Chapter VIII: Introduction (7)

a round hill or a bald promontory, as an adjective signifying bald, and often applied to hills and promontories, thus--the Mull or promontory of Cantyre and Galloway; Meldrum, in Aberdeenshire, and Meeldrum, in Ireland (the bald ridge); Melrose, _i.e._ _Maol-ros_ (the bald headland), Old Melrose having been situated on a peninsula formed by the Tweed; the Eildon Hills, near Melrose, corrupt. from _Moeldun_ (bald hill); the Island of Mull, one of the Hebrides; Mealfourvounie (the hill of the cold moor), in Inverness-shire; Glassmeal (gray hill), in Perth; Malvern (the bald hill of the alders, _gwernen_); Moel-y-don (the hill of the waves), in Anglesea; Moel-Aelir (the frosty hill); Muldonach (the hill of Donald), one of the Hebrides; Moel-Try-garn (the ridge of the three cairns); Moel-Eilio (the mount of construction); Moel-y-crio (the hill of shouting); Moel-ben-twrch (boar’s head hill), in Wales; Moel-cwm-Cerwyn (the bald dingle of the cauldron); Moelfre, corrupt. from _Moelbre_ (bald hill), in Wales. In Ireland this word often takes the form of _moyle_, as in Kilmoyle (bald church); Rathmoyle, Lismoyle, Dunmoyle (the bald or dilapidated fort); Mweelbane (the white hill); Meelgarrow (rough hill); Meelshane (John’s bald hill); Mweel-na-horna (the bald hill of the barley); Maulagh (abounding in hillocks); Mullaghmeen (smooth hillock); Mulboy (yellow hillock), etc.; Mullanagore and Mullanagower (the little summit of the goats). In Wales: Moel-hebog (hawk hill); Moel-eryn (eagle hill), in Wales. The Mool of Aswich and the Mool of Land, in Shetland.

[Sidenote: MOIN, MOINE (Gadhelic), MON,]

a moss or bog. in Ireland: Mona-braher, _i.e._ _Moin-nam-brathar_ (the bog of the friars); Monalour (of the lepers); Moneen (the little bog); Ballynamona (the town of the bog); Monard (high bog); Montiagh, for _Mointeach_ (the boggy place); Monabrock (the badger’s moss); Monroe (the red moss); _Mon_ is, however, sometimes used instead of _monadh_ (a rising ground in a moor), as in Co. Monaghan, _Muineachan_ (abounding in little hills); which country, however, according to the _Annals of the Four Masters_, was named from its chief town (the town of monks). In Scotland: Moin, a moorland district in Sutherlandshire; Monzie and Moonzie (the mossy land), in Fife and Perthshire; Montrose (the boggy promontory); _Mon_, again for _monadh_, in Monimail (bald hill), in Fife; Moncrieffe (the woody hill, _craobach_); Moness (the hill of the cascade, _eas_).

[Sidenote: MÖNCH (Ger.), MONEC (A.S.), MONACH (Gadhelic), MYNACH (Cym.-Cel.),]

a monk, from the Greek _monos_ (alone); _e.g._ Monkton, Monkstown, Monkswood, Monkland, named from lands belonging to the monks; Le Mönch (the monk), one of the highest of the Bernese Alps; Monachty (the monks’ dwelling), in Wales; Llan-y-mynach (the monks’ church or enclosure), Co. Salop; Monksilver, in Somerset, corrupt. from _Monk-sylva_ (the monks’ wood); Monkleagh (the monks’ meadow); Munsley, with the same meaning, in Hereford; Monach-log-ddu (the place of the black monks), in Wales; Munchberg (monk’s hill), in Bavaria; Munchengratz (the monks’ fortress), in Bohemia; Munich and Munchingen (belonging to the monks), in Germany.

[Sidenote: MONDE, MÜND (Ger.), MUNNI, MINDE (Scand.),]

a river _mouth_; _e.g._ Dortmund, Fischmund, Dendermund, Roermonde, Travemünde, Saarmund, Tangermünde, Ysselmonde, Rupelmonde, Orlamunda, Stolpemünde, Swinmund or Sweinemund, Ukermünde, Warnemunde, at the mouth of the rivers forming the first part of these names; Münden, in Hanover (at the mouths of the Rivers Werra and Fulda); Monmouth (at the conf. of the Mynwy and Wye); Plymouth, Falmouth, Sidmouth, Yarmouth, Grangemouth, Teignmouth, Wearmouth, Cockermouth, at the mouths of these rivers; Bishop’s Wearmouth, founded by Biscop in the middle of the seventh century; Deulemont, in France, at the mouth of the Deule; Gladmouth, in Wales, formerly _Cledemuth_, at the mouth of the Clede or Cleddy; Minde, in Iceland, at the mouth of Lake Miosen.

[Sidenote: MONEY,]

a frequent prefix in Irish names from _muine_ (a brake or shrubbery); _e.g._ Moneymore, Moneybeg (the great and little shrubbery); Moneygorm (the blue shrubbery); Moneyduff (the black or dark shrubbery); Moneygall (the shrubbery of the strangers).

[Sidenote: MONT, MONTE (Fr. and It.), MONTANA and MONTE (Span. and Port.),]

a mountain, from the Lat. _mons_, and cognate with the Gadhelic _monadh_, and the Cym.-Cel. _mynydd_; _e.g._ Montalto (high mount); Montauban (the mount of Albanus); Montechiaro (clear mount); Monte-fosoli (brown mount); Montehermosa (beautiful mount), in Spain; Montenegro, Turc. _Karadagh_, Sclav. _Zerna-gora_ (black mount), in Turkey; Beaumont, Chaumont, Haumont (the beautiful, bald, and high mount); Montereale and Montreal (the royal hill); Montreal, in Canada, so named by Cartier in 1555; Monte-Rosa, anc. _Mons-sylva_ (woody hill); Monte-Video (the prospect mount); Montmartre, anc. _Mons-Martyrum_ (the hill of the martyrdom of St. Denis), but its earlier name was _Mons-Martis_ (the hill of Mars); Montmirail, Lat. _Mons-mirabilis_ (the wonderful mountain); Remiremont, Lat. _Romaries-mons_, founded by St. Romarie in 620; Monte-Cavallo, corrupt. from _Monte-Calvaria_ (the Mount of Calvary), so called from a number of chapels, in which were represented the successive scenes of our Lord’s passion. From _monticellus_, the diminutive of _mont_, have arisen such place-names as Moncel, Le Monchel, Monchelet, etc.; Mont d’Or (golden mount), in Auvergne; Montefrio (cold mount), in Spain; Montpellier, Lat. _Mons-puellarum_ (the hill of the young girls), so called from two villages belonging to the sisters of St. Fulcrum; Montserrat (the serrated hill); Clermont (bright hill); Mondragon and Montdragone (the dragon’s hill); Monfalcone (hawk hill); Mons, Ger. _Berghen_ (hill town), in Belgium; Piedmont (at the foot of the Alps); Floremont or Blumenberg (flowery hill), in Alsace; Montaign and Monthen, anc. _Mons-acutus_ (sharp or peaked hill); Montigny, Montignac (mountainous); Jeumont, anc. _Jovismons_ (the hill of Jove), in France; Mount Pilatus (the mount with the _cap_ of clouds, from _pileus_, Lat. a felt cap); Richmond, in Yorkshire, named from a castle in Brittany, from which the Earl of Richmond took his title, meaning the rich or fertile hill; Richmond, in Surrey, named by the Earl after his Yorkshire estate, formerly called _Shene_ from the splendour of the royal residence there, _seine_, A.S. (splendid); Righimont, in Switzerland, corrupt. from _Mons-regius_ (royal hill); Montacute (sharp hill), in Somerset; Tras-os-Montes (beyond the hills), in Portugal; Apremont, in France, for _Aspromonte_ (rough hill); Pyrmont, corrupt. from _Mons-Petrus_ (St. Peter’s mount); Montferrato (the fortified hill). _Mont_ also signified a hill fort, like _berg_ and _dun_, as in Montalcino (the fort of Alcinous), in Italy; Montgomery, in Wales, (the fortress of Roger de Montgomerie, who erected a castle there in 1093)--its earlier name was _Tre-Faldwyn_ (the dwelling of Baldwin, a Norman knight); Charlemont, in France, named after Charles V.; Henrichemont, after Henri-Quatre. In Wales: the town of Mold, abbreviated from _Mons-altus_ (high fort)--the Normans built a castle there; Mynydd-du (black hill); Mynydd-mawr (great hill); Mynydd-moel (bald hill). In Scotland: _Monadh-ruadh_ (the red mount or the _mounth_), the Gaelic name for the Grampians; Mount Battock, Gael. _Monadh-beatach_ (the raven’s hill); Mountbenjerlaw, in Selkirkshire, originally _Ben-Yair_ (the hill of the R. Yair), to which the A.S. _law_ and the Norman _mount_ were added. But _monadh_ in Gael. signifies a mountain range, and sometimes a moor, as Monadh-leath (the gray mountain range). Probably Mendip, in Somerset, is the deep hill, Welsh _dwfn_ and _mynydd_; Monimail (bald hill); Monifieth (the hill or moor of the deer, _feidh_). The Mourne Mountains, in Ireland, means the mountains of the tribe; _Mughhorna_. _Mon_, in the Basque language, also signifies a hill, and is found in Monzon, an ancient town of Spain, with a hill fort; Monda and Mondonedo, in Spain; and Mondego, in Portugal; and in Carmona (hill summit), in Spain.

[Sidenote: MOOS (Ger.), MOS (Scand.), MECH, MOCK (Sclav.),]

mossy ground; _e.g._ Donaumoss (the mossy meadow of the Danube); Mosston (the town on the mossy ground); Moseley (moss-field or valley); Moscow, on the R. Moskwa (mossy water); Mossow, Mehzo, Mochow, Mochlitz (the mossy ground); Mohacs, Ger. _Margetta_ (the marshy or mossy island), in the Danube; Miesbach (the district of the mossy brook), in Bavaria. The Irish word _mæthail_ (soft mossy land) is almost synonymous with these roots. It is found in Mohill, Co. Leitrim; Mothel in Waterford, and Mothell in Kilkenny; Cahermoyle (the stone fort of the mossy land) in Ireland, and in Muthil in Perthshire.

[Sidenote: MOR, MOER (Teut. and Scand.),]

waste land, heath; Scot. _muir_; _e.g._ Moorby, Morton, and Moreton (the dwelling on the moor); Morpeth (the moor path); Oudemoor (the old moor), and Oostmoer (east moor), in Holland; Moorlinch (the moor ridge, _hlinc_); Lichtenmoer (the cleared moor); Muirkirk (the church in the moor), in Argyleshire; Murroes, corrupt. from _Muirhouse_, a parish in Co. Forfar; Tweedsmuir (the moor at the source of the R. Tweed), a parish in Peeblesshire; Muiravonside (the mossy land on the banks of the R. Avon), in Stirlingshire.

[Sidenote: MOR (Gadhelic), MAWR (Cym.-Cel.), or by mutation _fawr_; _e.g._ Morlais for _Mawr-clais_ (the great trench), the name of a ruined castle near Cardiff, built above a deep gully, through which a brook passes.]

great; _e.g._ Morven (the great _ben_ or hill), a hill in Caithness and also in Aberdeenshire; Morven or Morvern, _i.e._ _Mor-Earrain_ (the great district), in Argyleshire, called by the Gaels Kenalban, corrupt. from _Cenealbaltyn_, _i.e._ the tribe of Baldan, a personal name; Kenmore (the great headland), on Loch Tay; Penmaen-mawr (the great stone-hill), in Wales.

[Sidenote: MOR (Cym.-Cel. and Sclav.), MUIR (Gadhelic), MORFA (Welsh), sea-marsh,]

the sea, cognate with the Lat. _mare_, and its derivatives in the Romance languages, and the Teut. _meer_; _e.g._ Armorica or Brittany, and Pomerania (the districts on the sea-shore); Morbihan (the little sea), in Brittany; Morlachia or _Moro-Vlassi_ (the Wallachs’ or strangers’ land by the sea)--_v._ WALSCH; Morlaix (a place on the sea-shore), in Brittany; Glamorgan, Welsh _gwlad-morgant_ (the district of Morgan Mawr, an ancient king of Wales); Morgan, in Cornwall, _i.e._ by the sea-shore; Maracaybo (the headland by the sea-shore), in South America; Parimaribo (the dwelling near the sea), in South America; Connemara, in Ireland, Irish _Conmac-ne-Mara_, the descendants of Conmac (by the sea-side).

[Sidenote: MOST (Sclav.),]

a bridge; _e.g._ Dolgemost (long bridge); Maust, Most, Mostje (the place at the bridge), in Bohemia; Babimost (the old woman’s bridge, _i.e._ the fragile bridge), abbreviated to Bomst; Priedemost (the first bridge), in Silesia; Mostar (old bridge), a town in Turkey.

[Sidenote: MOT, or MOOT (A.S.),]

the place of assembly, where the Anglo-Saxons held their courts of justice; _e.g._ Mote-hill, at Scone; the Moat Hill, near Hawick; the Mote of Galloway; the Moat of Dull, in Perthshire, and of Hamilton, on Strathclyde; Moot-hill, at Naseby; and in the Lake District, Montay and Caermote; Moothill also appears in Aberdeenshire; Almoot, near Peterhead, meaning the meeting-place on the height, has been corrupted into _Old Maud_, and the railway company have called their station _New Maud_. It is found in the Gaelic name for the Island of Bute, _Baile-mhoide_ (the dwelling of the courts of justice), but in this case, as in Ireland, the word was probably borrowed from the Saxons. The word is found in Ireland, signifying a large mound, as well as in connection with the courts of justice--as in _Tom-an-mhoid_ (the hill of the court of justice); LA MOTTE, Fr. (a hillock), common in France.

[Sidenote: MÜHLE (Ger.), MYLEN (A.S.), MUILENN (Gadhelic), MELIN (Cym.-Cel.), MLYN (Sclav.), MOLEN (Dutch),]

a mill, cognate with the Lat. _mola_, and its derivatives in the Romance languages; _e.g._ Mülenbach and Molinbech (mill brook); Mühlan, Mühldorf, Mühlhausen, Muhlheim (mill dwelling); Moleneynde (mill corner), in Germany and Holland. In England and Scotland: Melbourne, Milton, Millwick, Milford, Milden, Milnathorpe (the stream, town, ford, hollow, farm, of the mill); but Milton, in Kent and in Dorsetshire, are corrupt. from _middle_ town; Moulin, a parish in Perthshire. In France: Moulins (the mills), so called from the great number of water mills formerly on the R. Allier; Mülhausen or Mulhouse, in Alsace, celebrated for its manufactures; Molina, a manufacturing town in Murcia; also in Spain, Molinos-del-Rey (the king’s mills). In Ireland: Mullinahone (the mill of the cave); Mullinavat (of the stick); Mullintra (of the strand); Mullinakil (of the church). In Sclavonic districts: Mlineh, Mlinki, Mlinsk, Mlinow, etc.

[Sidenote: MULLAGH (Gadhelic),]

the top or summit, and sometimes applied to hills of a considerable height; _e.g._ Mullaghmeen (the smooth summit); Mulkeergh (the summit of the sheep, _caoirich_); Mullan (the little summit), in Ireland; probably the Island of Mull, in the Hebrides.

[Sidenote: MURUS (Lat.), MAUER (Ger.), MURA (Sclav.),]

a wall; _e.g._ Maurs (the walled town), in France; also Villa-de-Muro-cincto (the dwelling surrounded by walls); Morsain, in 879 _Murocinctus_ (surrounded by walls); Murviel (old walls), in Herault,--a place where the ruins of an ancient Gaulish city are found; Mauerhof (the enclosed court), in Germany; Trasmauer (the walled town on the R. Trasen), in Austria; Murany-var (the walled fortress), in Hungary; Muriel-de-la-fuente (the walled town of the fountain); Muriel-viejo (the old walled town); Murillo (the little walled town), in Spain; Murviedro (the old fortifications), called by the Romans _Muriveteres_, because they believed it to be on the site of the ancient Saguntum; Semur, in France, corrupt. from _Sinemurum_ (without walls).

N

[Sidenote: NAES (A.S.), NOES (Scand.), NES (Fr.),]

a nose, cognate with the Lat. _nasus_, and in topography applied to a promontory; _e.g._ the Naze, in Norway, and Nash, in Monmouth; Nash-scaur (the promontory of the cliff), in Wales; Katznase (the cat’s headland); Blankenese (white cape), in Holstein; Foreness, Sheerness, Fifeness, Buchanness, Blackness, in England and Scotland; Roeness (red cape), Shetland; Vatternish (water cape), in Skye; Borrowstounness or Bo’ness, in West Lothian (the cape near Burward’s dwelling); Holderness (the woody promontory); Langness and Littleness, in Man; Dungeness (danger cape); Furness (the cape of the beacon-fire), the site of an ancient lighthouse in Lancashire; Saturnness (the southern cape), in Kirkcudbright; Shoeburyness, corrupt. from _Sceobirig_ (the cape of the sea-fortress); Skegness (the cape near the wood, _skogr_); Skipness (ship headland); Sviatanos, Sclav. (holy cape), in Russia; Caithness (the promontory of the Catti, a tribe).

[Sidenote: NAGORE (Hindu _nagar_, Sansc. _nagura_),]

a city; _e.g._ Barnagore for _Varaha-nagur_ (the city of the boar); Chandernagore (of the moon); Serenagur (of the sun).

[Sidenote: NAGY (Hung.),]

great; _e.g._ Nagy-Karoly (Charles’s great town); Nagy-Malton (St. Matthew’s great town); Nagy-Szent-Miklos (of St. Nicholas); Nagy-varad (great fortress); Nagy-Koros (the great town on the R. Köros).

[Sidenote: NAHR (Semitic),]

a river; _e.g._ Nahr-el-keber (the great river); Nahr-el-kelb or Lycus (the river of the dog or wolf), so named from a fancied resemblance of a rock near its mouth to the head of these animals; Nahr-Mukatta (the river of slaughter); Aram-Naharaim (the high lands of the two rivers, _i.e._ Mesopotamia); Nahar-Misraim (the river of Egypt, _i.e._ the Nile).

[Sidenote: NANT (Cym.-Cel.),]

a brook or a valley through which a stream flows; _e.g._ Nantmel (the honey brook); Sych-nant (dried-up brook); Nancemillin (the valley of the mill), in Wales; Dewffneynt (the deep valley) was the ancient British name of Devonshire; Levenant (smooth stream); Nant-frangon, _i.e._ _Nant-yr-a-franc_ (the beavers’ valley); Nantglyn (the glen of the brook); Nant-y-Gwrtheyren (Vortigern’s valley), in Wales; Nans, in Cornwall; also in Cornwall--Penant (the head of the valley), and Cornant (a brook); Nantwich, in Cheshire (the salt-works, _wich_, on the brook or stream, _i.e._ the Weaver); Nantua (in a valley of the Alps); Nantes named from the Namnetes (dwellers in the valley); Mochnant (the swift brook); Nannau (the brooks), in Wales; Nangle, a bay on the coast of Wales, perhaps Nant-gel or cel (a secret corner)--the Rev. J. James. Nevern, a parish in Wales, for _Nant-ynfer_ (the brook of the confluence); Nancy (the valley dwellings); Nans, Nant, with the same meaning, in France; Nanteuil (the valley of the fountain)--_v._ ŒUIL; Nantberis (St. Peris’s brook).

[Sidenote: NASS (Ger.),]

moist; _e.g._ Nassau (the moist meadow); Nassenfeld (moist field); Nassenhuben (the huts in moist land); Nassenbeuren (the dwelling in moist land).

[Sidenote: NAVA (Basque),]

a plain; _e.g._ Nava-de-los-Oteros (the plain of the heights); Nava-hermosa (beautiful plain); Navarre and Navarreux (the plain among hills); Navarette (the plain at the foot of the hill); Paredes-de-nava (the houses of the plain).

[Sidenote: NEDER, NIEDER, NEER (Teut. and Scand.),]

lower; _e.g._ Netherlands (the lower lands); Netherby (lower town); Niederlahnstein (the fortress on the lower R. Lahn); Nederheim, Nederwyk (lower dwellings).

[Sidenote: NEMET (Celtic),]

a sacred grove, cognate with the Lat. _nemus_ and the Grk. _nemos_; _e.g._ Nemours, anc. _Nemoracum_ (the place of the sacred wood or grove); Nanterre, also in France, anc. _Nemetodurum_ (the sacred grove on the waters); Nismes, anc. _Nemausus_ (the place in the grove); Augustonemetum (the splendid place of the grove), being the ancient name of Clermont; Nemetacum, the ancient name of Arras; Nemea (the place of the grove), in Greece.

[Sidenote: NEU (Ger.), NEWYDD (Cym.-Cel.), NUADH (Gadhelic), NOWY and NAU (Sclav.),]

new, cognate with the Lat. _novus_ and the Grk. _neos_ and their derivatives; _e.g._ Neuburg, Neudorf, Neustadt, Neuville, Newbury, Newburgh (new town); Neumarkt (new market); Newbold, Newbottle, Newbattle (new building), in Germany, England, and Scotland; Newburgh, in Fife, is a town of considerable antiquity. It owes its origin to the Abbey of Lindores, in its neighbourhood. It was erected into a burgh or barony by Alexander III., in 1266, and in the charter it was called “_Novus burgus, juxta monasterium de Lindores_.” It seems, therefore, that there was a more ancient burgh belonging to the abbey in the neighbourhood--Newburn (new stream), in Fife. Newhaven (the new harbour), in relation to the older harbour of Leith. In the sixteenth century Newhaven had a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was then called our Lady’s port of grace; but in the year 1511 the city of Edinburgh bought up the village and harbour. In France: Nevers and Noyon, anc. _Noviodunum_ (the new fortress); Neuvy, with the same meaning; Neuvéglise (new church); Villeneuve (new villa); Nièvre and Nivernais, a department and ancient province of France; Nienburg, corrupt. from _Neuenburg_ (new town), in Hanover; Newport (new harbour), in Belgium; Newport, in the Isle of Wight, so named because it superseded the older harbour at Carisbrook; Newport, in Wales, which superseded Caerleon; Neusatz or Neoplanta (new station), founded in 1700, on the Danube; Neusohl (new seat), in Hungary--its native name is _Bestereze-banya_ (the mine on the R. Bistritz); Neustadl (new stall); Neuwied (new pasture); Nimeguen, anc. _Noviomagus_ (new field), in Holland; Novgorod and Novigrad (new fortress); Novidwar (new court), in Russia; Nowe-mjasto (new bridge), in Poland; Novobeilaiaskaia (the new town on the white stream), in Russia; Nova-Zembla, _i.e._ _Novaia-Zemlia_ (the new land); Nowazamka (new castle); Novi-Bazaar (new market), in Turkey; Nowosedl (new seat); Nienburg, Nyborg, Nyby, Nystead (new town), in Denmark and Holland; Neocastro (new camp), in Greece; Nola or _Novla_ (new place), in the Sardinian states; Naumburg and Nienburg, corrupt. from _Neuenburg_ (new town); Nykioping (new market-town), in Sweden, and Nykjobing, in Denmark, with the same meaning; Newington, in Surrey, corrupt. from _Neweton_; Newfoundland, so called when rediscovered by John Cabot in 1427, but known previously by Icelandic colonists as _Litla-Helluland_; Nova Scotia (New Scotland), called by the Norseman _Markland_; New River, a large aqueduct from Hertfordshire to Islington, by which a great part of London is supplied with water; New Ross, Co. Wexford, corrupt. from its Irish name _Ros-mic-Treoin_ (the wood of Treun’s son); Newtown-Hamilton, in Ireland, founded by the Hamilton family in 1770; Newtown-Limavady, Co. Londonderry, named from a castle in the neighbourhood called Limavady (the dog’s leap); Newtown-Stewart, Co. Tyrone, so called from Sir William Stewart, to whom it was granted by Charles I.; New York, named in honour of the Duke of York, afterwards James II.; New Zealand, called by Tasman, its Dutch discoverer, in honour, it is supposed, of his native province.

[Sidenote: NIJNY (Sclav.),]

lower; _e.g._ Nijny-Novgorod (the lower new fortress); Nijny-Neviansk (the lower town on the Neva), as distinguished from Verkii-Neviansk, the upper; Nijnaia-ozernaia-krepost (the lower fort of the lakes); Nijny-Devitzk (the lower town on the Devitza); Nijni-Tagelsk (the lower town on the R. Tagel), in Russia.

[Sidenote: NIMZ (Sclav.),]

foreign, from _nemy_ or _nêmec_, dumb--a word applied by the Sclavonic races to the Germans, because their language was unintelligible to them: _e.g._ Niemitsch, Niemez, Niemtschitz, German towns in Bohemia; Nemet-uj-var (the new German fortress), in Hungary; but there is a Sclavonic deity called Njam, to whom the names of some of these places may be traced.

[Sidenote: NO, NOE, NOUE (Old Fr.),]

a low meadow habitually overflowed with water. It has evidently arisen out of _noyer_, to submerge; _e.g._ Noaillac, Noallau, La Noalle, Noalles, Noyelle, Noyellette, in which the word is probably joined to _œuil_, a water-source; Nogent (pleasant meadow); No-aux-Bois (in the woods); Les Noues, Neuillay, Neuilly, Noisy, Lat. _Noesiacum_.

[Sidenote: NORDEN, NÔORD (Teut.), NOR (Scand.), NORD (Fr.),]

the north; _e.g._ Normandy (the land given by the French to the Normans under Rollo in 912); Noordbroek (the north marshy land); Noordwolde (north wood), in Holland; Norbury, Nordenburg, Norton, Nordhausen (north dwelling or town); Norham, on the R. Tweed; Northampton (the town on the north side of the _Aufona_, now the R. Nen); Northumberland (the land north of the Humber); Nordkyn (north cape); Normanton and Normandby (dwellings of the Norsemen or Danes), in England; Norrköping (northern market-town), in Sweden; Norrland (a large division of Sweden); Northallerton, in Yorkshire, so called to distinguish it from Allerton-Mauleverer; North Cape (the most northerly point of Norwegian Lapland); North Berwick, Co. Haddington, so called to distinguish it from Berwick-upon-Tweed; Norway (the northern kingdom)--_v._ REICH, REIKE; Norfolk (the abode of the north people, as distinguished from Suffolk to the south); Northleach, north of the R. Leach; Northwich, in Cheshire (the north salt manufactory)--_v._ WICH; Norwich, the town which superseded _Venta-Icenorum_, whose inhabitants fled at the approach of the Danes, and erected a castle of defence farther north.

[Sidenote: NOYER (Fr.),]

the walnut-tree, Lat. _nucarius_, from which are derived _nucetum_, _nucelletum_, and _nugaretum_ (a place planted with walnut-trees); _e.g._ Noyers, Nozay, Noroy, La Nozaye, Les Nozées, Nozieres, Nozeroy, etc., in France.

[Sidenote: NUDDY (Pali),]

a river; _e.g._ Maha-nuddy (great river); Nuddea (the district of the rivers).

[Sidenote: NUWERA (Tamil),]

a city; _e.g._ Alut-nuwera (new city); Kalawa (the city on the Kala-Oya, _i.e._ the rocky river); Nuwera-Panduas (the city of Panduas), in Ceylon.

O

[Sidenote: OB, OBER (Ger.), OVER (Dutch),]

upper; _e.g._ Oberhofen (upper court); Oberlahnstein (the upper fortress on the R. Lahn); Oberndorf, Overbie, Overham, Overton, Overburg (upper town); Oberdrauburg (the upper town on the R. Drave); Overyssel (beyond the R. Yssel); Orton (upper town), in Westmoreland; St. Mary’s-Overy, Southwark (_i.e._ over the water from London).

[Sidenote: OE--_v._ EA, p. 71.]

[Sidenote: ŒUIL (Fr.),]

the eye--(in topography applied to the source of a stream or a fountain; _e.g._ Arcueil (the arched fountain or aqueduct); Berneuil (the source of the water, _bior_); Verneuil and Vernel (alder-tree fountain, Lat. _vernus_); Argenteuil (silver fountain); Bonneuil (good fountain); Nanteuil (the source of the stream); Auneuil (alder-tree fountain, Fr. _aune_); Auteuil (high fountain); Boisseuil (the woody fountain); Chantilly, anc. _Cantilliacum_ (the head of the water-source).

[Sidenote: OFER, or ORE (A.S.), OVER (Dutch), UFER (Ger.), OIR (Gadhelic), EYRE, or ORE (Scand.), a point,]

a border, boundary, or shore--cognate with the Lat. _ora_ and the Grk. _horos_; _e.g._ Oare and Ore (the shore), in Kent, Sussex, and Somerset; Windsor, _i.e._ _Windle-sora_ (the winding shore, A.S. _windle_); Southover and Westover (the south and west shore); Ventnor (the shore of _Gwent_, the ancient name of the Isle of Wight); Pershore (the willow shore, _pursh_), or, according to Camden, corrupt. from _Periscorum_--in allusion to the abundance of _pear-trees_ in its vicinity; Andover, anc. _Andeafaran_ (the shore or ferry of the R. Anton); Ravensore (the point or promontory of Hrafen, a Scand. personal name); Hanover, anc. _Hohenufer_ (high shore); Elsinore (the point near the town of Helsing), in Denmark; Argyle, Gael. _Oirirgaedheal_ (the coast lands of the Gaels); Dover, in Kent, and Douvres, in Normandy, perhaps from _ofer_.

[Sidenote: OICHE (obs. Gael.),]

water; _e.g._ Oich River and Oichel (the Rivers Ock, Ocker, Ocke, Eck); Loch Oich, Duich (the black water).

[Sidenote: ORE (Hindostanee),]

a city; _e.g._ Ellore, Vellore, Nellore; Tanjore, anc. _Tanja-nagaram_ (the city of refuge); Bednore (bamboo city); Mangalore (the city of Mangala-Devi).

[Sidenote: ORMR (Scand.),]

a serpent, also a personal name; _e.g._ Ormeshead, in Cumberland, named either from the serpent-like shape of the rock, or from the common Norse name _Ormr_; Ormathwaite, Ormsby, Ormiston, Ormskirk (the clearing, the dwelling, and the church of Ormr). The same prefix in French topography signifies the elm-tree, as in Les Ormes (the elms); Ormoy, Lat. _Ulmetium_ (the elm-grove), synonymous with Olmedo and Olmeto, in Spain. The Orne or Olna (elm-tree river), in Normandy; Ulm or Ulma (the place of elm-trees), in Wurtemburg; Olmeta, in Corsica.

[Sidenote: ORT (Ger.), OORT (Dutch), ORD (Scand.),]

a point, a corner, and sometimes a place; _e.g._ Angerort (the corner of the R. Anger); Ruhrort (of the Rohr or Ruhr); Grünort (green point); Schönort (beautiful point); Akkerort (the corner of the field); Tiegenort (of the R. Tiege); Störort (of the R. Stör); the Ord or headland of Caithness.

[Sidenote: OST, OEST (Ger.), OOST (Dutch), OSTER (Scand.),]

the east; _e.g._ Ostend (at the east end or opening of the canal into the ocean); Osterburg, Osterfeld, Osterhofen (the east town, field, and court); Osterholtz (the east wood); Osterdalen (the east basin of the R. Duhl), in Sweden; Ostheim, Osthausen, Oesthammer (the eastern dwelling or village); Ostwald (east wood), in Alsace; Essex (the country of the East Saxons, in opposition to Wessex); Austerlitz (the east town of the R. Littawa); Alost (to the east), in Belgium.

[Sidenote: OSTROW, or OZERO (Sclav.),]

an island or lake; _e.g._ Ostrov, in Russia (on a river-island); Kolkoe-Ostrog (the island in the R. Kola); Ostrova (an island in the Danube); Bielo-Ozero (the white lake); Tschudskoe-Ozero (the lake of the Tschudes, a tribe); Ostrownoye (the new island). But Ostrow and Wustrow are sometimes Germanised forms of _Wotschow_, Sclav, (a marshy place), as in Wustrow, Ostropol, Ostrasatz, Ostrawiec (the place on the marshy ground).

[Sidenote: OTERO (Span.),]

a hill or rising ground; _e.g._ El-Otero (the rising ground); Otero-de-las-duenas (the hill of the old ladies); Otero-del-Rey (the king’s hill).

[Sidenote: OW, ITZ, OWIZ, OO,]

Sclavonic affixes, used as patronymics, like the Ger. _ingen_; _e.g._ Nowakwitz (the possession of the descendants of Nouak); Jvanow, Janow, Janowitz (belonging to John and his descendants); Karlowitz (to Charles); Petrowitz (to Peter); Kazimiritz (to Casimir); Mitrowitz (to Demetrius); Stanislowow (to Stanislaus); Tomazow (to Thomas); Cracow or Kracow (the town of Duke Craus or Krak of Poland, by whom it was founded in 1700).

P

[Sidenote: PALATIUM (Lat.), PALAZZO (It.), PALACHIO (Span.), PALAS (Cym.-Cel.), PAILIS (Gadhelic),]

a palace; _e.g._ the Upper and Lower Palatinate, so called from the palaces erected by the Roman emperors in different parts of the empire; Palazzo, in Dalmatia and Naples; Palazzolo and Palazzuolo (the great palace), in Piedmont; Los Palachios (the palaces), in Spain; Pfalsbourg, anc. _Palatiolum_ (the town of the palace, founded in 1570), in France; Semipalatinsk, in Siberia (the town of the seven palaces), so called from the extensive ruins in its neighbourhood; Spalatro, in Dalmatia, named from the palace of Diocletian, originally _Salonæ-Palatium_ (the palace near Salona), at first corrupted to _As-palthium_ (at the palace), and then to Spalatro. In Wales: Plas-gwyn (the white palace); Plas-newydd (the new palace).

[Sidenote: PALLI (Tamil),]

a small town or village, sometimes corrupted to Poly, Pilly, or Pally; _e.g._ Trichinopoly, _i.e._ _Trisira-palli_ (the town of the giant).

[Sidenote: PALUS (Lat.), PADULE (It.),]

a marsh; _e.g._ Padula and Paduli, towns in Italy; Peel, Lat. _palus_, an extensive marsh in Belgium; La Pala, La Palud, and Paluz, in France; Perugia (the town on the marsh), in a province of the same name in Italy; Pelusium, Coptic _Permoun_ (the muddy or marshy place), on the Delta of the Nile.

[Sidenote: PANT (Welsh),]

a hollow; _e.g._ Pant-y-crwys (the hollow of the cross), in Wales; Pant-yr-Ysgraff for _Pont-yr-Ysgraff_--_v._ PONT.

[Sidenote: PAPA, or PABBA (Scand.), PFAFFE (Ger.), POP (Sclav.),]

a priest; _e.g._ Pabba (the priest’s island), several of this name in the Hebrides; Papa-Stour (the great island of the priest), in Shetland; Papa-Stronsay (the priest’s island near Stronsay), Orkney; Pappenheim, Pfaffenhausen, Pfaffenberg, Pfaffenhofen (the priest’s dwelling), in Germany; Papendrecht (the priest’s pasture); Pfarrkirchen (the priest’s or parish church); Poppowitz, Poppow, Sclav. (places belonging to the priests).

[Sidenote: PARA (Brazilian),]

a river, water, or the sea; _e.g._ Para, Parahiba, Parana, Paranymbuna, rivers in Brazil; Paraguay (the place of waters); Parana-Assu (the great river); Parana-Mirim (the small river); Parahyba (bad water).

[Sidenote: PARA (Sclav.),]

a swamp or marsh, cognate with the Lat. _palus_; _e.g._ Parchen, Parchau, Parchim (places in a marshy locality); Partwitz or Parzow, Paaren (the town on the marsh), in several localities. The letter _p_ is sometimes changed into _b_ as in Barduz, Barzig, Baruth, in Prussia, and Bars or Barsch, in Hungary.

[Sidenote: PATAM, or PATTANA (Sansc.),]

a city; _e.g._ Nagapatam (the city of the snake); Masulipatam (of fishes); Periapatam (the chosen city); Viziapatam (the city of victory); Seringapatam, _i.e._ _Sri-ranja-Pattana_ (the city of Vishnu); Pata or Pattana (the city); Madras or _Madras-patan_ (the city of the college or school; _madrasa_, Ar., a university). Madras is called by the natives _Chenna-patana_ (the city of Chenappa, an Indian prince).

[Sidenote: PEEL (Cel. _pile_),]

a small fortress; _e.g._ Peel, in the Isle of Man, and numerous Peel towers on the border between England and Scotland. The Pile of Foudrig (the peel or tower of the fire island), called Furness, the site of an ancient lighthouse; Les Pilles, in Dauphiny; Ile du Pilier, in La Vendée, with a lighthouse; _Pillas_, in the Lithuanian language also, is a castle, thus--Pillkallan (the castle on the hill), in E. Prussia, as well as the towns of Pillau, in E. Prussia, Pilsen, in Bohemia, and Pillnitz (the towns with fortifications).

[Sidenote: PEN (Cym.-Cel.),]

a head, or a promontory, or hill summit; _e.g._ Pen-carrig (rocky hill or cape); Pen-brynn (hill summit); Pencoid (of the wood); Penmon (the promontory of Mona or Anglesea); Pentir (the headland); Pentyrch (the boar’s head); Pen-y-cwm-gwig (the top of the woody vale), in Wales; Pen-y-groes (the headland of the cross); Penby-diog (land’s end), in Wales; Pencelly (the chief grove); Pen-y-gelly (the head of the grove, _cell_, a grove); Penllech (of the stone or rock); Penhill, Somerset, and Penlaw, Dumfries (the hill summit); Pendarves (the head of the oak-field); Penpont (the head of the bridge), in Dumfriesshire; Penn (a hill), in Stafford; Pencombe (the head of the hollow); Penforfa (of the moor); Pennant (of the valley); Pen-mynnydd (of the mountain); Penrith, anc. _Pen-rhyd_ (of the ford); Penicuik (the cuckoo’s hill); Cockpen (red hill); Pen-maen-maur (the great stone head or hill); Pennigant (windy hill); Penryn and Penrhyn (the head of the promontory); Pentraeth (of the strand); Pen-y-craig or Old Radnor (the head of the rock); Penzance, formerly _Pensans_--it is called the saint’s headland, from a head of John the Baptist (the town’s arms), but Camden thinks it might mean the head of the sands; Pain-bœuf or Penn-Ochen (the ox’s headland); Pendennis (the fort on the headland)--_v._ DINAS. Mount Pindus and the Grampians, Van in Brecknock, and the Vans in Wales, embody this root; also the Apennines and the Pennine Alps, Pena and Penha, in Spain and Portugal are applied to rocks, thus--Penafiel (the loyal rock), in Spain, and also Cape Penas; Penha-verde (green rock) in Brazil.

[Sidenote: PFERCH (Ger.), PEARROC (A.S.), PARC (Fr.), PAIRC (Irish).]

In Germany this word signifies an enclosure for cattle--in England and France, an enclosure for the protection of game or for pleasure; _e.g._ Parkhurst (the enclosure in the wood); Parkfoot (at the foot of the park), Co. Stirling; Parkham (park dwelling); Parkmore (great park or field), in Ireland; Parkatotaun (the field of the burning), Co. Limerick.

[Sidenote: PFERD (Ger.),]

a horse; _e.g._ Pferdsfeld (the horse’s field); Pfersdorf (the horse’s village).

[Sidenote: PFORTE (Ger.), POORT (Dutch), PORTH (Cym.-Cel.), PORT (Gadhelic),]

a haven, landing-place, or passage--cognate with the Lat. _portus_; _e.g._ Seligenpforten (the blessed port); Sassenpoorte (the Saxons’ haven); Himmelpforte (the port of heaven); Pforzheim (the dwelling at the passage or entrance to the Hyrcenian forest), in Baden; Zandpoort (sandy haven); Porlock (the enclosed haven), in Somersetshire; Portsmouth (the mouth of the haven); Porthkerry (rocky haven), in Wales; Porthaethroy (the landing-place of the terrible water), a dangerous ferry in Wales; Portholgoch, corrupt. from _Porth-y-wal-goch_ (_i.e._ the harbour of the red wall); Porthstinian (the port of Justinian), in Wales; Porth-y-cawl, corrupt. from _Porth-y-Gaul_ (the harbour where the Gallic invaders used to land), in Wales. In Ireland: Portraine, now Rathlin (the landing-place of Rachra); Portadown (at the fortress); Portlaw, Irish _Port-lagha_ (at the hill); Portmarnock (the haven of St. Marnock); Port-na-Spania (the port of the Spaniard), where one of the vessels of the Invincible Armada was wrecked, off the coast of Ireland; Port-Arlington, named after the Earl of Arlington in the reign of Charles II.; Port-Glasgow, anc. _Kil-ma-Colm_ (St. Columba’s church). It received its modern name in 1668, when purchased by the merchants of Glasgow; Portmoak, in Kinross (the landing-place of St. Moak); Port-Patrick (the place from which it is said St. Patrick sailed for Ireland); Portree, in Skye, and Port-an-righ, in Ross (the king’s haven); Portnellan (the landing-place of the island), in Loch Tummel; Portmore (the great port), in Wigton; Port-na-craig (of the rock); Port-na-churaich (of the boat), in Iona, where St. Columba landed from Ireland; Port-skerrie (the rocky landing-place), in Sutherland; Snizort, in Skye, corrupt. from _Snisport_, probably named after a Norse leader or pirate; Port-ny-hinsey (the haven of the island), the Celtic name of Peel, in the Isle of Man; Portinscale, in Westmoreland (the passage where the _skaala_ or booths for the Scandinavian _thing_, _i.e._ meeting, were erected); Portobello (the beautiful harbour), in South America, so named by its founder; Portobello, in Mid Lothian, named in commemoration of the capture of the South American town in 1739; Portskewitt or _Porth-is-coed_ (the port below the wood), in Monmouth; Porth-yn-lyn (the port of the pool), in Wales; Portsoy, in Banffshire, _i.e._ _Port-saith_ (the safe port); Port-dyn-Norwig (the port of the Northman), in Wales; Maryport, in Cumberland, named after the wife of its first proprietor; Portlethan, Gael. _Port-leath-an_ (the port of the gray river), Kincardine; Port-Logan, in Wigton, _i.e._ Gael. _Port-na-lagan_ (the port of the hollow). _Port_ became an established Saxon word for a market-town--hence we have such names as Newport, Longport, applied to inland towns; Bridport, on the R. Brit. The Cinque-ports, Fr. _cinq_ (five), were the towns of Dover, Hastings, Hythe, Romney, Sandwich. In Portugal: Oporto (the port); Portugal, anc. _Portus-cale_, both meaning the harbour; Porto-rico (rich port), an island of the Antilles group; Porto-Santo (the holy port), in the Madeira Isles; Porto-seguro (safe port); Porto-Vecchio (old port), in Corsica; Porto-Alegre (the cheerful port), in Brazil; Porto-farina (the port of wheat), in North Africa; Porto-ferrajo (fortified port), in Tuscany, on the coast of the Island of Elba; Port-Vendres, Lat. _Portus-Veneris_ (the port of Venus), in France; Le Treport, corrupt. from the Lat. _Ulterior-Portus_, in Normandy, at the mouth of the Bresle.

[Sidenote: PIC, PIKE (A.S.), PIC and PUY (Fr.), SPITZE (Ger.),]

a peak or promontory; _e.g._ the Pike o’ Stickle (the peak of the high rock); the Peak, in Derbyshire; Pike’s Peak, in the Rocky Mountains, named after General Pike; Spitz, in Austria, built around a hill; Spitzbergen (the peaked mountains); Spithead (the head of the promontory); Le Puy (the peak), a town situated on a high hill; Puy-de-dome (the dome-shaped peak).

[Sidenote: PISCH (Sclav.),]

sand; _e.g._ Pesth, in Hungary (on a dry, sandy soil); but Buttman suggests that the name may be derived from _paz_, Sclav. (a baking place), as the German name for Buda, on the opposite side of the Danube, is _Ofen_ (the oven); Peschkowitz, Peshen, Pisck, Pskov, Peckska, in Russia and Bohemia. _Pies_, Sclav. (the dog), may, however, be the root-word of some of these names.

PITT, PITTEN (Gadhelic),

a hole, a small hollow. This word, as a prefix, occurs very frequently in Scotland, especially in Fife, in which county the most important place is Pittenweem (the hollow of the cave, _uaimh_), the seat of an ancient monastery, near which is the cave from which it was named; Pitcairn (the hollow of the cairn), near Perth, in the neighbourhood of which there are two large cairns of stones; Pitgarvie (the rough hollow); Pitglas (the gray hollow); Pettinain (the hollow of the river), a parish on the Clyde; Pittencrieff (the hollow of the tree, _craobh_); Pitgober (of the goat); Pitnamoon (of the moss); Pittendriech (the Druid’s hollow); Pitcaithly, probably the hollow of the narrow valley, in Perthshire; Pittentaggart (the priest’s portion)--as in ancient times, the word _pitte_ is understood to have also meant a part or portion of land; and it has probably this meaning in Pitlochrie, in Perthshire, anc. _Pittan-cleireach_ (the portion of the clergy or church-land), as well as in Pittan-clerach, in Fife; Pitmeddin, in Aberdeenshire, named after St. Meddane. Pittenbrae (the hollow of the hill); Petty or Pettie, anc. _Petyn_ (the hollow of the island), on Beauly Loch, Inverness; Pettycur (the hollow of the dell, _coire_), in Fife.

[Sidenote: PLESSA (Fr.), PLESSEICUM,]

meaning successively a hedge, an enclosed and cultivated place surrounded by trees, an enclosed garden, a park, a mansion, or country residence; _e.g._ Plessis, Le Plessin, Plessier, Le Plessial, etc.--_v._ Cocheris’s _Noms de Lieu_.

[Sidenote: PLEU, or PLOE (Cym.-Cel.),]

a village, found only in Brittany; _e.g._ Pleu-meur (great village); Pleu-nevey (new village); Ploer-mel (the mill village); Pleu-Jian (John’s village); Pleu, Ploven, Pleven, etc.

[Sidenote: PLÖN, POLSKI (Sclav.),]

a plain; _e.g._ Ploen, a town in Holstein; Plönersee (the lake of the plain); Juriev-Polskoi (St. George’s town on the plain); Poland, _i.e._ _Polskoi_ (the plain or level land); Volkynia (the level country).

[Sidenote: POD (Sclav.),]

near or under; _e.g._ Podgoriza (under the hill); Podmokla (near the moss); Potsdam, from _Pozdu-pemi_ (under the oaks).

[Sidenote: POLDER (Dutch),]

land reclaimed from the sea; _e.g._ Polder and Polders, in Belgium; Beemsterpolder (the meadow of the reclaimed land); Charlotten-Polder (Charlotte’s reclaimed land); Pwlpolder (land reclaimed from a pool or marsh).

[Sidenote: POLIS (Grk.),]

a city; _pol_ (Sclav.), probably borrowed from the Greek; Constantinople, Adrianople, founded by the emperors Constantine and Adrian; Nicopolis and Nicopoli (the city of victory)--the first founded by Augustus to commemorate the battle of Actium, and the second by Trajan to commemorate his victory over the Dacians; Persepolis (the city of the Persians); Pampeluna, corrupt. from _Pompeiopolis_, so called because rebuilt by the sons of Pompey the Great; Decapolis (the district of the ten cities), colonised by the Romans, in Palestine; Sebastopol (the august city); Stavropol (the city of the cross), in Russia; Bielopol (the white city); Bogopol (the city of God, Sclav. _Bog_); Gallipoli, anc. _Calipolis_ (the beautiful city); Naples, Nauplia, Nablous, and Neapolis (the new city); Grenoble, corrupt. from _Gratianopolis_ (the city of Gratian); Heliopolis (the city of the sun), being the Greek name for On, in Egypt, and also for Baalbec, in Syria; Krasnapol (the fair city); Theriasipol, in Hungary (named after the Empress Theresa)--its Hungarian name _Szabadka_ (the privileged); Yelisabetpol (after the Empress Elizabeth); Tripoli, in Syria (the three cities), being a joint colony from Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus; Tripoli, in Barbary, named from its three principal cities, Lepta, Oca, and Sabrata; Tripolitza, in the Morea, built from the remains of the three cities Tegea, Mantinea, and Palantium; Amphipolis, now _Emboli_ (the surrounded city), so called because almost encircled by the R. Strymon; Anapli, in the Morea, corrupt. from _Neapolis_ (new town); Annapolis, in Nova Scotia, named after Queen Anne; Antibes, in Provence, a colony from Marseilles, anc. _Antinopolis_, named after its founder; Stamboul, the Turkish name for Constantinople, means _eis ten polin_ (to the city).

[Sidenote: POLL (Gadhelic), PWL (Cym.-Cel.), POEL (Teut.),]

a pool or marsh, cognate with the Lat. _palus_; _e.g._ Poole, in Dorset, situated on a lagune; Pontypool (the pool at the bridge); Welsh-pool, so called to distinguish it from Poole in Dorset--its Welsh name is _Trellyn_ (the dwelling on the pool); Hartlepool, Danish _Hartness_ (the pool hard by the headland)--the Normans added _le pol_, from a pool called the Slake, by which it is almost insulated; Liverpool, probably _Llyr-pwl_, Welsh (the sea pool); Blackpool, in Lancashire, named from a marsh now drained; Polton and Pulborough (pool town); Polbaith and Polbeath, Gael. (the pool of the birches); Poltarf (of the bull); Pollnaranny and Polrane (of the ferns), in Ireland; Wampool in Cumberland (_i.e._ Woden’s pool); Pwl-helli (the salt pool); Pwll-du (black pool); Pwll-broch-mael (the pool of the warlike weapons), the site of a battle between the Welsh and Saxons; Pwll-tin-byd (the very deep pool, literally the pool at the bottom of the world); Pwll-y-wrach (the hag’s pool), in Wales. _Pill_, in Gloucester, means the mouth of a brook, _e.g._ Cow-pill, Horse-pill, etc.; Polmont, Co. Stirling, corrupt. from _poll-monaidh_ (the pool near the hill).

[Sidenote: POMMIER (Fr.),]

the apple-tree; _pomeratum_ (a place planted with apple-trees); _e.g._ La Pommerée, Pommeray, Pomiers, Pommera, Pommeraie, Pommereau, Pommereuil, in France.

[Sidenote: PONS (Lat.), PONT (Welsh),]

the bridge, with its derivatives in the Romance and in the Welsh languages; _e.g._ Pontefract, Lat. _Ad-pontem-fractum_ (at the broken bridge); Pontoise (the bridge across the R. Oise); Pont-Audemer (the bridge built by Aldemar across the R. Rille); Pont-de-briques (the bridge of bricks); Pont-d’Espagne, corrupt. from _Pont-de-sapins_ (the fir-tree bridge); Ponteland, in Northumberland, corrupt. from _Ad-pontem-Ælianum_ (at the bridge of Ælius); Pontigny (bridge town); Les-Ponts-de-Cé (the bridges of Cæsar), a town in France, with four bridges across the Loire; Negropont, probably a corrupt. of _Egripo_, which the Italian sailors translated into Negripo or Negropont (black bridge), in allusion to the narrow strait called in Greek _Euripos_ (_i.e._ the strait with the violent current), on which the town was built--the name of the town was gradually extended to the whole island, till then called _Eubœa_; Ponte-vedra (the old bridge), and Puenta-de-la-Reyna (the queen’s bridge), in Spain; Grampound, in Cornwall, Welsh _Pout-maur_ (the great bridge), corrupt. from the Fr. _Grand-pont_; Paunton, in Lincoln, anc. _Ad-pontem_ (at the bridge); Pontesbury (bridge town), in Cheshire; Ponte-corvo (the crooked bridge), in Campania; Deux-ponts (the two bridges), in Bavaria. In Wales: Pont-faen (stone bridge); Pont-newydd (new bridge); Pont-glasllyn (the bridge at the blue pool); Pont-y-glyn (the bridge of the glen); Pont-y-pair (the bridge of the cauldron); Pont-ar-ddulas (the bridge on the dark water); Pont-ar-Fynach (the devil’s bridge); Pontypool (the bridge of the pool); Pant-yr-ysgraff, probably corrupt. from _Pont-yr-ysgraff_ (the bridge of boats). In France: Poncelle, Ponchel, Poncelet, Ponceaux, etc.; Pont-à-couleuvre, in the depart. of Oise, probably from an Old Lat. text, in which this place is called _Pont-à-qui-l’ouvre_ (_i.e._ the bridge to whomsoever may open), it being a bridge closed by barriers--Cocheris’s _Noms de Lieu_.

[Sidenote: POOR, PORE, PURA (Sansc.),]

a city; _e.g._ Nagpoor (snake city); Chuta Nagpore (the little snake city); Amarapoora (divine city); Bejapore or Visiapoor (the city of victory); Berampore (of the Mahometan sect called _Bohra_); Bhagulpore (tiger city); Ahmedpore (the city of Ahmed); Ahmedpore Chuta (the little city of Ahmed); Callianpoor (flourishing city); Bhurtpore (the city of Bhurat, the brother of the god Ram); Rampoor (Ram’s city); Bissenpoor (of Vishnu); Ferozepore (of Feroze-Togluk); Huripoor (of Hari or Vishnu); Shahjehanpoor (of Shah Jehan); Mahabalipoor (of Bali the Great); Caujapoor (of the Virgin); Rajapore (of the rajah); Cawnpoor or Khanpur (of the Beloved One, a title of Krishna); Hajipoor (of the pilgrim); Ghazipore (of Ghazi, a martyr); Mirzapoor (the city of the emir); Secunderpoor (of Secunder Lodi); Sidhpoor (of the saint); Singapore (of the lions); Russoulpoor (of the prophet); Chandpoor (of the moon); Joudpoor (war city); Ratnapoor (of rubies); Munnipora (of jewels); Darmapooram (of justice); Dinajpore (of beggars); Futtepoor (of victory); Sudhapura (bright city); Conjeveram, corrupt. from _Canchipura_ (the golden city); Trivandrum, corrupt. from _Tiruvanan-thapuram_ (the town of the holy Eternal One), in Travancore.

[Sidenote: PRAAG, PRAYAGA (Sansc.),]

a holy place; _e.g._ Vissenpraag (the holy place of Vishnu); Devaprayaga (God’s holy place).

[Sidenote: PRADO (Span. and Port.), PRATA (It.), PRAIRIE (Fr.),]

a meadow, derived from the Lat. _pratum_; _e.g._ the Prairies or meadow lands; Prato-Vecchio (the old meadow), in Tuscany; Ouro-preto, corrupt. from _Ouro-prado_ (the gold meadow), near a gold mine in Brazil. In France, Prémol, _i.e._ _pratum molle_ (the smooth meadow); Prabert, _i.e._ _Pratum Alberti_ (Albert’s meadow); Pradelles, Les Prések, Prémontié, Lat. _Pratum-mons_ (the mount in the meadow), the site of an abbey, chief of the order of the Prémontié.

[Sidenote: PUEBLA (Span.),]

a collection of people, hence a village; _e.g._ La Puebla, in Mexico; La Puebla-de-los-Angelos (the village of the angels), in Mexico.

[Sidenote: PULO (Malay),]

an island; _e.g._ Pulo-Penang (betel-nut island).

[Sidenote: PUSTY (Sclav.),]

a waste place; _e.g._ Pustina (on the waste ground); Pusta-kaminica (the stony waste).

[Sidenote: PYTT (A.S.), PFUTZE (Ger.), PYDEN (Welsh),]

a well or pool of standing water, cognate with the Lat. _puteus_ and its derivatives in the Romance languages; _e.g._ Puozzuoli in Italy, and Puteaux in France, anc. _Puteoli_ (the place of wells); Le Puiset, anc. _Puteolis castrum_ (the camp of the well); Pfutzenburg and Pfutzenthal (the town and valley of the wells or pools), in Germany; Poza-de-la-sal (the salt well), near a salt mine in Spain; also in Spain: Pozanca and Pozancos (the stagnant pools); Pozo-blanco and Pozo-hondo (the white and deep pool); Putney, anc. _Puttenheath_ (the pool on the heath), in Surrey; Puttenheim, in Belgium (a dwelling near a well or pool).

Q

[Sidenote: QUELLE (Ger.), WEDEL (Old Ger.), WYL (A.S.), KILDE (Scand.), KILL (Dutch),]

a place from which water flows--from _quellen_, to spring, and _wyllan_, to flow; _e.g._ Mühlquelle (the mill fountain); Hoogkill (corner well), and Bassekill (low well), in Holland; Quillebœuf (well town), in Normandy; Roeskilde (the fountain of King Roe), in Denmark; Salzwedel (salt well); Hohenwedel (high well); Tideswell, in Derbyshire--probably from a personal name, as there is a Tideslow in the neighbourhood; Wells, in Norfolk (a place into which the tide flows); Wells, in Somerset, named from a holy fountain dedicated to St. Andrew; Motherwell, in Lanarkshire, named from a well dedicated to the Virgin Mary; Amwell, in Hants, corrupt. from _Emma’s well_; Holywell, in Wales, named from St. Winifred’s well--in Welsh it is called _Treffynnon_ (the town of the well); Shadwell, in London (St. Chad’s well); Bakewell, anc. _Badican-wylla_ (the bath wells), in Derbyshire; Walston, a parish in Lanarkshire, named from a sacred well near the site of the church; Ashwell (the well among ash-trees), in Hertford; Ewell, in Surrey, found written _Etwell_ and _Awell_ (_at_ the well).

R

[Sidenote: RADE, RODE (Teut.),]

a place where wood has been cut down, and which has been cleared for tillage, from _reuten_, to root out, to plough or turn up. The word in its various forms, _reud_, _reut_, and _rath_, is common in German topography; _e.g._ Wittarode (the cleared wood); Herzegerode (the clearing on the Hartz Mountains); Quadrath (the clearing of the Quadi); Lippenrode (the clearing on the R. Lippe); Rade-vor-dem-walde (the clearing in front of the wood); Randarath and Wernigerode (the clearing of Randa and Werner); Zeulenroda (the clearing on the boundary, _ziel_); Schabert, corrupt. from _Suabroid_ (the Swabian clearing); Pfaffrath (the priest’s clearing); Baireuth (the cleared ground of the Boii or Bavarians); Schussenried (the clearing on the R. Schussen). Royd, in England, means a path cut through a wood, as in Huntroyd, Boothroyd, Holroyd. _Terra-rodata_ (rode land) was so called in opposition to _Terra-Bovata_, _i.e._ an ancient enclosure which had been from time immemorial under the plough, _i.e._ Ormeroyd (Ormer’s rode land).

[Sidenote: RAIN, RAND, RA (Teut. and Scand.), RHYNN (Cym.-Cel.), RINN (Irish), ROINN (Gael.),]

a promontory or peninsula; _e.g._ Rain, a town name in Bavaria and Styria; Randers, on a promontory in Denmark; Hohenrain (high promontory); Steenrain (rock headland); Renfrew (the promontory of the stream, _frew_), anc. _Strathgriff_, on the R. Griff; the Rhinns (_i.e._ the points), in Galloway; Rhynie, a parish in Aberdeenshire; Rhind, a parish in Perthshire, with the parish church situated on a headland jutting into the R. Tay; Rinmore (the great point), in Devon, Argyle, and Aberdeenshire; Rindon, in Wigton; Tynron, Gael. _Tigh-an-roinne_ (the house on the point), a parish in Dumfriesshire; Reay, in Sutherlandshire, and Reay, a station on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, from _Ra_, Norse (a point); Penryn (the head of the point), in Cornwall. This word, in various forms, such as _rin_, _reen_, _rine_, _ring_, is of frequent occurrence in Ireland; _e.g._ Ringrone (the seal’s promontory); Rineanna (the promontory of the marsh, _eanaigh_); Ringville and Ringabella, Irish _Rinn-bhile_ (the point of the old tree); Ringfad (long point); Ringbane (white point); Rineen (little point); Ringagonagh (the point of the O’Cooneys); Rinville, in Galway (the point of Mhil, a Firbolg chieftain); Ringsend, near Dublin (the end of the point).

[Sidenote: RAJA, RAJ (Sansc.),]

royal; _e.g._ Rajamahal (the royal palace); Rajapoor (royal city); Rajpootana (the country of the Rajpoots, _i.e._ the king’s sons--_putra_, a son).

[Sidenote: RAS (Ar.), ROSH (Heb.),]

a cape; _e.g._ Ras-el-abyad (the white cape); Rasigelbi, corrupt. from _Rasicalbo_ (the dog’s cape); Rasicarami (the cape of the vineyards); Ras-el-tafal (chalk cape); Rasicanzar (the swine’s cape); Ras-el-shakah (the split cape); Ras-el-hamra (red cape); Rascorno (Cape Horn).

[Sidenote: RATH, RAED (Teut.),]

council; _e.g._ Rachstadt or Rastadt (the town of the council or court of justice); Rathenau (the meadow of the council): Raithby (the dwelling of the court of justice).

[Sidenote: RATH (Gadhelic),]

a round earthen fort or stronghold, cognate with the Welsh _rhath_, a mound or hill; _e.g._ Rathmore (the great fort); Ratass or Rathteas (the south fort); Rattoo or _Rath-tuaith_ (northern fort); Rathbeg (little fort); Rathduff (black fort); Rathglass (green fort); Rathcoole (the fort of Cumhal, the father of Finn); Rathcormac (of Cormack); Rathdrum (of the ridge); Rathdowney, Irish _Rath-tamhnaigh_ (of the green field); Rathbane (white fort); Rathfryland (Freelan’s fort)--all in Ireland. Rattray, in Perthshire, where there are the remains of an old fortress on a hill, and near what is called the Standing Stones, supposed to have been a Druidical temple; Rathven (hill-fort), in Banffshire; Rathmorail (the magnificent fort), in Aberdeenshire; Raphoe, Co. Donegal, abbrev. from _Rathboth_ (the fort of huts).

[Sidenote: REICH, REIKE (Goth.), RICE (A.S.), RIGH (Scand.),]

a kingdom; _e.g._ France, _i.e._ _Frank-reich_ (the kingdom of the _Franks_, who are supposed to have derived their name from a kind of javelin called _franca_); Austria, _Œstreich_ (the eastern kingdom), as opposed to Neustria (the western); Surrey or _Sud-rice_ (the southern kingdom); Goodrich, in Hereford (Goda’s rule or kingdom); Rastrick (Rasta’s rule), in Yorkshire; Norway or _Nordrike_ (the northern kingdom); Ringerige, in Norway (the kingdom of King Ringe); Gothland, anc. _Gotarike_ (the kingdom of the Goths); Sweden, anc. _Sviarike_ (the kingdom of the Suiones).

[Sidenote: REIDH (Gadhelic),]

smooth, used also as a noun to signify a level field, and Anglicised _re_, _rea_, or _rey_; _e.g._ Remeen (the smooth plain); Muilrea (smooth hill, _mullagh_, p. 145); Rehill for _Redh-choill_ (smooth wood).

[Sidenote: REKA (Sclav.),]

a river; _e.g._ Riga, Rega, Regan, Regnitz (river names); also the R. Spree, Sclav. _Serbenreka_ (the river of the Serbs or Wends); Meseritz and Meseritsch (in the midst of rivers), in Moravia and Wallachia; Rakonitz (the town on the river), in Russia; Reka, the Sclavonic name for _Fiume_, It. (the river), a town on the Adriatic, at the mouth of a stream of the same name.

[Sidenote: RHEDIG (Cym.-Cel.), RUITH (Gadhelic), REO (Grk.), RUO (Lat.), RI, SRI (Sansc.),]

to flow, from whence are derived _rivus_ and _rivula_, Lat.; _rio_, Span. and Port.; _rivola_, _raes_, and _rith_, A.S. (a stream). The Eng. _river_ comes through the Fr. _rivière_, and that from _riparia_, in Mediæval Lat. a river, but literally a river-bank. From these root-words many river names are derived, or from _rhe_, _rea_ (swift), joined to root-words signifying water; _e.g._ the Rhone, anc. _Rhodanus_, the Rhine, Rye, Rea, Rhee, Rhea, Rey, Rheus, Roe, Ruhr, etc.; Rio-doce and Rio-dulce (sweet or fresh river), in opposition to Rio-salada (salt river); Rio-branco (white river); Rio-bravo-del-norte (the great north river); Rio-grande-do-sul (the great south river); Rio-negro (black river); Rio-tinto (coloured river); Rio-colorado, with the same meaning; Rio-de-Janeiro, generally called Rio--so named by the Portuguese discoverer because the bay was discovered on the feast of St. Januarius: the city founded at the place, and now called Rio, was originally named St. Sebastian; Rio-de-Cobra (the snake river), in Jamaica; Rio-dos-Reis (the river of the kings), in Africa, so named by Vasco de Gama, because discovered on the feast of the Epiphany; Rio-de-Ouro (the river of gold), on the coast of Guinea; Rio-azul (the blue river); Rio-Marahão (the tangled river); Rio-de-la-Plata (the river of _plata_, _i.e._ silver), so called from the booty taken on its banks.

[Sidenote: RHIADUR (Cym.-Cel.),]

a cataract; _e.g._ Rhayadar (the cataract), a town in Radnor, near a fall of the R. Wye, removed in 1780. Radnor itself is supposed to have taken its name from _Rhiadur-Gwy_ (the cataract of the R. Wye); Rhiadur-mawr (the great cataract), in Caernarvonshire; Rhaidr-y-wennol (the cataract of the swallow), so named from the rapidity of its motion, like that of the bird.

[Sidenote: RHIW (Welsh),]

an ascent; _e.g._ Ruabon, corrupt. from _Rhiw-Fabon_ (the ascent of St. Mabon).

[Sidenote: RHOS, ROS (Cym.-Cel.),]

in Wales signifying a moor, in Cornwall a valley; _e.g._ Ross, a town in Hereford; Rhoscollen (the moor of hazels), in Anglesea; Rhos-du (black moor); Penrhos (the head of the moor), in Wales. In Cornwall: Roskilly (the valley of hazels); Rosecrewe (the valley of the cross); Rosvean (little valley); Rosmean (stony valley).

[Sidenote: RHUDD (Cym.-Cel.), RUADH (Gadhelic), ROTH and RUD (Teut.), ROD (Scand.),]

red; _e.g._ Rutland (red land), or perhaps cleared ground--_v._ RODE; Rhuddlan (the red bank, _glan_); Rhuthin, corrupt. from _Rhudd-din_ (the red land); Llanrhudd (the red church), in Wales; Romhilde, anc. _Rotemulte_ (red land); Rother, Rotha, Rothback (red stream); Rotherthurm, Hung. _Vörostoroney_ (red tower); Rothen-haus, Sclav. _Czerweny-hradek_ (red house or castle), in Bohemia; Rotenburg, in Switzerland (the town on the red brook); Rothenburg, in Hanover and Bavaria (the red fortress); Rothenburg, in Prussia proper, is called by the Sclaves _Rostarezewo_ (the town of the Sclavonic deity Ratzi); Rothenfels (red rock); Rotherham (the dwelling on the red river); Roughan and Rooghaun (reddish land), in Ireland. But the prefix _rud_ is sometimes the abbreviation of a proper name, thus--Rudesheim, in Germany, is from _Hruodinesheim_ (the dwelling of Hruodine); Rudby, in Yorkshire (of Routh); Rudkioping, in Denmark (the market-town of Routh).

[Sidenote: RHYD (Welsh),]

a ford; _e.g._ Rhyderin, corrupt. from _Rhyd-gerwin_ (the rough ford); Rhyd-y-Boithan, corrupt. from _Byddin_ (the ford of the army); Rhydonen, corrupt. from _Rhyd-hen_ (the old ford); Rhyd-dol-cynfar (the ford of the valley of the ancient fight).

[Sidenote: RIDING, or THRITHING,]

the three _things_, _q.v._, _i.e._ the three places or districts where the Scandinavians held their judicial assemblies; _e.g._ the Ridings, in Yorkshire, so named under the Danish rule; Lincoln was divided by the Danes in the same manner.