relative position of the two liquids was unsettled.

The D.B. spelling shows metathesis of r which is frequently
found in that document (Stolze, § 29). I cannot explain the c
satisfactorily.

140 TOLLERTON

The transition from initial }> to t took place under Norman-
French influence. See Zachrisson, pp. 39 sqq., cp. Teversal and
Torworth.

TORWORTH [tori]?].

1086 Turdenworde, D.B.
1278 Thorchewurh, H.R.
1316 Tordworthe, F.A.
1704 Tarworth, Map.

" The weorj) or habitation of fioreft, or frureft." This pers. n.
goes back to O.N. frorrjftr and is discussed at length by
Dr Bjorkman (pp. 148 sqq.). ch and h in the H.R. seem to
stand for & and }> respectively. The spirant p was occasionally
mistaken for h by Norman scribes, but it would be difficult to
explain why ch which usually denotes the sound of k before
front vowels should represent ft in the H.R. spelling.

The loss of ft between r and w is natural. Initial p was
turned into / under Norman influence. See preceding name.

TOTON.

Type I.
1086 Tolvestune, D.B.

Type II.
1189 Turuerton, P.R.

Type III.

(a) 1086 Tovetune, D.B.

1284)^ (F.A.

\ Toueton \ . ,
1314) (Index.

1346 Touiton, F.A.

1480 Towton, Woll. MSS.

(b) 1428 ) _ ( F.A.

1480 } TaUt°n I Woll. MSS.
c. 1500 Tawton, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The tun or farmstead of porolf." This pers. n. represents
O.N. frorolfr, and is found in an abbreviated form as }>olf(r)
both on Scandinavian and English territory. The latter variant
constitutes the first element of Type I, from which Type III is
derived. In Type II, the pers. n. frurferft seems to have been
substituted for the original one.

TRESWELL OR TIRESWELL 141

The phonetic development is as follows : / became vocalised
and the v soon disappeared after the diphthong ou. In the
1 5th century, M.E. ou and au seem to have become levelled
under one sound, that of M.E. o (Phonology, § 9). This
explains Types III a and III £, and also the modern spelling.

TRENT.

Trisantona, in Roman times.
Treanta, Bede, Hist. Eccles.
923 Treonta, A.S. Chron.
1278 Trent, Trenth, H.R.

A name of British origin, of which the meaning cannot be
ascertained. See Bradley, Essays and Studies, I, p. 24 ; Miller,
PL Ns. in the O.E. Bede, p. 52. Among early antiquarians the
belief existed that this name was connected with Latin triginta,
French trente, " thirty." This theory is set forth by Drayton in
his " Polyolbion " ; the passage deserves to be quoted. The
poet represents the river as explaining its own name :

"In her peculiar praise, lo thus the River sings :
What should I care at all, from what my name I take,
That Thirty doth import, that thirty rivers make,
My greatness what it is, or thirty abbeys great,
That on my fruitful banks, times formerly did seat :
Or thirty kinds of fish, that in my streams do live,
To me this name of Trent did from that number give.
What reck I..." (26, i86sqq.).

Milton alludes to the same interpretation in one of his
earliest productions, when he sings :

" Of Trent, who like some earth-born giant spreads
His thirty arms along the indented meads."

(At a Vacation Exercise, 1627.)

TRESWELL or TIRESWELL.

Type I.

1086 Tireswelle, D.B.
1272-1307 Tyrswell, Index.

1302

142 TRESWELL OR TIRESWELL

Type IL
1428 Tressewell, F.A.

J535 ) -r 11 (Valor Eccles.
, \ Truswell \ __
1637 j [ Map in Camden.

1704 Triswell, Map.

The meaning of the termination is clear: O.K. wiell, " fountain,
spring." The first element is apparently a pers. n. It may
represent an O.E. *Tlr, short for a full name composed with
that element such as Tirweald, Tlrwulf. There exists also an
O.N. man's name pyri of which traces are found in English
sources (Bjorkman, p. 164). Initial / for p would be due to
Norman-French influence (see Tollertori). Type II arose out of
Type I through metathesis of r (Phonology, § 15). The dis-
crepancy of vowels in Type II is not easily accounted for; the
r may have had some influence.

Both types survive in the alternative modern spellings.

TROWELL.

Type I.

_, ( Trowalle ) ^ _>
1086 \ _ „ VD.B.
( Torwalle J

c. 1200 Trowall, Woll. MSS.

Type II.

c. 1175 Trowella, Woll. MSS.
1227-77 Trouwell, Non. Inq.

1302 Trouell, F.A.

1637 Trowell, Map in Camden.

Type III.
1284 Treweil, F.A.

This is a difficult name to explain. I believe that the first
element throughout the three types is O.E. treow, "a tree, a
forest ; wood." The O.E. form of this word is most faithfully
preserved in Type III, probably under the influence of the
independent word, M.E. tree. In the other types, it has under-
gone certain changes caused by a shifting of accent in the
triphthong eou, which latter arose out of the vocalisation of w in

TUXFORD 143

M.E. The development was as follows : eow > eou > eou >jou > ou,
with loss of the glide j after r. It is impossible to say what the
exact pronunciation of the combination ou, ow in the M.E. forms
was. According to Camden's spelling, the contemporary pro-
nunciation of the diphthong seems to have been the same as that
of M.E. ou, au, $, all three of which coincided in sound, as was
shown under Toton (q.v.). If, however, the modern pronuncia-
tion [trauel] is genuine, ow would stand for M.E. u (<ou ?).

The suffix is ambiguous, admitting of different interpretations.
Type I, which seems to be the original, contains either O.E.
weall, "a wall, rampart," or Scandinavian vollr, "a field, open
country," in a more primitive form (<*valftuz). For this ending
the more usual well was substituted. If the former interpretation
is accepted, the meaning of the pi. n. would be: "(at) the rampart
made of wood, the palisade " ; if the latter, one might translate
by " the plain covered with trees."

It is unlikely that the second element was O.E. weald,
" forest," although the early spellings do not preclude this, final
d disappearing at a very early date after /. I cannot see what
sense there would be in forming a tautology like treo weald,
"tree forest"

TUXFORD.

Type I.

1086 Tuxfarne, D.B. »

1272-1307 Tuxforne, Inq. P.M. II.

Type II.

1258 Tuggesford, Inq. P.M. I.
1 327-77 Tuxford, Non. Inq.

1278) f H.R.

1 ^ \ Tukesford \ _ A
1316] \F.A.

1535 Tuxforde, Valor Eccles.

"The ford of Tucca or Tuki" The latter of these pers. ns. is
of O.N. origin (Bjorkman, p. 142), the former is found in early
Anglo-Saxon charters. Which of the two is implied in this
case, it is impossible to say. The fact that the genitive ends in
es and not in an might speak in favour of the Scandinavian

144 TUXFORD

name: yet examples of originally weak pers. ns. forming a
strong genitive are by no means rare ; see Annesley.

No importance is to be attached to the curious spelling, gg
for k, of 1258.

I cannot explain the substitution of n for d in the suffix of
Type I, unless it is due to a scribal error.

TYTHBY [tffibi].

1086 Tiedebi, D.B.

c. 1190 Titheby, Woll. MSS.

1428 Tythby, F.A.

1535 Teythby, Valor Eccles.

The suffix is the well-known Scandinavian by(r)y " dwelling."
The first element may be a pers. n., but I am unable to suggest
what its exact form and derivation were. The spelling ie in D.B.
is remarkable and seems to imply that the vowel intended to be
represented was M.E. <?, whatever its source ; see Stolze, p. 9.

UPTON.

1086 { "Petun I D.B.
} Opeton j

This village is said to be situated "on a gentle acclivity"
(White, Directory, 1853, p. 520). See following name.

UPTON (in Head on Parish).

1086 Upetone, D.B.
1278 Upton, H.R.
c. 1500 Upthorp, Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

" The tun or farmstead on high ground." This second Upton
occupies the highest part of the surrounding country. The
prefix up is used in O.K. to denote a high situation, as in up-
Ms, " upper chamber," up flor, " upper floor," etc. It is also
encountered in numerous pi. ns. other than Upton, as in Upminster,
Upwood. The same element has a similar meaning in the Low
German pi. ns. Uphausen, Upstede etc., Jellinghaus, p. 325.

The substitution of -thorp for -ton does not call for an
explanation.

WALLINGWELLS 145

WALESBY.

I Walesbi { Pf '
j ( Index.

1086
1204
1316 Walesby, F.A.

" The by(r) or dwelling of Wealh, or the Briton, or the slave,
serf." The original meaning of O.K. wealh is " foreigner, Briton,
Welshman"; after the subjection of the Britons, the word
assumed the sense of " slave, serf." It also occurs as a pers. n.
In which of these three senses the word is used in the above
pi. n. it is impossible to say.

WALKERINGHAM.

1086 Wacheringeham, D.B.
c. 1216 Walcringham

f Waucringham \ Index.
1272-1307 \ „, . .

{ Walcringham

( Waleringham \

1278-^ Waveringham

H.R.

I Walcringham ,

1291 Waltryngham, Tax. Eccles.
1316 Walcringham, F.A.
1637 Walkingham, Map in Camden.

" The home of the descendants of Walchere" O.K. Wealh-
heringa ham. The O.E. pers. n. Wealhere frequently appears as
Walchere (ch=\k~\). This same patronymic is probably contained
in the Yorks. pi. n. Walkingham (PI. Ns. of the W. Rid.).

The early forms exhibit a considerable variety of spellings
which are, however, of but small importance, au for al shows
Norman vocalisation of /(cp. Mansfield '; Zachrisson, pp. 146 sqq.).
/ for c= k is a scribal mistake frequently met with in mediaeval
documents.

WALLINGWELLS.

Type L

1278 Wellandwell, H.R.

1289 Wallendewelles, Inq. P.M. II.

1291 Walland wells, Tax. Eccles.

1300 Wallandewelles, Index.
M. I0

146 WALLINGWELLS

Type II.

1516 Wallingwells, Bodl. Ch. and R.
1637 Woldingwells, Map in Camden.

O.K. iveallende welles, " the boiling, i.e. bubbling and flowing
springs." This is the site of a former nunnery which is described
by the pious founder as " [unus locus] in meo parcho de Carletuna
juxta fontes et rivum fontium " — by the wells and the stream of
the wells (Dugdale, Monast. Angl., new ed. IV, 295, temp. reg.
Steph.).

The first part of this name is a regular O.K. present participle.
The change from en to ing took place at a comparatively late
date; cp. Types I and II. I am not prepared to say whether
this transition is due to a special sound-law (Phonology, § 13) or
to analogy of the verbal nouns which always ended in -ing as
assumed by Dr Sweet, N. Engl. Gramm. § 1239.

We find a corresponding O.H.G. name in Wallendenbrunno,
" at the flowing well or spring " (Forstemann, II), modern Wal-
bernbrunnen, Odenwald.

WARSOP.

( Wareshope \
1086 ] Waresope I D.B.

I Warsope )

1272-1307 Warsop alias Warshope, Inq. P.M. I.
1302 Warsop, F.A.

O.K. Wares hop, "the valley of Ware!' The latter male
name is recorded but once in the Onomasticon. It may have
been more frequent as a short form of a name composed with
Wcer-j such as Wcerbeorht, Wcermund etc. A similar name is
contained in the Low German pi. ns. Warenrode, Warantharpa,
modern Wahrendorf near Miinster (Forstemann, I).

WATNALL [wotna] (Watnall Chaworth and Watnall
Cantelupe).

Type L
1086 Watenot, D.B.

WELBECK 147

Type II.

c. 1200 Wattenhou, Woll. MSS.
1216-1307 Watenhow, Testa de N.
1278 Watenhou, H.R.
1302^1
1316 V Watenowe, F.A.

I346J

1506 Watnowe, Bor. Rec.

1535 Whatnaw, Valor Eccles.

Type III.
c. 1700 Watnall, Map in Camden (ed. 1722).

" The hill of Wata? O.E. Watan hoh. The final / in the
D.B. spelling is an error for ct which stands for h (cp. Wysatt\ see
Zachrisson, Latin Influence, p. 22). Type I contains the suffix in
the nominative, whereas Type II goes back to the dative^/ Watan
hoy. The diphthong ow from 03 must have become the same
in pronunciation as M.E. au with which it was confused by the
compiler of Valor Eccles. This au or aw in many cases stood
for older -al, from -healh, -hale, and it was for that reason that
the suffix came to be written -all, as in Type III and the
modern spelling, although the / was never pronounced, except
by those who rely on the spelling only.

The element hoh is treated at length by Prof. Wyld in
PL Ns. of Lanes, p. 351. Its meaning in O.E. is "heel, hill,
promontory." Watnall is situated on an eminence from which
it apparently derives its name.

Cantelupe and Chaworth are the names of former owners
belonging to the Norman nobility.

WELBECK (Abbey).

c. 1189 Wellebec, Nottm. Ch.
1278 Wellebeck, H.R.

f Welbek ) _ A
1284 \ _T_ 1U . ^F.A.
( Welbecke )

The suffix is the Scandinavian bekk(r), " a brook." The first
element apparently stands for O.E. wiell, well, " stream, spring."

10 — 2

148 WELBECK

The meaning of the compound seems to be " the brook flowing
from the spring."

WELHAM.

I Wellon j

1276 Wellum, Index.
1316 Wellom, F.A.
1457 Wellum, Index.

O.E. <zt wellum, "at the wells, or waters." See preceding
name, and cp. Kelham. The name is explained by White
(Directory, 1853, p. 693) as follows : " Its name is derived from
St John's well, which was long famed for its medicinal virtues in
scorbutic and rheumatic complaints ; it is now a commodious
batk, though it has lost much of its former celebrity."

1278 {

WELLOW.

Welhagrn

Welhah
1302 Welhawe, F.A.
1535 Wellaw, Map in Camden.
1704 Welley, Map.

The suffix stands for O.E. haga, " a hedge, fence ; hence a
piece of ground enclosed or fenced in, an enclosure." A word
of similar meaning is O.E. hege which may be contained in the
spelling of 1704, although it is more likely that -ey represents
the more usual termination, O.E. ege, introduced by the engraver.

The first element looks like O.E. wiell, well, "a spring,
stream." However, I cannot say what is the exact meaning of
the compound.

For the spelling ow instead of M.E. aw see Phonology, § 9.

WESTON.

1086 Westone, D.B.

1268 Wiston, Index.

1302 Weston, F.A.

The meaning is obvious. If the spelling Wiston is genuine,
the change from e to i must be explained as caused by the
following s.

WIDMERPOOL 149

WHATTON.

1086 Watone, D.B.

1284 Watton

1 302 Whatton

O.K. hiv&te tun, " the wheat-enclosure, or the farm near which
wheat grows." The vowel of the first syllable underwent early
shortening before tt : &>ce> M.E. a. See the following name.

It has been suggested that the name is derived from water
on account of the watery situation of the village, or from wath-
tun, wath being a Scandinavian word for " ford/' because there
still exists in the locality a ford across the river Smite. But
both these interpretations fail to account for the initial wh which
cannot be merely a late fanciful spelling.

WHEATLEY.

/ Wateleie *

1086 ^Wateleiai D.B.
' Watelaie )

0 f Wetele ) __ _
1278 \ TTr ^ . \ H.R.
( Wetelay j

i302.Westley )
1316 Whetleyej
(Weteley

O.K. in hw&te leay, " in the wheat field." a in D.B. stands
for O.E. <z, M.E. e. Westley and Whiteley are spellings obviously
caused by false etymology.

WIDMERPOOL [locally: windapul ; otherwise: widmepul].

^ f Wimarspol ) ^ „
1086 ..... ^ . , \ D.B.
( Wimarspold )

1189 Widmespol, P.R.
1284 Witmerpol } p A
1428 Wodemerpolej
1571 Widmerpole, Index.

O.E. Widm&res pol, " the pool or pond of Wtdmar" The
loss of the genitival s is a remarkable feature of the development
of this name. Popular etymology is responsible for various

150 WIDMERPOOL

interpretations embodied in the early spellings. The second
syllable of the pers. n. was taken for mere, " lake, pond," and the
first was connected with the adjective white (F. A. 1284), and the
noun wood. Two different explanations are offered by Thoroton,
who thinks that the name means either " Wimears Poll or Spear,
or Wide mere Poole" (l, 77).

The metathesis of dm in the local pronunciation is unusual :
dm became md, the m being afterwards turned into n through
assimilation.

The final Id of the second D.B. form is puzzling. It is not
impossible that it stands for dl> the suffix being pudel, puddle
instead of poL Metathesis of d is not infrequent in D.B.
(Stolze, § 30).

WlGSLEY or WlGGESLEY.

1086 Wigesleie, D.B.
1260 Wiggesley, Index.
1302 Wyggesleye, F.A.

The suffix is O.K. leak, "a field." The pers. n. involved
may be either O.E. Wicga or Scandinavian Vlgi. The former
is found in O.E. sources ; the latter occurs in Scandinavian
records (Rygh, G. Personnavne, s.v.).

WlGTHORPE.

No early forms. The meaning of the second element is
clear. The first element may be either of the pers. ns. mentioned
under the preceding name.

WlLFORD.

1086 Wilesforde, D.B.
1184-1204 Wileford, Woll. MSS.
1302 Wilford, F.A.

Probably O.E. Willan ford, " the ford of Willa, leading to
Willds habitation." The s of D.B. is spurious (cp. Zachrisson,
pp. 1 1 8, 119).

In White's Directory (1853, P- 4°5) tne following note on
the etymology of this name is found: "The church.. .is dedicated

WILLOUGHBY-ON-THE-WOLDS 1 5 1

to St Wilfrid, and the name of the village is evidently a con-
traction of Wilfrid's ford, as there is both a ford and a ferry
close by." This statement confuses cause and effect; for if
there exists any connection between the patron saint and the
name of the village, the former must have been chosen in order
to suit the latter.

WlLLOUGHBY.

( D.B.

1204 Wilghebi, Index.

1291 Wilweby, Tax. Eccles.

1302 Willeugby ]

1428 Welughby j

See following name.

WlLLOUGHBY-ON-THE- WOLDS.

c (Wilgebi) T

1086 \ f \ D.B.

(Willebi j

c. 1 1 80 Wilghebi, Woll. MSS.

1252 Wiliugeby super Wolde, Inq. P.M. I.
1363 Wilughbi super Waldas, Index.

" The by(r) or dwelling among the willows." The suffix is
of Scandinavian origin. The first element corresponds to modern
English willow, whose M.E. ancestor is wilow, wilwe. In O.E.,
this word is found as weli^ wyli^ which normally would result
in M.E. wily. We are, therefore, forced to assume that there
existed in O.E. a variant containing a back vowel in the second
syllable, *welug, wylug, ending in the back-open instead of the
front-open consonant. The difference in the unstressed vowels
is to be ascribed either to gradation (Sievers, §§ 127, 128), or to the
circumstance that the two nouns belonged to the o or jo classes
of strong masculines respectively. The mutated vowel of the
one might have been transferred to the other.

The first named Willoughby is situated among low-lying
meadows on a brook near which willows flourish abundantly.

152 WIMPTON

WlMPTON.

1086 Wimunton, D.B.
1168-9 Wimunttun, P.R.
1316 Wympton, F.A.

f Wynton | T

c. 1500-j' > Inq. P.M. c. 1500.

( Wympton )

The P.R. spelling is the most conclusive. This is not the
" women's tun" but " the tun or farmstead of Winemund" This
O.K. man's name is recorded once in the Onomasticon, as borne
by an " amicus " of Eadbeald, king of Kent. Cp. Winthorpe.

n became assimilated to the following m at a very early
period. A similar fate happened to the mat a. later date when it
came into contact with the dental /, which changed it to n ; see
Wynton (Inq. P.M. c. 1500). This form seems to have perished.
Where the m was retained, a glide developed between it and the
following / (Phonology, § 16). The absence of the genitival s
is noteworthy.

WlNKBURN or WlNKBOURNE.

1086 Wicheburn, D.B.
H53 Winkeburn, Index.

0 f Winkerburn ) _ _>
1189 1 1*7- i. u fP.R.

* (Wincheburnj

r?7* I Winckeburne \
I2/o •( TTr. . r rl.K..

(Wingeburne j

1346 Wynkeborn, F.A.

1637 Winkborn, Map in Camden.

The etymology of this name is very doubtful. The inquiry
is rendered more complicated by the fact that the little river
flowing past the village is called Wink on modern maps, and
Winkle by older writers, e.g. in White's Directory of 1853
(p. 521).

The suffix is O.K. burne, " spring, brook." The whole name
originally applied to the water-course, the habitation or village
on its banks being called "at Winkburn." The first element
may have been an O.K. adjective *wincol, derived from the root

WISETON OR WYESTON I 53

contained in wincian, "to wink, blink," and O.H.G. winchan,
whose original sense was " to bend." Similar adjectival forma-
tions are numerous in O.K.; an alternative ending is -er, -or
which is occasionally interchangeable with -<?/, as in wacol, wacor,
" vigilant." The meaning of O.K. *wincol would be " winding,
pliant," which might very well be applied to many brooks.
The variant *wincor would account for the first P.R. spelling,
unless the first r stand for /, as these two liquids are frequently
interchanged in records compiled by Norman scribes.

The river-name Winkle can be explained as a back-formation
from Wincel burn, "the winding brook." The modern name
Wink probably came into existence by the same process but at
a later date, when / had disappeared in the pi. n. By a similar
method the river-name Maun was deduced from the town
Mansfield (q.v.).

WlNTHORPE.

1086 Wimuntorp, D.B.

/ Wimethorp j
1 165-1205 < Wimetorp /• Index.

' Winetorp

1291 Wymthorp, Tax. Eccles.
1316 Winthorp, F.A.

" The hamlet of Winemund" The same pers. n. forms the
first element of Wimpton (q.v.).

WISETON or WYESTON [wistn].

1086 Wisetone, D.B.
1278 Wiston, H,R.
1304 Wystone, Index.
1316 Wyston, F.A.

It is clear that the ending represents O.K. tun, " homestead,"
and that the first element is a pers. n. O.K. Wlsa is not quoted
in the Onomasticon as having been borne as a name by any
known person. We may, however, safely assume that it existed.
The meaning of Wlsa is " the wise one " or " the leader." O.E.
Wlsan tun seems to have developed in two different directions.

154 WISETON OR WYESTON

The n was lost in both cases according to a general rule. The
e of the second syllable was either retained or dropped. In the
former case the i stood in an open syllable and remained long
as in the modern spellings ; in the second case, I before st was
shortened, giving rise to the modern pronunciation.

WlTHAM (river).

The suffix may be an O.K. *amma, a somewhat doubtful
name for a river, probably of Celtic origin, see Middendorf, s.v.
The first element may represent O.E. wtfrig, "willow." This
conjecture receives further support from the fact that the banks
of the above river must at one time have been famous for the
abundance of osiers, as the village of Barnby situated on it has
received the distinctive addition of " in-the-willows." Thus the
meaning is " the willowy stream." Names like Weidenbach of
the same meaning are of frequent occurrence throughout
Germany.

WlVERTON [wXtn].

1086 Wivretune, D.B.
c. 1 1 So Wiverton, Woll. MSS.
1284 Veverton
1 302 Wy verton
1637 Waerham, Map in Camden.
1704 Waerton, Map.

Wiverton (commonly called) ) ~,

7 ' f Thoroton, I, 195.

Werton J

The first element of this name must be a pers. n., either
O.E. Wigferfr, Wigfri]?, or Widfara, the last of which is claimed
to be of Scandinavian origin by Dr Bjorkman. It occurs in
a shortened form as Wiuare, Wifare in D.B., which exactly
corresponds to the early spellings above. The suffix is, of
course, O.E. tun, " homestead"; Camden blunders by substituting
-ham. The absence of any sign of a genitival ending need not
disturb us. After the loss of v, ir developed in the regular way
(Phonology, § 8).

WOLLATON 155

WOLDS (a range of hills).

1252 Wolde, Inq. P.M. I.
1363 Waldas, Index.

((the large, and goodly) ,-. > r> i iu-

1 6 1 3 r , j r Drayton's Polyolbion.

0 \ full-flocked) oulds J

From O.K. (Mercian) wdld, " forest." a, which had become
lengthened before Id, was changed into g in M.E. Drayton's
spelling represents a dialect pronunciation, showing loss of
initial w before a rounded back vowel (cp. ooze < M.E. wose,
Horn, § 173).

The above word is identical with Southern English Wealds
which is descended from the W. Saxon and Kentish variant
weald. The development of senses can be easily traced. When
the plains had been practically cleared of woods and forests, the
word weald, wald was gradually restricted to the hills still
covered with trees.

WOLLATON [wulatn].

/ Ollavestone \
io86Joiavestune > D.B.

I Waletone

1216-1307 Wullaveton, Testa de N.
1284 Welestonj
1302 Woleton > F.A.
1316 Wolaton "
1327-77 Wolaston, Non. Inq.
1428 Willaton, F.A.

The spelling of Testa de N. is the most helpful; if it contained
the s found in some others it would be perfect. The O.E. proto-
type was Wulfldfes tun, "the homestead of Wulfldf This
pers. n. occurs frequently in O.E. documents. The loss of the
genitival s is noteworthy.

The D.B. scribes found it impossible to render the sound of
wu and often blundered over it (see following name). The
spellings containing a, e or i in the first syllable are clerical
mistakes and require no explanation.

156 WOODBOROUGH

WOODBOROUGH.

| Udesburg j
1278 Wodeburg, H.R.
1302 Wodeburgh, F.A.
1637 Woodbro, Map in Camden.

" The fortified place in the wood," from O.E. wudti, " wood,"
and buruk, " fortified place." The development is regular. The
s in the second D.B. spelling is spurious; the scribe probably
took the first element for a pers. n. Camden records the
contemporary pronunciation.

WOODCOTES.

1302 Wodicotes, F.A.

"The cottages in the wood," O.E. frd wudiy cotas. The
second syllable of the adjective wudi^, " woody," has been lost
altogether.

WOOLLEN.

I suggest that the suffix is the same as in Meden, and
Witham (qq.v.). If so, the first element might be O.E. wulf,
" wolf," and the meaning of the compound " wolf stream." In
O.H.G. a corresponding Wolfaha is found, modern Wolfach
(Forstemann, II).

io86J

WORKSOP [wosop] (Worsop, Wossap, Wursup, Hope).

Type I.

Werchesope | ^ „
Werchessope f
1189 Werchessope, P.R.

Type II.

1189 Worcheshope, P.R.
1410 Worsope, Index.

Type III.

1302 Wirksop, F.A.
1327-77 Wyrksop, Non. Inq.

WYSALL 157

1345 Wirkesop, Index.

1346 Wirsop, F.A.

Type IV.

1535-43 Werkensop, Leland, I, 99.
1637 Workensop, Camden, p. 550.

The termination in Types I, II, III apparently is O.K. hop,
" valley." The first element is a pers. n., of which there is no
record in the Onomasticon, it is true, but whose existence is
proved by its being contained in a number of pi. ns. enumerated
by Prof. Moorman, s.v. Worksborougk. That name seems to
have occurred in various forms, namely as Wyrc (Type III),
Weorc (Type I), and Wore (Type II). The last form evidently
developed out of the second on or near Northumbrian territory,
where the change from weo to wo took place (Biilbring, § 265).

The modern spelling goes back to Type II, so do the first
and the second pronunciations recorded by Hope. The pro-
nunciation in square brackets is descended from either Type I
or III, ir, er first becoming [A] as in the last of Hope's forms, and
then being shortened.

Type IV is puzzling. The two spellings are too late and
can hardly be taken seriously. It is, moreover, very probable
that Camden partly copied from Leland. One might feel
tempted to say that the n represents the genitival ending of a
weak variant of the pers. n. Weorca\ but the presence of an
additional s renders that impossible.

WYSALL [waise].

Type I.
1086 Wisoc, D.B.

Type II.

1302 Wishow, F.A.
1327-77 Wysowe, Non. Inq.
1428 Wyshow, F.A.

^ ( Vyssow ) T
1476 \ ._; \ Index.

I Wysow J

J535 Wyshawe, Valor Eccles.
1637 Wysshaw, Map in Camden.

158 WYSALL

The suffix is the same as in Watnall (q.v.) ; D.B. writes final
c instead of h in hoh, "hill." The nature of the prefix is
extremely doubtful. It might stand for the pers. n. Wtsa,
found in Wiseton. If so, the meaning of O.E. Wlsan hoh
would be " Wiscls hill."

The development of the suffix and the recent substitution of
-all for the ending are explained under Watnall.

If the explanation offered is correct, one would expect the s
to be voiced. I cannot satisfactorily account for the quality of
that consonant.

In the spellings of 1535 and 1637, shaw, from O.E. sceaga,
" small wood, copse, thicket," is substituted for the original
suffix. These forms are too recent to be classified as a genuine
type.

PHONOLOGY OF THE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
PLACE-NAMES

N. B. Only those sound-changes that are of special interest have been classified
here.

I. VOWEL CHANGES.

§ i. Shortening of original long vowels in stressed syllables before
certain consonant combinations.

(a) Late O.K. shortenings :

a > a : Aslockton < A slac ; Bradmore < brad- ; Stanton, Stanford < stan.
£B > a : Clareborough < cla>fre- ; Martin < nicer- ; Whatton < hwcet- ; Hat-
field < KaJ>-.

ea > a : Radford, Ratcliffe < read-.
e > e (W. Sax. #, Mercian e) : Fledborough < Fleda ; Strelley < stret- ;

Sturton, older Stretton < stret-.
CO > e : Darlton < *derl- < Deorl-.
1 > i : Limpool, Linby < lind-.

6 > O : Broxtow < Brocwulf- ; Hokerton < Hdkr : Ossington < Oskin-.
U > U : Dunham < dun- ; Rufford < ruh- ; Southwell [saftl], Sutton < stift- ;
Plumtree <plum.

(b} Early M.E. shortenings :

ea > e : Edwalton, Edwinstow < Ead- ; Retford < read-.
e > i : Gringley < gren ; but see § 6.

§ 2. The regular development of O.E. a is M.E. {?, modern [ou] :
Gotham < gat- ; Goverton < GarfrtiS- ; Grove <grafe.

§ 3. M.E. ih seems to have developed into late M.E. I which did not
participate in the diphthongisation of early M.E. t from O.E. f, jp, ig\
Kneesall, Kneeton < kniht- (?). In the Dialect Grammar (§ 77) it is stated
that this change has taken place in Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland,
Westmoreland, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Flintshire, and parts of
Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire. As Nottinghamshire is situated
between Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire, it is not unreasonable to -
assume that the same sound-change has taken place within its territory.
The Nottinghamshire dialect is very badly represented in the Dial. Diet. ;
I am informed that old people still pronounce night as [nit], but that

160 PHONOLOGY

otherwise the standard pronunciation has supplanted the genuinely local
forms. See Horn, § 69 anm.

§ 4. M.E. u is derived from various sources and has developed on various
different lines, (i) O.K. u has undergone diphthongisation in : Lound < lund,
but was shortened in : Southwell [saftl] < sujyw-. (2) After u, / and h
became vocalised ; the resulting combination uu was then treated as older /7,
i.e. diphthongised to [au]. The first change has taken place in : Boughton <
buhtun, and Bulcote < but-, but u was not diphthongised through influence
of the initial labial consonant ; cp. the pronunciation of wound.

M.E. u from ul has become shortened at a later period in : Sowlkholme
[sakm] < sulh-.

In Oldcoates < ule-, M.E. u seems to have developed into modern [ei],
the pronunciation of that name being given as Alecotes in Hope's Glossary.
This may represent the genuine dialect pronunciation, for which, however,
I cannot find any confirmation.

§ 5. Early M.E. 88, a appears as both e and a before original ks\
Laxton, older Lessington < Leax- ; cp. Dial. Grammar, § 25.

& seems to have been lengthened before s in : Basford [beisfad] < Bassa- ;
this M.E. change corresponds to a similar lengthening of ce before open
voiceless consonants in modern southern English, in words like mass, grass,
path.

§ 6. M.E. e has become i before ng [TJ] : Bingham < Benninga- ;
Finningley <fennin%a-. Cp. Dial. Gramm. § 55, Horn, § 38.

§ 7. M.E. er and ar developed into ar\ after this change had taken
place, the r was lost before the dental and blade consonants s, p, /, n,
the a being lengthened at the same time : ers, ars > eers > &s. This «
is represented by modern [ei], or [ae] if shortened : Bassetlaw, Caythorp,
Dalington, Danethorpe, Perlethorpe, older Palethorpe, Staythorpe: see
discussions and forms under each name above.

§ 8. M.E. er, ir, and ur have all become [7T] in the modern pronuncia-
tion ; in some cases, however, er, <zr are represented by ar and [ei] ; see § 7.
The early spellings of some of the following place-names prove that this
transition took place at a somewhat earlier date than is usually assigned
to it; see Barnston, Barton, Carburton, Darlton, Girton, Harby, Serlby,
Sherwood, Sturton, Wiverton, Worksop.

§ 9. M.E. au and oil. The combination al developed into aul\ the
/ is retained in the modern spelling of: Balderton, Calverton [kovatn,
kavstn], and Halloughton [houtn, h5tn] ; it has been lost in : Caunton < Cain-,
and Aws worth < Aides-. M.E. g < au was shortened in: Ollerton and
Ompton < air-, aim-.

ol has become [oul] in : Rolleston ; it is represented by [5] in Hawton
< holt-. This latter fact seems to prove that, in the dialect, M.E. au and
ou have fallen together. The spelling Hauton for older Holton is found as
early as 1270.

Scand. ou appears as d, o in: Haughton, Hockerton; cf. Bjorkman,
Scand. Loan Words.

PHONOLOGY 1 6 1

§ 10. Shifting of accent is found in : Keyworth and Trowell (qq.v.).
f II. Norman influence accounts for the change from an to aun in :
Maun, Saundby, Staunton.

II. CONSONANT CHANGES

§ 12. Loss of Consonants. Of three consonants, the middle one is
lost, this change being due to assimilation in most cases.
d : Bilsthorpe < -Ids- ; Bonbusk < -ndb- ; Chilwell < -Idw- ; Felley < -Idl- •

Shelford < -Idf-.
f: Wollaton < -Ifl-.
k : Kirton < -rkt- ; Radcliffe [raetlifj < -tkl- ; Syerston < -rks- ; Worksop

[was9p] < rks-.
1 : Gamston < -mist-.
n : Milton < -Int-.
t : Beeston [blsn] < -stn-.
J>, 8 : Normanton < -r%m- ; Norney < -rSrn- ; Norton < -r)>t- ; Norwell,

Torworth < -rftw- ; Wiverton < -r]>t-.
V : Elston < -l-ust- ; Scarle < -rvl- ; Selston < -Ivst-.

§ 13. Assimilation.
ld> II \ Bole, Bolham, Rolleston.
dk >kk > k : Eacring < Ead(wce)cer-.
fn > mn : Rampton < *Hrafntun.
hf>ff\ Rufford < ruhford.

sk >ss : Ossington < Oskintun ; Bothamsall < -skeld.
ks > ss : Laxton, older Lessington.
k}> > ]>(}>} : Huthwaite < -kfrw-.
kt> tt\ Boughton (Button, Type III) < buktun.
tw > kw : Bestwood, older Beskwood.
ms > ns : Mansfield < Mams-,
nmnj) > m)> > n)> : Winthorpe < IVinemundfiorp.
ny > rj(n) : Bingham < Benning-.

nm > m(m) : Wimpton < Winmun- ; Kimberley < Cynmcer-*
ndp > np > mp : Limpool < lindpol.
n/ > nt: Dalington [daelintn].
stw >skw : Bestwood, older Beskwood.
ts > ^ s : Cossal < Cots-.

tl > dl > // : Strelley < stretle^e ; Teversal < -holt,
rs > s(s) : Syerston (Type II).
r& > rr : Scarrington < -r®-.
}>f>tt\ Sutton.
b — n > b — m (" Fernassimilation," see Horn, § 228 anm.) : Bramcote <

bran(d]cot\ Brinsley, see Testa de N. spelling.

n in the second syllable of trisyllabic words has become rj in a number of
place-names. This second syllable had very weak stress, and I assume that
this vowel, of whatever origin, became t at a very early period. This high

M. u

162 PHONOLOGY

front vowel exercised an assimilatory influence upon the n, changing the
dental nasal into the front nasal (retracted). A similar change is observed
in the M.E. present participle bindinde becoming bindinge. This transition
is usually ascribed to the influence of the corresponding verbal nouns in
-inge (Sweet, N. Engl. Gramm. § 1239), but it may have been assisted and
accelerated by the operation of the sound-law formulated above. Other
writers on place-names assume that the change from -an-, -en-, -in- to -ZQ- is
due to analogy with names containing an original patronymic particle -ing-
(Wyld, Place-Names of Lancashire, p. 36, see Alexander, Essays and Studies,
II, pp. 158 sqq.). There are two circumstances which speak against such
an explanation : (i) The large number of -ing- forms derived from -in-
( Alexander, I.e. p. 181). (2) The existence of modern vulgar pronunciations
exhibiting a similar transition in independent words, as skelington (skeleton,
older *skelenton, cf. celandine < Latin celidonia, etc., Horn, § 225), and
sartingly (certainly). Examples of Nottinghamshire place-names are :
Edingley < Eadwin- ; Attenborough (see older forms) ; Farndon (see older
forms) ; Kilvington (?) ; Kirklington (?) ; Laxton, older Lessington <
Leaxan- ; Newington < nlwantune ; Ossington < Oskin- ; Walling wells <
wallend(e}-.

§ 14. Dissimilation. Loss of r through influence of another r con-
tained in the same word is found in: Goverton, and perhaps in: Ordsall
(qq.v.). The loss of n in Misterton < mynstertun may be due to the
dissimilatory effect of the initial m. (Cp. Zachrisson, pp. 136 sqq.; Horn,

§ 2370

§ 15. Metathesis.

r frequently changes its place in the accented syllable : Girton < great- ;

Scrooby < scurva- ; Sturton < stret- ; Thrumpton < burmod- ; Tres-

well < tires-.
n(m) changes its position in : Widmerpool [windapul] < Wtdnuer-.

§ 1 6. Development of a glide.
mt>mpt: Ompton, Plumtree, older Plumptre, Rampton, Thrumpton

Wimpton.

mst > mpst : Rempston.
mr > mbr : Kimberley.
pl>pwl\ Crop well.

§ 17. Voicing and unvoicing, due to partial assimilation.
dk > tk : Ratcliffe < read-.
df>tf\ Retford < read-.
hb>p: Epperston < *Eohberht- (?).
tb>db: Budby <.#«/-.

§ 1 8. Loss of h and w at the beginning of an unstressed syllable.
h is lost: Cossal < -hale; Cropwell < -hill\ Nottingham [notinm], etc.
w is lost : Colwick [kolik] ; Bulwell [bulal] ; Eakring < Eadwacer- ;

Edwinstow, or Edenstow ; Harworth [hser3>] ; Kinoulton < Cynweald- ;

Norwell [nor9l] ; Southwell [scffil].

PHONOLOGY 163

§ 19. Initial h is a very unstable element in the Nottinghamshire dialect.
It is usually dropped in pronunciation, but may be prefixed to any stressed
word beginning with a vowel : Appesthorpe, Hickling, Hockerton, Hover-
ingham.

§ 20. kt > ht.

Whenever in the older Germanic languages k and / met in combination,
the former was opened and changed into the back or front spirant. This
same sound-law seems to have been in operation throughout the O.K.1 and
M.E. periods, unless crossed by analogy. Prof. Wyld was the first to draw
attention to this interesting fact (Place Names of Lancashire, p. 32).
Examples are : Bough ton < *Buktun ; Haughton < *Hoktun.

§ 21. Final / is lost in the modern local pronunciation of Southwell
[saSa]; Hucknall [hakna] ; Watnall [wotna]; Wysall [waisa]. On the
other hand, an excrescent d was added to Arnold < Earn hale; see Dial.
Gramm. § 306; Horn, § 188.

§ 22. Norman Influence. The inability of the Normans to pronounce
/ caused them to substitute / for that sound. Initial / for p has persisted in :
Tollerton, Torworth, Toton, Treswell (qq.v.). (Zachrisson, pp. 39 sqq.)

They simplified the initial combination sn by dropping the s in Notting-
ham < Snotingaham. (Zachrisson, pp. 51, 55.)

§ 23. Scandinavian Influence accounts for the irregular develop-
ment of O.E. g and <:, and s'c in the following cases : Egmanton < Ec%- ;
Lindrick < -rt'c\ Fiskerton <fiscere- (?) ; Muskham < Musca- (?).

1 A late O.E. example of this change is lehtun " garden " (c. 950, Lindisf. Gosp.)
< leactiin ; see N.E.D., s.v. leighton.

II— 2

WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES IN
THE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PLACE-NAMES

I. WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON ORIGIN

ac, oak-tree (Hodsock, Shireoaks)

~<zdre, spring, channel of water (Averham)

ces'c, ash-tree (Ashfield, Askham)

bcej>, bath (Bathley)

bearo, wood, forest (Bassetlaw)

beofor, beaver (Bevercotes)

beorg, hill, mountain (Flawborough)

beretun, barley-enclosure, farmstead (Barton, Carburton)

blme, blithe, gentle (Blyth)

bold, botl, house, dwelling (Bole, Bolham, Newbold)

brad, broad (Bradmore, Broadholme)

*brand, forest land cleared by fire (Bramcote)

broc, brook (Daybrook, Giltbrook)

dry 'eg , bridge (Bridgford)

bul(e\ bull (Bulcote)

*bullan, to bubble (Bulwell)

bune, calamus, canna (Bunny)

burh, fortified place (Attenborough, Bilborough, Brough, Burton Joyce,

Clareborough, Fledborough, Littleborough, Woodborough)
burne, spring, brook (Winkbourn)

cealf, calf (Calverton)

*cild, spring, fountain (Chilwell)

ctcefre, clover (Clareborough)

clceg, clay (Clay worth, Sturton-in-the-Clay)

clif, rock, cliff (Clifton, Radcliffe, Ratcliffe, RushclifT)

cot, house, cot, habitation of human beings and animals (i : Bramcote,
Coates, Gotham, Cottam, Oldcoates, Woodcotes ; 2 : Bevercotes, Bul-
cote, Lamcote)

crumb, crooked, winding (Cromwell)

cucu, cwic, quick, fast, alive (Cuckney)

cumb, deep hollow or valley (Sowlkholme)

cy, form of cu, cow (Key worth)

cyne- , royal (Kingston)

WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES 165

denu, valley (Saxondale)

die, ditch (Bycardyke, Heck Dyke)

draca, dragon (Drakeholes)

drceg, retreat, nook (Drayton)

dan, hill (Dunham, Farndon, Headon)

ea, ege, water meadow, island ; river, stream (Blyth, Bunny, Cuckney,

Drinsey Nook, Eaton, Greet, Idle, Lithe, Mattersey, Norney, Tilne)
*ealce, a mythological person (Awkley)
eald, old (Oldwark Spring)
east, east (Eastwood)

fearn, fern (Farndon)

feld, open country, as opposed to woodland ; a plain (Bassingfield, Farnsfield,
Felley, Haggonfield, Hatfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Mansfield, Nether-
field)

fenn, mud, dirt ; fen (Fenton, ? Finningley)

fiscere, fisherman (Fiskerton)

flint, rock (Flintham)

ford, ford (Basford, Bridgford, Flawford, Gateford, Hazelford, Langford,
Radford, Retford, Rufford, Salterford, Shelford, Spalford, Stanford,
Stapleford, Wilford)

ful, dirty, soiled ; miry (Fulwood)

gcedeling, companion in arms (Gedling)

gar a, triangular piece of land (Langar)

gat, goat (Gotham)

graf, grcsf, grave, burial-place (Cotgrave, Grove ?)

graf, grove (Grove ?)

grene, green (Gringley ?)

greot, sand, rubble (Girton, Greet)

gylden, golden (Giltbrook)

hcesel, hazel (Hazelford, Hesley)

ha}>, heath (Hatfield, Headon)

ham, home ; see special article, p. 169 ; (Beckingham, Bingham, Collingham,

Dunham, Flintham, Gotham, Hoveringham, Lowdham, Markham,

Marnham, Muskham, Nottingham, Walkeringham)
heath, nook, valley; see special article, p. 169; (Arnold, Cossal, Hallam,

Halloughton, Hucknall, Kersall, Kneesall, Nuthall, Ordsall)
hege, haga, hedge, fence ; a piece of enclosed ground (Bilhagh, Hay wood

Oaks, Thorney, Wellow)
held, slope, declivity (Merrils Bridge)
here, army (Harwell?)
hierde, Anglian heorde, shepherd (Harby)

, hill, mound (Bassetlaw)

1 66 WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES

*hlnd, stormy? (Lowdham)

hoh, hog, hill, mound ; tumulus (Watnall, Wysall)

hoi, hole, cave, den (Drakeholes)

hol(h\ hollow (Holbeck)

holt, wood, copse (Hawton, Teversal)

*hop, valley (Styrrup, Warsop, Worksop)

hors, horse (Horsepool)

hiuizte, wheat (Whatton, Wheatley)

hyll, hill (Cropwell)

hyrst, grove, wood (Lyndhurst)

lamb, lamb (Lambley, Lamcote)

land, plough-land (Langford)

lane, lane, street (Laneham)

lang, long (Langar)

leak, meadow, field; see special article, p. 170 ; (Annesley, Awkley, Baggalee,
Bathley, Brinsley, Edingley, Elkesley, Felley, Finningley, Greasley,
Gringley, Hesley, Kimberley, Lambley, Rockley, Scarle, Strelley,
Wansley, Wheatley, Wigsley)

lind, lime-tree (Limpool, Linby, Lindrick, Lyndhurst)

Iffie, lithe ; smooth, still (Lide)

lytel, little, small (Littleborough)

(ge}m~(Er, *mcere, boundary (Martin)

mapuldor, maple-tree (Maplebeck, Mapplewell)

mearc, boundary (Markham)

mere, lake, pool (Bradmore, Gibsmere)

middel, middle (Middlethorpe)

mor, moor (Barnby Moor, Morton)

mylen, mill (Milnthorpe, Milton)

mynster, monastery, church (Misterton)

myrige, pleasant, agreeable, delightful (Merrils Bridge)

neofterra, lower (Netherfield)

netele, nettle (Nettle worth)

niuwe, new (Newark, Newbold, Newington, Newstead, Newthorpe, Newton)

norft-, north (Norton, Norwell)

norfterne, northern (Norney)

ox a, ox (Oxton)

papol, pebble (Papplewick)

plum-treo, plum-tree (Plumptree)

pol, pool, pond (Horsepool, Limpool, Widmerpool)

read, red (Radcliffe, Radford, Ratcliffe)
*ric, wood, forest ; tract of land ? (Lindrick)

WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES l6/

rise, rys'c, rush (Rushcliff)
ruh, rough (Rufford)

sceta, settler, dweller ; inhabitant (Bassetlaw)

*sceld, shallow (Shelford)

sctr, boundary (Sherwood)

scylfe, Anglian s'celfe, shelf, ledge (Shelton)

sealh treo, sallow-tree (Salterford)

spring, spring, fountain (Oldwark Spring)

stdn, stone (Kingston, Stanford, Stanton, Staunton)

stapol, pillar (Stapleford)

stede, place (Newstead)

stupel, Anglian stepel, steeple (Sturton-le-Steeple)

* stoc, stocc, stump of a tree, stake ; enclosed place ; log hut ? ; stockade ?

see discussion under Stoke Bardolph ; (Costock, Stockwith, Stoke

Bardolph, East Stoke, Stokeham)
stow, place ; holy place (Broxtow, Edwinstowe)
street, street, paved road (Strelley, Sturton)
*sulh, miry place, swamp (Sowlkholme)
sfiS, south (Southwell, Sutton)

treow, tree (Plumptree, Trowell)

tun, enclosure; farmstead, see special article, p. 171 ; (Adbolton, Alverton,
Aslockton, Babbington, Balderton, Barnston, Barton, Beeston, Bon-
nington, Boughton, Broughton, Burton Joyce, West Burton, Calverton,
Carburton, Car Colston, Carlton, Caunton, Clifton, Clipston, Coddington,
Colston Basset, Dalington, Darlton, Drayton, Eaton, Edwalton, Egman-
ton, Elston, Elton, Epperston, Everton, Fenton, Fiskerton, Gamston,
Girton, Clapton, Gonalston, Goverton, Grimston, Halloughton, Haugh-
ton, Hawton, Hayton, Hockerton, Kilvington, Kinoulton, Kirklington,
Kirton, Kneeton, Laxton, Lenton, Leverton, Manton, Martin, Milton,
Misterton, Morton, Newington, Newton, Normanton, Norton, Ollerton,
Ompton, Orston, Osberton, Ossington, Oxton, Rampton, Rempston,
Rolleston, Ruddington, Scarrington, Scofton, Screveton, Selston, Shelton,
Sneinton, Stanton, Staunton, Sturton, Sutton, Syerston, Thoroton,
Thrumpton, Thurgarton, Tollerton, Toton, Upton, Weston, Whatton
Wimpton, Wiseton, Wiverton, Wollaton)

from, thornbush (Thorney)

ulc, owl (Oldcoates)
iip, above (Upton)

weald, Anglian wald, forest (the Wolds)

wealh, slave, serf; Briton ; may be a pers. n. (Walesby)

weallan, to boil ; to flow, go in waves (Wallingwells)

weorc, wore, building ; fortification (Newark, Oldwark Spring)

1 68 WORDS OTHER THAN PERSONAL NAMES

*weor}>, wor]>, enclosed homestead ; habitation ; see special article, p. 171 ;

(Awsworth, Babworth, Blidworth, Clayworth, Colsterworth, Harworth,

Hawksworth, Keyworth, Littleworth, Nettleworth, Rainworth, Scaft-

worth)

west, west (Weston)
wiell, well, spring, fountain ; stream (Bulwell, Chilwell, Cromwell,

Harwell, Mapplewell, Norwell, Southwell, Wallingwells, Welbeck,

Welham, Wellow)

*wiluh, *wilug, willow- tree (Barnby-in-the- Willows, Willoughby)
wmig, willow (Witham)
wudig, woody (Woodcotes)
wudu, wood, forest (Bestwood, Fulwood, Haywood, Sherwood, Woodborough)

II. WORDS OF SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN

bekk(r\ brook (Beck, Bycardyke, Holbeck, Maplebeck, Oswardbeck, Wel-

beck)

birki- , birch (Birkland)
breiftr, broad (Bradebusk)
brekka, brink, slope (Brecks)
busk(r), shrub ; bush (Bonbusk, Bradebusk)
by(r), habitation, farm ; village (Barnby Moor, Barnby-in-the-Willows,

Bilby, Bleasby, Budby, Granby, Harby, Kirkby, Linby, Ranby,

Saundby, Scrooby, Serlby, Skegby, Thoresby, Tythby, Walesby,

Willoughby)

dal(r\ valley (Saxondale)

drengr, companion ; sergeant-at-arms, may be a pers. n. (Drinsey Nook)

drit, dirt, M.E. dritig, dirty (Dirty Hucknall, or Hucknall-under-Huthwaite)

geit, goat (Gateford)

heath (Hay ton)
hesli, hazel (Hazelford, Heseland (see Birkland), Hesley)
holm(r\ island (Broadholme, Holme)

kelda, well (Bothamsall, Kelham, Ranskill)

kirkja, church (Kirkby, Kirton)

kjar(r\ M.E. ker, swamp, marshy ground (Carburton, Car Colston)

kropp(r\ hump (Cropwell)

lek(r\ brook, rivulet (Leake)

lund(r\ wood, grove (Birkland and Heseland, Lound)

skjalf, *skelf-, shelf ledge (Ranskill, early forms)

APPENDIX 169

frorp, village, hamlet, see special article, p. 171 ; (Appesthorpe, Bagthorpe,
Beesthorpe, Bilsthorpe, Caythorpe, Danethorpe, Gleadthorpe, Gold-
thorpe, Grassthorpe, Gunthorpe, Knapthorpe, Middlethorpe, Milnthorpe,
Newthorpe, Osmondthorpe, Owthorpe, Perlethorpe, Sibthorpe, Stay-
thorpe, Stragglethorpe, Thorpe-in-Glebe, Thorpe-by-Newark, Wigthorpe,
Winthorpe)

frveit, a piece of land, a single farm, a hamlet (Eastwood, Huthwaite)

vaft, a wading place, ford (Langwith?, Stockwith ?)
mk, bay, creek (Col wick, Papplewick)
i>fi$(r\ tree, wood, forest (Langwith?, Stockwith?)
voll(r\ *<val$uz, field (Trowell ?)

III. WORDS OF FRENCH AND LATIN ORIGIN

bellum (Low Latin), fair, beautiful (Beauvale)
beste, beast of the chase (Bestwood)

faba, bean (Barton-in-Fabis)

forest^ wood not enclosed, forest (Lyndhurst-on-the-Forest)

glebe, Latin gleba, plough-land (Thorpe-in-Glebe)

grange, granary ; outlying farm-house (Gleadthorpe Grange)

vallum, vale, valley (Beauvale)

APPENDIX
SOME OF THE MORE FREQUENT SUFFIXES EXPLAINED

(1) ham. The meaning is clear: "home, house, abode, estate." It denotes
the dwelling of some person of consequence, or the chief seat of a tribe or
noble family. Bede renders the pi. n. Rendlcesham by "mansio Rendili,"
where mansio stands in its Low Latin sense, from which both English
mansion and French maison are derived.

(2) healh, dative heale, hale, hale. Although this termination is of
frequent occurrence in pi. ns., it is extremely difficult to give its exact
signification. After careful consideration of the evidence, Professor Wyld
arrives at the conclusion that it means " a hollowed-out area, a bay, retreat "
(Place-Names of Lancashire, p. 340). Miller (Place-Names in Bede, pp. 38,
39) discusses this word at length ; he translates it by "recess, corner, hollow."
I am inclined to go further than that and assign the meaning of " valley " to
O.E. healh. This view is supported by geographical evidence : all the places
containing this element seem to lie in a " hollow," or, at any rate, to be situated

1 1-5

170 APPENDIX

close to a valley where the original habitation may have stood. Bede's transla-
tion of Streones halh as " Sinus fari " has been a puzzle to many writers, and
I do not propose to solve the mystery of the first element. Whether farus
means " light-house " or not is a question that may perhaps never be decided.
The signification of the second element is clear : sinus means, of course,
"bay," but it has another sense as well, in which it is used here, namely that
of " mediterraneus terrae angulus," as e.g. in the combination "vallium
sinus." (Forcellini, Totius Latinitatis Lexicon, Schneeberg, 1831.) It
describes a triangular piece of land forming the bottom of a valley between
two hills or ranges that meet at one end. Such " corners, nooks, retreats,
inland bays" or whatever the description may be, must have been the very
spots to attract the early settlers. For they were more easily cleared of
trees and undergrowth, if there were any, than the hill-sides ; they were
almost invariably watered by a small stream, and afforded shelter and
protection.

As to the derivation of the word healh^ I am inclined to connect it by
gradation with O.E. holh, "hollow." The modern Frisian hallich, pi. halligeny
I regard as identical1. Dijkstra (Friesch Woordenboek, Leeuwarden, 1900)
gives its meaning as follows : " Kleine anbeduinde en onbedijkte eilandje
aan de Noordfriesche kust, — overblijpselen van door de see verzwolgen land,
waar de bewoners nog Friesch spreken." One usually connects the latter
word with O.E. hyll etc., being under the impression that it refers to the
artificial mounds, or " Werften," on which the houses of the " Halligen " are
erected. This, however, is not correct. Originally, the term was applied to
low-lying land not protected from the sea by dykes, and therefore subject to
being flooded. I am told that the latter meaning is still the one attached to
the word hallich by the islanders themselves.

(3) leak, Mercian leh, dative lege. This word is related to Latin lucus,
"grove," and O.H.G. loh, "brushwood, clearing" ; the meaning of modern
Germ. Loh is "grove, copse." The original sense is that of "clearing,
open space in the wood." The development of senses in the German and
Latin words is easily explained and affords another example of how com-
pletely the meaning of geographical terms may change. The lucus or
clearing does not consist of the open space only, but it comprises also the
surrounding trees. In course of time, the latter came to be regarded as the
essential and characteristic feature, the word thus assuming the meaning of
"collection of trees, grove."

In the modern dialects, lea is used in the following senses : " meadow,
field, pasture, grassland." In the pi. ns., I have translated it by "field,"
which may refer both to grazing and arable land. In O.E. charters, leak is

1 The development of a svarabhakti vowel between / and h is a regular feature of
the Frisian language; see Siebs, " Geschichte der friesischen Sprache," § 85, in
Pauls Grundriss, I2. Prof. Siebs kindly informed me that, as far as sound-develop-
ment is concerned, hallich might very well be identical with O.E. healk.

APPENDIX I^I

rendered by Latin campus (see N.E.D., s.v.) ; Asser (Life of King Alfred, ed.
Stevenson) renders Aclea by " in campulo quercus."

(4) tun. This word is identical with O.H.G. zun, modern Germ.
hedge, fence." Thus it originally referred to the paling or hedge with

which the Teuton settler surrounded his homestead in order to protect
himself and his beasts from the attacks of wild animals as well as of thieves,
This original sense of the word appears clearly in the O.E. compound deor-
tun, "a deer enclosure, a frith, a park." Its application, however, became
soon extended. It was used to denote not only the actual palisade or hedge,
but everything inclosed by the latter, namely, the whole homestead or farm.
That is still the meaning of the Scotch toon which the Dial. Diet, explains
as " farmstead, farmhouse and buildings, country seat, single dwelling." In
the latter senses, the suffix was used in the pi. ns., which accounts for the
fact of so many of the names in -tun having a pers. n. for their first element
The modern meaning of the independent word town is a late development.

(5) porp. Although it is a fact that this word is found in O.E. before
the Scandinavian invasion, I am inclined to regard it as of Norse origin
when it occurs as the second element of pi. ns. Professor Wyld holds the
view that it may be derived from either source. It makes its most frequent
appearance in districts containing a large Scandinavian population, and is very
often compounded with Norse pers. ns. Professor Moorman (Place-Names of
the West Riding, p. xlv) points out that it is very common as a termination in
Danish pi. ns., but is more rarely encountered in Norway and hardly at all
in Iceland. This seems to explain the fact that there are but few examples
of its occurrence in Lancashire where the Scandinavian element is largely
of Norwegian descent, whereas it is much more frequent in the Danish
districts of Yorkshire and Notts.

The meaning of J>orp is " village." Originally it described a collection of
dwellings, and is thus opposed in signification to the single and more
imposing habitations called ham, ttin, and iveor}>. Whereas the latter were
owned by a person of consequence or occupied by a noble family whose
" hall " or " seat " they were, the former seems to have been composed of the
more humble cots and huts of serfs, common people, or the great man's
retainers. It is noteworthy, however, that J>orp is frequently preceded by a
pers. n. in the singular ; it is doubtful whether the latter referred to the lord
and owner of the village, or whether the word frorp had lost its primitive
meaning and become identical with tun and ham denoting single dwellings.

(6) iveorj>, wor}>. The O.E. pi. n. BeodricesweorS is translated into
Latin by " Bedrici curds" (Passio Sancti Edmundi, c. 14). The meaning of
Low Latin curtis is "enclosure, estate." Both the original meaning and the
etymology of O.E. worj> are obscure. Professor Skeat (Place-Names of Cam-
bridgeshire, p. 25) connects it with O.E. weorj>, "worth, value," which does not
seem a very happy explanation. I venture to suggest that M.H.G. wert, -des,

1/2 APPENDIX

" island, peninsula, raised dry land between morasses," is a possible cognate.
Dr Hirt (Weigands Deutsches Worterbuch, s.v. Werder) derives wert from
the root contained in Gothic ivarian, O.E. werian, "to protect, ward off;
dam up." If that be correct, weorp would originally have'been applied to a
piece of land — with or without a dwelling — protected by a dam or dyke, or
possibly a palisade. The transition from this primary sense to that of
"farmstead, habitation, estate" is natural and parallel to that observed in
the history of the suffix tiln.

The relation between the two German forms iverd and werder is the
same as between O.E. seel — salor, "hall," sige — sigor, "victory" (Sievers,
§ 288, 289).

THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAL NAMES IN THE
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PLACE-NAMES

I. ANGLO-SAXON AND NORSE PERSONAL NAMES

Adda, Adding (Attenborough)
or ;£®el (Elton)
) (Elston)

ere (Alverton, Ollerton)
? Alca (Awkley)
Anna (Annesley)
Aslakr (Aslockton)

Babba (Babbington, Bab worth)

/ Bada (Bathley)

Bagga (Baggalee, Bagthorpe)

Barn (Barnby)

Basing (Basingfield)

Bassa (Basford)

Bealdhere (Balderton)

Becca, Beccing (Beckingham)

Benna, Benning (Bingham)

Beorn (Barnston)

/ Bildi (Bilsthorpe)

/ Bilheard (Bilsthorpe)

Billa (Bilborough, Bilby)

? Blmhere (Blidworth)

*Bodma>r or Bodwine (Bothamsall)

Bondi (Bonbusk)

Bonningas (Bonnington)

*Brocwulf (Broxtow)

Bryn, Brun (Brinsley)

Bucea (Bough ton)

Butr or Butti (Budby)

/ Carl (Carlton, Caythorpe)

Clip (Clipston)

? Cniht (Kneesall, Kneeton)

Codda, Codding, Cotta (Coddington)

Col, Colla, Colling (C*x Colston, Collingham, Colston Basset, Colwick)

174 THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAL NAMES

* Cartel, Corteling (Costock)
Cotta (Cossal)
Cylfa (Kilvington)
Cynenicer (Kimberley)
Cyneweald (Kinoulton)
*Cyrtel (Kirklington)

Deorlaf (Darlton)
Deorling (Dalington)
Deorna (Danethorpe)

Eada (Edingley?)

Eadbeald or Ealdbeald (Adbolton)

/ Eadwczcer (Eakring)

Eadweald (Edwalton)

Eadivine (Edwinstowe, Edingley ?)

Ealda (Awsworth)

Ealhmund (Ompton)

Earne (Arnold)

Ecgmund (Egmanton)

*Elc (Elkesley)

Eobeorht^ *Eoperht (Epperston)

Eofor, Eoforing (Everton, Hoveringham)

Fl&da (Fledborough)
f Frcena (Farnsfield)

Gamal (Gamston)

Garfrtt (Goverton)

Glceppa (Clapton)

Golda (Goldthorpe)

Grant (Granby)

Grimr (Grimston)

Gris (Greasley)

Gunner or Gunnild (Gunthorpe)

Gunnulf (Gonalston)

Gybba, Gyppa (Gibsmere)

Haukr, Hoc (Hawksworth, Hockerton)

Hear a (Harworth)

Hiccelingas ( H i ckli n g)

Hod or Oddi* (Hodsock)

Hrafn (Rampton, Ranby, Ranskill)

Hrefn (Rempston)

Hroaldr, Rold (Rolleston)

*Hucca (Hucknall, Huthwaite)

THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAL NAMES 175

*Laxa, Leaxa (Laxton)
? Leofhere (Leverton)

Mana (Manton)
M&rivingas (Meering)
M~ce$here (Mattersey)

* Mamma (Mansfield)

Ordru (Ordsall, Orston)
Osbeorn, Asbeorn (Osberton)
*Oskin, Asketill (Ossington)
Osmund, Asmimd (Osmondthorpe)
Osweard or Osweald (Oswardbeck)

/ Ragnald, Regnald or Ragnhildr (Ragnall)
Ruddingas (Ruddington)

? Saxi or Seaxa (Saxondale)

Selfa (Selston)

Serlo (Serlby)

Sibbi (Sibthorpe)

Sigeric (Syerston)

Skarf or Sceorf (Scarle, Scarrington ?)

? Skarti, Skar&ingas (Scarrington?)

Skegge (Skegby)

Skopti (Scofton)

*Snottingas (Nottingham, Srieinton)

Steorra, Styr (Staythorpe, Styrrup)

f Strangivulf (Stragglethorpe)

Tila (Tilne)
Tucca (Tuxford)

j>or (Thoresby)

frorleifr, porleikr (Tollerton)

porftr, ]>ure® (Tor worth)

}>urfer% (Thoroton)

)>urgeir, frurgar (Thurgarton)

purmoftr (Thrumpton)

purulf (Toton)

f tyri (Treswell)

Ufi (Owthorpe)

* Wanda (Wansley)
* 'Wara (Warsop)
Wata (Watnall)

? Wealh (Walesby)

Wealhhere, Walchere (Walkeringham)

THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAL NAMES

Widmcer (Widmerpool)
WigfrtiS, WigferK or Widfarat (Wiverton)
? Vlgi (Wigsley, Wigthorpe)
Willa, Will (Wilford)
Winemund (Wimpton, Winthorpe)
*Wtsa (Wiseton, Wysall)
Wulflaf (Wollaton)
*Wyre, *Weorc, *Worc (Worksop)

II. NORMAN-FRENCH PERSONAL NAMES

Bardolf (Stoke Bardolph)
Basset1 (Colston Basset)
Butler (Crop well Butler)
Cantelupe (Watnall Cantelupe)
Joyce, older Jorze (Burton Joyce)
Peverel (Perlethorpe)
Pierrepont (Holme Pierrepont)
Torkard (Hucknall Torkard)

N.B. Several of the above names are explained in the index to the
Calendar of Documents Preserved in France, edited by J. Horace Round,
1899-

1 This name was adopted by the family in England, being taken from the
Nottinghamshire Hundred name of Bassetlaw (q.v.).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. SOURCES OF EARLY FORMS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
PLACE-NAMES.

A.S. CHRON. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

BEDE, HIST. ECCLES. Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum.

BODL. CH. & R. Calendar of Charters and Rolls Preserved in the Bodleian

Library. Oxford, 1878.

BOR. REC. Records of the Borough of Nottingham. Vol. I. 1882.
CAL. ROT. CHART. Calendarium Rotulorum Chartarum, etc. (Record

Office). 1803.
CAMDEN. Britain, or a Chorographicall Description of the Most flourishing

Kingdoms, England, Scotland, and Ireland... .Written by William

Camden. 1637.

CART. SAX. Cartularium Saxonicum, ed. Birch.
COD. DIPL. Codex Diplomaticus ALvi Saxonici, ed. Kemble.
D.B. Doomsday Book (in Victoria County History, Vol. l).
DRAYTON. Drayton's Polyolbion (modernised).
E.E.T. Soc. Early English Text Society, Publications.
F.A. Inquisitions and Assessments relating to Feudal Aids (Record

Office). 1899 etc.

FOR. REC. Forest Records, edited by W. H. Stevenson.
H.R. Rotuli Hundredorum (Record Office). 1812-18.
INDEX. Index to Charters and Rolls in the British Museum. Vol. I.

Index Locorum. 1900.
INQ. P.M. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem (Record Office), Vol. I.

1904 ; Vol. II. 1906.
INQ. P.M. c. 1500. Abstracts of the Inquisitions P.M. Vol. I. 1485-1546

(Thoroton Society, Records Series in). 1905.
LELAND. The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary. 2nd edition.

Oxford, 1745.

MAP IN CAMDEN. See Camden, above.
MAP 1704. Map of Nottinghamshire by R. Morden. 1704.
MON. ANGLIC. Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum. New edition.
NON. INQ. Nonarum Inquisitiones in Curia Scaccarii. Temp. Regis

Edw. Ill (Record Office). 1807.
NOTTM. CH. Royal Charters granted to the Burgesses of Nottingham.

1890.

1/8 BIBLIOGRAPHY

P.R. The Great Rolls of the Pipe (Pipe Roll Society). 1884 etc.
TAX. ECCLES. Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angliae et Walliae (Record Office).

1802.

TESTA DE N. Testa de Nevil sive Liber Feodorum (Record Office). 1807.
THOROTON. Thoroton's History of Nottinghamshire. Republished with

Large Additions, by John Throsby. 1797.
VALOR ECCLES. Valor Ecclesiasticus. Temp. Regis Hen. VIII. Vol. v

(Record Office). 1825-34.
WOLL. MSS. Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton Preserved at

Wollaton Hall, ed. W. H. Stevenson (Hist. MSS. Commission). 1911.

II. OTHER BOOKS RELATING TO NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

GUILDFORD, E. L. Nottinghamshire (The Little Guides Series).
WHITE, F. History, Directory and Gazetteer of the County, and the

Town and County of the Town of Nottingham. Sheffield, 1853.
WHITE, ROBERT. The Dukery Records. 1904.

III. SOURCES OF PERSONAL NAMES.

SEARLE. Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum. 1897.

BJORKMAN. Nordische Personennamen in England. Halle, 1910.

RYGH. Gamle Personnavne i norske Stedsnavne. Kristiania, 1901.

RYGH. Norske Gaardnavne, I. Kristiania, 1897.

BARDSLEY. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames. 1901.

FORSTEMANN. Altdeutsches Namenbuch, I. Personennamen. Bonn, 1900.

WINKLER. Friesche Naamlijst (Onomasticon Frisicum). Leeuwarden,

1898.

WERLE. Die altesten germanischen Personennamen. Strassburg, 1910.
SociN. Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Basel, 1903.

IV. MONOGRAPHS ON PLACE-NAMES.

ALEXANDER. Place-Names of Oxfordshire. 1912.

ALEXANDER. The Particle -ing in Place-Names. (Essays and Studies by
Members of the English Association, Vol. II.)

ALEXANDER. The Genitive Suffix in the First Element of English Place-
Names. (Modern Language Review, 1911.)

BRADLEY, HENRY. English Place-Names. (Essays and Studies by Members
of the English Association, Vol. i.)

DUIGNAN. Place-Names of Staffordshire ;— Warwickshire;— Worcester-
shire.

FORSTEMANN. Altdeutsches Namenbuch, n. Ortsnamen. Nordhausen,
1872.

JELLINGHAUS. Englische und niederdeutsche Ortsnamen. (Anglia, XX.

PP- 257-3340
MACCLURE. British Place-Names in their Historical Setting. 1910.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1/9

MlDDENDORF. Altenglisches Flurnamenbuch. Halle, 1902.
MILLER. Place-Names in the Old English Bede. Strassburg, 1896.
MOORMAN. Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. (Transactions

of the Thoresby Society.) Leeds, 1910.

NAPIER AND STEVENSON. The Crawford Collection of Charters.' 1895.
SCHRODER, EDWARD. Uber Ortsnamenforschung. (Harzverein fur Ge-

schichte und Altertumskunde.) Wernigerode, 1908.
SEPHTON. Handbook of Lancashire Place-Names. Liverpool, 1913.
SKEAT. Place-Names of Bedfordshire ; — Berkshire ; — Cambridgeshire ; —

Hertfordshire ; — Huntingdonshire.
STURMFELS. Die Ortsnamen Hessens. Leipzig, 1910.
TAYLOR. Words and Places.— English Village Names. (Reprinted in

Everyman's Library.)

WYLD AND HIRST. Place-Names of Lancashire. 1911.
ZACHRISSON. A Contribution to the Study of Anglo-Norman Influence on

English Place-Names. Lund, 1909.

V. GENERAL BOOKS OF REFERENCE ON GRAMMAR, ETYMOLOGY,
AND PHONOLOGY.

BOSWORTH-TOLLER. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.

BULBRING. Altenglisches Elementarbuch, I. Heidelberg, 1902.

HIRT. Weygandt's Deutsches Worterbuch.

HORN. Historische Neuenglische Grammatik, I. Strassburg, 1908.

KLUGE. Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Sprache.

MORSBACH. Mittelenglische Grammatik, I.

MURRAY, BRADLEY, AND CRAIGIE. New English Dictionary [N.E.D.].

SIEVERS. Angelsachsische Grammatik. 3rd edition. Halle, 1898.

SKEAT. Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 4th edition.

STOLZE. Zur Lautlehre der altenglischen Ortsnamen im Domesday Book.

Berlin, 1902.

STRATMANN-BRADLEY. Middle English Dictionary. 1891.
SWEET. Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon. 1897.
SWEET. New English Grammar, Logical and Historical. 1900.
ViGFUSSON-CLEASBY. Icelandic Dictionary. 1874. [Vigf.]
WRIGHT. English Dialect Dictionary [Dial. Diet.].
WRIGHT. English Dialect Grammar [Dial. Gramm.].

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