Geographical etymology: a dictionary of place-names giving their derivations

a district; e.g. Sundgau, Westgau, Nordgau (south, west, and north district); Aargau, Rheingau, Thurgau (the districts watered by the Rivers Aar, Rhine, and Thur); Schöengau (beautiful district); Wonnegau (the district of delight); Hainault, Ger. Hennegau (the district of the R. Haine, and ault, the stream); Pinzgau (the district of rushes, binse), in Tyrol; Oehringen or Oringowe (the district of the R. Ohr).

a mountain; e.g. Gebel-Kattarin, in Sinai (St. Catharine’s mountain), where, according to tradition, the body of St. Catharine was transported from Alexandria; Djebel-Mousa (the mountain of Moses), in Horeb; Djebel-Nimrod (of Nimrod), in Armenia; Jebel-Khal (black mount), in Africa; Gibraltar, Ar. Gebel-al-Tarik (the mountain of Tarik, a Moor, who erected a fort on the rock of Calpe, A.D. 711); Jebel-Libnan or Lebanon (the white mountain), supposed to be so called because covered with snow during a great part of the year; Gebel-Oomar (the mountain of Omar); Gibel-el-Faro (the mountain with the lighthouse), near Malaga; Djebel-es-Sheikh (the mount of the sheik or shah, i.e. of the king), the Arabian name for Mount Hermon—v. INDEX.

barren land; e.g. Gaste, Geist, Geeste (the barren land); Geestefeld (barren field); Holzengeist (the barren land in the wood); Nordergast, Middelgast (the northern and middle barren land).

a goat; e.g. Geisa and Geisbach (the goat’s stream); Geismar (rich in goats); Geiselhoring, Geisenhausen, Geisenheim (the goat’s dwelling); Geisberg (goat’s hill).

a common; e.g. Gmeind (the common); Petersgemeinde (Peter’s common); Gemeindmühle (the mill on the common).

a river-mouth or a confluence; e.g. Neckargemund (at the mouth of the R. Neckar); Saaregemund (at the conf. of the R. Saare and the Belise); Gmünd, in Wurtemberg (at the conf. of the two streams); Gemund and Gemunden, in various parts of Germany. In Holland this word takes the form of monde, as in Roermonde and Dendermonde (at the mouths of the Roer and Dender); Emden, in Hanover, is a corrupt. of Emsmünder (at the conf. of the Ems and a small stream).

an abbreviated form of magen or megen, the Teutonic form for the Cel. magh (a field)—qu. v.; e.g. Remagen or Rhemmaghen (the field on the Rhine); Nimeguen, for Novio-magus (the new field); Schleusingen (the field or plain of the R. Schleuse); Munchingen (the field of the monks); Beverungen, on the R. Bever; Meiningen (the great field or plain), in the valley of the R. Wara.

a mouth or opening; e.g. Llanfihangel-genaur’-glyn (the church of the angel at the mouth of the glen), in Wales; Genappe and Gennep (the mouth of the water, abh); Geneva (either the opening or mouth of the water, or the head, ceann, of the water, where the Rhone proceeds from the lake); Genoa, probably with the same meaning; Ghent or Gend, at the conf. of the Scheldt and Lys, may also mean at the mouth of the rivers, although, according to tradition, it acquired its name from a tribe of Vandals, the Gandani, and was called in the ninth century Gandavum-vicum, from the name of its inhabitants.

in French topography, beautiful; e.g. Gentilly, anc. Gentiliacum (the place of beautiful waters), on the Bièvre—v. OEUIL; Nogent (beautiful meadow).

a court of justice; e.g. Gerichtsbergen (the hill of the court of justice); Gerichtstetten (the station of the court of justice).

a cave; e.g. Garbo (the cave), in Malta; Trafalgar, i.e. Taraf-al-gar (the promontory of the cave).

a fort; e.g. Ahmednaghar (the fort of Ahmed); Ramghur (of Ram); Kishenagur (of Krishna); Furracknagur (of Furrack); Moradnagur (of Morad); Jehanagur (of Jehan); Allighur (of Allah or of God); Bisnaghur (triumphant fort); Futtegur (fort of victory); Deoghur (God’s fort); Neelgur (blue fort); Seringagur (the fort of abundance); Chandernagore (the fort of the moon); Haidernagur (of Hyder Ali); Bissengur (the fort of Vishnu); Chunarghur (the fort of the district of Chunar).

a mountain; e.g. Ghaur, a mountainous district in Affghanistan; Boughir (the woody mountain); Kistnagherry (Krishna’s mountain); Rutnagiri (the mountain of rubies); Chandgherry (of the moon); Shevagherry (of Siva); Neilgherries (the blue mountains); Dhawalageri (the white mountain), being the highest peak of the Himalayas.

a ravine; e.g. Buttergill, Horisgill, Ormsgill, Thorsgill, etc. (ravines in the Lake District named after Norse leaders); Hrafngia (the ravens’ ravine, or of Hrafan, a Norse leader); Almanna-gja (Allman’s ravine), in Iceland. The Hebrew gäe (a ravine) answers in meaning to this word, as in Ge-Hinnom (the ravine of the children of Hinnom), corrupt. to Gehenna. This word, in the form of goe, is applied to a small bay, i.e. a ravine which admits the sea, as in Redgoe, Ravengoe, in the north of Scotland.

a small stream; e.g. Glasaboy (the yellow stream); Tullyglush (hill stream); Glasheena (abounding in small streams); Douglas, i.e. Dubhglaise (the black stream), frequent in Ireland and Scotland; Douglas, in the Isle of Man, is on the R. Douglas; also the name of a parish and village in Lanarkshire, from which the Douglas family derive their name. Glasheenaulin (the beautiful little stream), in Co. Cork; Ardglashin (the height of the rivulet), in Cavan.

a shore, a brink, a side; e.g. Glan-yr-afon, Welsh (the river side).

gray, blue, or green; e.g. Glasalt (gray stream); Glascloon (green meadow); Glasdrummond (green ridge); Glaslough (green lake); Glasmullagh (green summit), in Ireland; Glass, a parish in Scotland. In Wales: Glascoed (greenwood); Glascombe (green hollow). Glasgow is said by James, the author of Welsh Names of Places, to be a corrupt. of Glas-coed.

a small valley, often named from the river which flows through it; e.g. Glen-fender, Glen-finnan, Glen-tilt, Glen-shee, Glen-esk, Glen-bervie, Glen-bucket, Glen-livet, Glen-lyon, Glen-almond, Glen-dochart, Glen-luce, Glen-isla, Glen-ary, Glen-coe, Glen-devon (valleys in Scotland watered by the Rivers Fender, Finnan, Tilt, Shee, Esk, Bervie, Bucket, Livet, Lyon, Almond, Dochart, Luce, Isla, Aray, Cona, Devon). In Ireland: Glennagross (the valley of the crosses); Glenmullion (of the mill); Glendine and Glandine and Glendowan, Irish Gleann-doimhin (the deep valley)—sometimes it takes the form of glan or glyn, as in Glin on the Shannon, and Glynn in Antrim; Glennan, Glenann, Glentane, Glenlaun, etc. (little valley). When this word occurs at the end of names in Ireland the g is sometimes suppressed; e.g. Leiglin, in Carlow, anc. Leith-ghlionn (half glen); Crumlin, Cromlin, and Crimlin (the winding glen); Glencross or Glencorse, in the Pentlands, named from a remarkable cross which once stood there; Glenelg (the valley of hunting or of the roe); Glengarnock (of the rough hillock); Glencroe (of the sheepfold); Glenmore or Glenmore-nan-Albin (the great glen of Scotland which divides the Highlands into two nearly equal parts); Glenmoreston (the valley of the great cascade, i.e. of Foyers); Glenbeg (little valley); Glenburnie (of the little stream); Glenmuick (the boars’ valley); Glenure (of the yew); Glenfinlas (of the clear stream); Glengariff (rough glen); Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, is in Irish Gleann-da-locha (the glen of the two lakes); Glennamaddy (of the dogs, madadh); Glinties (the glens), Co. Donegal; Forglen, a parish in Banffshire (the cold or the grassy glen). In Wales, Glyn-Nedd (of the R. Nedd.)

shining; e.g. Glisbach (shining brook); Gleisberg (shining hill); Gleesdorf, Gleesweiler (shining dwelling).

clay; e.g. Glinzig, Glindow, Glintock, Glianicke, Glinow (names of places near clay pits); Glina (the clayey stream).

the white thorn; e.g. Glogau, Gross, and Upper Glogau, in Silesia (places abounding in white thorn); Glognitz, with the same meaning.

grace; e.g. Gnadenhütten (the tabernacles of grace), a Moravian settlement on the Ohio; Gnadenthal (the valley of grace), in Africa; Gnadenburg and Gnadenfeld (the city and field of grace).

a blacksmith—in topography Gow or Gowan; e.g. Ardgowan (the blacksmith’s height); Balgowan, Balnagowan, Balgownie, Balgonie, in Scotland, and Ballygow, Ballygowan, Ballingown, Ballynagown, in Ireland (the dwelling of the blacksmith); Athgoe (the blacksmith’s ford). In early times the blacksmith was regarded as an important personage, being the manufacturer of weapons of war, and the ancient Irish, like other nations, had their smith god, Goban, hence the frequent use of the word in their topography.

a wood; e.g. Golschow, Goltzen, Golkojye or Kolkwitz, and Gahlen (the woody place); Galinchen (the little Gahlen, i.e. a colony from that town); Kallinichen, i.e. the colony from Gallun (the woody place); Gollnow, in Pomerania, from this root; but Gollnitz, near Finsterwalde, is corrupt. from Jelenze (stag town), from jelen.

the dove; e.g. Gulbin, Golbitten, Golembin, Golembecks, Golembki (dove town); Gollombken, in Prussia, Ger. Taubendorf (dove town).

a mountain or hill; e.g. Goritz, Ger. Goïs (the town on the hill), in Hungary, in a province of the same name; Gorlitz (behind the hill), called also Sgoretz; Gorigk, Ger. Bergheide (hilly heath); Gorgast (hill inn), gosta corrupt. into gast; Podgorze, Podgorach, Podgoriza, Poschgorize (near the hill). This word sometimes takes the form of hora, as in Zahora, in Turkey (behind the hill); Czernahora (the black hill).

a field, cognate with the Lat. hortus and Span. huerta, and the Teut. garth—v. p. 87; e.g. Huerta-del-rey (the king’s orchard), in Spain.

the red beech; e.g. Grabkow, Grabitz, Grabig, Grabow (the place of red beeches); Grabin, Ger. Finsterwalde (the place of red beeches or the dark wood).

a grave or trench, from graben, grafan (to dig); e.g. Mühlgraben (the mill trench or dam); Vloedgraben (the trench for the flood); Schutzgraben (the moat of the defence); Grafton and Graffham (the moated town); Gravesend (the town at the end of the moat); Bischofsgraef (the bishop’s trench). In Ireland the prefix graf is applied to lands that have been grubbed up with a kind of axe called a grafan—hence such names as Graffan, Graffin, Graffee, Graffy.

a count or earl; e.g. Graffenau, Graffenberg, Grafenschlag, Grafenstein (the meadow, hill, wood-clearing, and rock of the count); Grafenworth and Grafenhain (the count’s enclosure or farm); Grafenthal (the count’s valley); Grafenbrück (the count’s bridge); Grafenmühle (the count’s mill); Gravelines, in Flanders, anc. Graveninghem (the count’s domain). In Sclavonic names, Grabik, Grabink, Grobitz, Hrabowa, Hrabaschin (the count’s town); Grobinow (count’s town), Germanised into Kroppstadt.

a farm or storehouse for grain, from the Lat. granaria, cognate with the Gadhelic grainnseach, Low Lat. grangia; e.g. Grange, a parish and village in Banffshire; Les Granges (the granaries); La Neuve Grange (the new farm), in France; La Granja, in Spain; Grangegeeth (the windy farm), in Ireland. From the same root such names in Ireland as Granagh, Granaghan (places producing grain).

the boundary or corner; e.g. Grenzhausen (the dwellings on the boundary); Banai-Militar Granze (the border territory under the government of a military officer called The Ban); Gransee (the corner lake); Graniz, Granowo (boundary towns), in Hungary; Gran, a town in Hungary, in a province of the same name through which the R. Gran flows.

the sun; e.g. Greenock, either from grianach (sunny) or the knoll, cnoc (of the sun); Greenan, Greenane, Greenawn, and Grennan (literally, a sunny spot), translated by the Irish Latin-writers solarium; but as it occurs in topographical names in Ireland, it is used as another name for a royal palace; Grenanstown, in Co. Tipperary, is a sort of translation of its ancient name Baile-an-ghrianain (the town of the palace); Greenan-Ely (the palace of the circular stone fortress, aileach); Tullagreen (the hill of the sun); Monagreany (sunny bog).

sand or gravel; e.g. Griesbach (sandy brook); Griesau, Griesthal (sandy valley); Grieshaim (sandy dwelling); Grieswang (sandy field); Griesberg (sand hill); Grieskirchen (the church on the sandy land). Gressius and Gresum in bas Lat. have the same meaning, and have given names to such places in France as Les Grès, Grèses, Les Gresillons, La Gressée, La Grezille, etc.

a fortified town; e.g. Belgrade and Belgorod (white fortress); Ekateringrad and Elizabethgrad (the fortified town of the Empress Catharine and Elizabeth); Zaregorod (the fortress of the Czar or Emperor); Novgorod (new fortress); Paulograd and Ivanograd (the fortress of Paul or Ivan, i.e. John); Gratz, Gradiska, Gradizsk, Gradentz, Grodek, Grodno, Grodzizk (the fortified towns), in Poland and Russia; Hradeck and Hradisch, with the same meaning, in Bohemia.

land reclaimed from the sea; e.g. Moorgroden, Ostergroden, Salzgroden, places in Holland.

green; e.g. Groenloo, Gronau (the green meadow); Grunavoe (green bay); Grunataing (green promontory); Grunaster (green dwelling), in Shetland; Greenland, translated from Terra-verde, the name given to the country by Cortoreal in 1500, but it had been discovered by an Icelander (Lief, son of Eric the red), in the ninth century, and named by him Hvitsaerk (white shirt), probably because covered with snow; Greenwich, A.S. Grenavie, Lat. viridus-vicus (green town).

a valley; e.g. Amsel-grund, Itygrund (the valleys of the Rivers Amsel and Ity); Riesengrund (the giant’s valley); Laucha-grund (the valley of the R. Laucha), in Thuringia.

the name given to the rivers in Spain by the Moors, from the Arabic wädy (the dried-up bed of a river); e.g. Guadalaviar, i.e. Ar. Wadi-l-abyadh (the white river); Guadalete (the small river); Guadalimar (red river); Guadarama (sandy river); Guadalertin (the muddy river); Guadaloupe (the river of the bay, upl); Guadiana (the river of joy), called by the Greeks Chrysus (the golden); Guadalquivir, i.e. Wad-al-kebir (the great river); Guaalcazar (of the palace); Guadalhorra (of the cave, ghar); Guadalbanar (of the battlefield); Guadaira (of the mills).

a ford, perhaps from the Celtic gwy, water; e.g. Gué-du-Loire (the ford of the Loire); Gué-de-l’Isle (of the island); Le Gué-aux-biches (of the hinds); Boné, formerly Bonum-vadum, Lat. (the good ford), in France; Bungay, in Suffolk, on the R. Waveney, corrupt. from Bon-gué (good ford).

to gush, found in river names; e.g. Buachgieso (the bending stream); Goldgieso (golden stream); Wisgoz (the white stream).

a market-town; e.g. Saibgunge (the market-town of the Englishmen); Futtegunge (the town of victory); Sultangunge (of the Sultan); Shevagunge (of Siva); Jaffiergunge (of Jaffier).

a property; e.g. Schlossgut (the property of the castle); Wüstegut (the property in the waste land); but this word, used as a prefix, denotes good, as in Guttenberg, Guttenbrun, Guttenstein (the good hill, well, and fortress).

fair, white, cognate with the Gadhelic fionn; e.g. Gwenap (the fair slope); Gwendur and Derwent (the fair water); Berwyn (the fair boundary); Corwen (the fair choir); Ventnor (the fair shore); Guinty or Guindy (the fair or white dwelling), common in Wales. Gwent, Latinised Venta, meant a fair open plain, and was applied to the counties of Monmouth, Gloucester, and Hereford, and Hampshire, as well as to the coast of Brittany: thus Winchester was formerly Caer-gwent (the fortress of the fair plain), Latinised Venta-Belgorum (the plain of the Belgians). There was a gwent also in Norfolk, Latinised Venta-Icenorum (the plain of the Iceni). This root-word may be the derivation of Vannes and La Vendée, in Normandy, if not from the Veneti—v. FEN.

a fair or open region, a campaign. It is a name now confined to nearly all Monmouthshire, but which anciently comprehended also parts of the counties of Gloucester and Hereford, being a district where Caer-went or the Venta-Silurum of the Romans was the capital; Corwen (the blessed choir or church); Yr Eglwys-Wen (the blessed choir or church); Wenvoe, in Glamorgan, corrupt. from Gwenvai (the happy land).

the alder-tree, also a swamp; e.g. Coed-gwern (alder-tree wood).

water; e.g. the Rivers Wye, the Elwy (gliding water); Llugwy (clear water); Mynewy (small water); Leveny (smooth water); Garway (rough water); Conway (the chief or head water, cyn); Gwydir, i.e. Gwy-tir (water land), the ancient name of Glastonbury; Gwynedd (water glen), an ancient region in North Wales.

green, verdant; e.g. Gwyrdd-y-coed (the winter green).

H

an eminence; e.g. Haarlem (the eminence on the clayey soil, leem).

a harbour, from haff (the ocean); e.g. Frische-haff (freshwater haven); Kurische-haff (the harbour of the Cures, a tribe); Ludwig’s-hafen (the harbour of Louis); Charles’s-haven, Frederick’s-haven (named after their founders); Delfshaven (the canal harbour); Vilshaven (the harbour at the mouth of the R. Vils); Thorshaven (the harbour of Thor); Heiligenhaven (holy harbour); Hamburg (the town of the harbour), formerly Hochburi (high town); Soderhamm (the south harbour); Osterhafen (east harbour); Ryehaven, in Sussex (the harbour on the bank, rive); Milford-haven (the harbour of Milford), the modern name of the Cel. Aber-du-gledian (the confluence of the two swords), a word applied to streams by the ancient Britons; Whitehaven, in Cumberland, according to Camden named from its white cliffs; Stonehaven (the harbour of the rock), in allusion to the projecting rock which shelters the harbour; Newhaven, Co. Sussex, in allusion to the new harbour made in 1713—its former name was Meeching; Newhaven, Co. Edinburgh, named in contradistinction from the old harbour at Leith.

an enclosure, literally a place surrounded by a hedge, cognate with the Celtic cae; e.g. Hagen, in Germany, and La Haye, Les Hayes, and Hawes (the enclosures), in France, Belgium, and England; Hagenbach (the hedged-in brook); Hagenbrunn (the enclosed well); Hagueneau (the enclosed meadow), a town in Germany; Fotheringay (probably originally an enclosure for fodder or fother); The Hague, Ger. Gravenhage (the duke’s enclosure, originally a hunting-seat of the Princes of Orange); Hain-Grossen (the great enclosure); Jacob’s-hagen (James’s enclosure), in Pomerania; Urishay (the enclosure of Uris), in Hereford; Haigh and Haywood (the enclosed wood), in Lancashire.

a hill; e.g. Kiraly-hago (the king’s hill); Szarhegy (the emperor’s hill).

the sea; e.g. Hoanghai (the yellow sea); Nankai (the southern sea).

a heath or wild wood; e.g. Falkenheid (the falcon’s wood); Birchenheide (the birch-wood); Hohenheid and Hochheyd (high heath); Hatfield, Hadleigh, Hatherley, and Hatherleigh (the heathy field or meadow); Hadlow (heath hill); Haidecke (heath corner); Heydecapelle (the chapel on the heath), in Holland.

a grove or thicket; e.g. Wildenhain (the wild beasts’ thicket); Wilhelmshain (William’s grove or thicket); Langenhain (long thicket); Grossenhain (the thick grove).

a declivity, cognate with hald, Scand. (a rock); e.g. Leimhalde (clayey declivity); Frederick’s-hald, in Norway, so named by Frederick III. in 1665. Its old name was simply Halden (on the declivity).

a stone house, a palace; e.g. Eccleshall (church house), in Staffordshire, where the Bishops of Lichfield had a palace; Coggeshall, in Essex (Gwgan’s mansion); Kenninghall (the king’s palace), in Norfolk, at one time the residence of the princes of East Anglia.

in German topography, is a general name for a place where salt is manufactured. The word has its root in the Cym.-Cel. halen (salt), cognate with the Gadhelic salen and the Teut. salz, probably from the Grk. hals (the sea). Hall and Halle, as town names, are found in connection with Salz; as in Hall in Upper Austria, near the Salzberg (a hill with salt mines), and Hall, near the salt mines in the Tyrol; Halle, in Prussian Saxony, on the R. Saale; Reichenhall (rich salt-work), in Bavaria; Hallein, celebrated for its salt-works and baths, on the Salza; Hallstadt, also noted for its salt-works; Hall, in Wurtemberg, near salt springs; Halton, in Cheshire, probably takes its name from the salt mines and works in the neighbourhood; Penardhalawig (the headland of the salt marsh) was the ancient name of Hawarden, in Flint and Cheshire; Halys and Halycus (salt streams), in Galatia and Sicily.

a home or family residence, literally a place of shelter, from heimen, Ger. (to cover), hama, A.S. (a covering), cognate with the Grk. heima; e.g. Hampstead and Hampton (the home place); Okehampton (the dwelling on the R. Oke), in Devonshire; Oakham (oak dwelling), so called from the numerous oaks that used to grow in its vicinity; Buckingham (the home of the Buccingus or dwellers among beech-trees); Birmingham, probably a patronymic from the Boerings; Addlingham and Edlingham (the home of the Athelings or nobles); Horsham (Horsa’s dwelling); Clapham (Clapa’s home); Epsom, anc. Thermæ-Ebbesham (the warm springs of Ebba, a Saxon queen); Flitcham (Felex’s home); Blenheim, Ger. Blindheim (dull home), in Bavaria; Nottingham, A.S. Snotengaham (the dwelling near caves); Shoreham (the dwelling on the coast); Waltham (the dwelling near a wood); Framlingham (the dwelling of the strangers), from the A.S.; Grantham (Granta’s dwelling); Ightham (the parish with eight villages), in Kent; Wrexham, anc. Writtlesham (the town of wreaths), A.S. wreoth; Ingelheim (the dwelling of the Angli); Ingersheim (of Ingra); Oppenheim (of Uppo); Rodelheim (of Rodolph); Southampton (the south dwelling, in distinction from Northampton); Twickenham (the dwelling between the streams, where the Thames seems to be divided into two streams); Rotherham, anc. Cel. Yr odre (the boundary), Lat. Ad-fines (on the boundary); Wolverhampton (the dwelling endowed by the Lady Wulfrana in the tenth century); Godmanham, in Yorkshire (the holy man’s dwelling), the site of an idol temple, destroyed under the preaching of Paulinus, whose name it bears. This root-word is often joined to the name of a river, thus—Coleham, Coverham, Debenham, Hexham or Hestildisham, Jaxtham, Lenham, Trentham, Tynningham (i.e. towns or villages on the Rivers Colne, Cover, Deben, Hestild, Jaxt, Len, Trent, Tyne); Cheltenham, on the Chelt; Oxnam, Co. Roxburgh, formerly Oxenham (a place of shelter for oxen); Hameln, on the R. Hamel, in Hanover; Drontheim or Trondjeim (throne dwelling); Kaiserheim (the emperor’s dwelling); Heidelsheim (the dwelling of Haidulf), in Bavaria; Hildesheim, probably the dwelling near the field of battle, Old Ger. hilti (a battle); Mannheim (the dwelling of men), as contrasted with Asheim or Asgarth (the dwelling of the gods), in Baden; Hildersham, in Yorkshire, anc. Hildericsham (the dwelling of Childeric). Ham is often contracted into om, um, en, or am, etc.—as in Dokum (the town of the port or dock), in Holland; Nehon, in Normandy, corrupt. from Nigel’s home; Angeln (the dwelling of the Angli); Oppeln, in Silesia (the dwelling of Oppo); Edrom, in Berwickshire, corrupt. from Adderham (the dwelling on the R. Adder); Ednam, on the Eden, in Roxburghshire; Hitchen, on the Hiz or Hitche, in Herts; Fulham, anc. Fullenham (the home of birds), A.S. fugil; Hownam (the dwelling of Howen or Owen), in Roxburghshire. In Flanders ham or heim often takes the forms of eim, em, etc., as in Killim (the dwelling of Kilian); Ledringhem (of Ledro); Hem (of Hugnes); Pitgain (of the well); Wolsen, for Wolfsheim; Bohemia (the home of the Boii); Dahlen (valley dwelling); Wolsen (Wolfa’s dwelling).

hot springs; e.g. Hamman-Mousa (the hot springs of Moses); Hamman-Pharoon (of Pharaoh); Hammah-de-Cabes (the warm baths of Cabes), in North Africa; Alhama (the town of the warm baths), the name of several places in Spain.

This word sometimes signifies a village or small town, and sometimes a rock; e.g. Lillehammer (the little town); Oesthammer (east village); Hamr (a steep place), in Shetland; Hammerfeste, in the island of Qualoe, probably means the rock fortress, faestung. In German topography it is generally connected with the blacksmith’s hammer, and is common in localities where metals are worked, thus—Hammersmeide (hammer-smithy); Silberhammer (a place where silver is wrought), near Dantzic. Kemble also suspects a reference to Thor’s hammer in the names of some towns or villages in England; e.g. Hamerton, in Huntingdon, and also in Middlesex; Hammerwich, in Staffordshire; Hamerton-kirk, in Yorkshire.

a declivity, from hängen (to hang), A.S. hongian; e.g. Hangenheim (the dwelling on the declivity); Pannshanger (Penn’s slope), in Herts; Clehonger (clayey slope), Hereford.

the army; e.g. Harwich (army town or bay), in Essex, so called because the Danes had a great military depot at this place; Herstal, in Belgium, anc. Hari-stelle (army place); Hargrave (the army entrenchment), in Norfolk; Harbottle (the army’s quarters), in Northumberland. In Edmond’s Names of Places this prefix, as well as hor, is referred to an A.S. word signifying hoary; under which he places Harborough, in Leicestershire, the name of which is traced by Bailey to havre (oats).

brushwood or a wood; e.g. the Harz Mountains, with the town of Harzburg (the fortress in the wood); Harsefeld (woody field), in Hanover; Hurst, in Kent; Deerhurst (deer wood or thicket); Hurst-Monceaux (the wood of Monceaux, probably a Norman baron), in Sussex; Hurst, a town in Lancashire; Lyndhurst (the wood of lime-trees); Midhurst (in the middle of the wood); Hawkhurst (hawk wood); Gravenhorst (the count’s wood); Horstmar (rich in wood)—v. MAR; Billing’s-hurst (the wood of the Billings), a patronymic; Farnhurst and Ferneyhurst (ferny wood); Sendenhorst (the rushy wood), in Westphalia; Herzovia or Herzegovia (a woody district), in Turkey; Murrhard, in Wurtemberg, means the wood on the R. Muhr; Delmenhorst, on the Delme, in Hanover. Hart, in English topography, however, refers more commonly to heort (the hart), as in Hartgrove, Hartland, Hartley, Hartfield, Hartsford, Hartshill. It occasionally takes the form of chart, as in Seal-chart (holy wood); Chart-Sutton (the wood at the south town).

the hazel-tree; e.g. Hessle (the place of hazels); Haselburn and Haselbrunnen (the stream and well of the hazels); Haslau (hazel meadow); Heslington (the dwelling among hazels); Hasselt, in Belgium, i.e. Hasselholt, Lat. Hasseletum (hazel grove); Hasseloe (hazel island), in Sweden and Denmark; Hazeldean and Haslingden (the hollow of the hazels).

a bolt, a gate, hence an enclosed dwelling; e.g. Hatch-Beauchamp (the enclosed dwelling of Beauchamp, a personal name); Colney-Hatch (of Colney); West-Hatch, in Somerset; Pilgrim’s Hatch, in Essex.

In Scotland these words generally denote a low-lying meadow between hills or on the banks of a stream,—as in Hobkirk (i.e. the church in the hope or meadow); Howwood (the wood in the hollow); Hutton, for Howton (the dwelling in the hollow), parishes in Scotland. In England how and haugh come more frequently from the Scand. haugr (a heap or mound often raised over a grave, like the cairns in Scotland),—as in Silver-how, Butterlip-how, in the Lake District, probably from mounds over some Norse leader’s grave; Haugh, in Lincoln; Haugham (the dwelling near the mound); Howden, in Yorkshire (the valley of the haugr or mound); Haughley (the meadow near the mound). La Hogue, in France, is from haugr or from the houg, as also Les Hogues and La Hoguette (the little mound); Gretna Green is the modern name for Gretan-how (the great hollow). Haugr also means a temple or high place, fenced off and hallowed, among the Scandinavians; and to this word so derived Dasent traces Harrow-on-the-hill and Harrowby.

a head, a promontory; e.g. Howth Head, in Ireland, from the Danish hofed—its Irish name is Ben Edair (the hill of Edar); Brunhoubt (the well head); Berghaupt (hill head); Ruckshoft (ridge head), in Germany; Hoft (the headland), in the island of Rugen; Sneehatten (snowy head), in Norway; Hoddam (holm head), in Dumfriesshire.

a dwelling, allied to casa, Lat., It., Span., and Port.; e.g. Mühlhausen (at the mill house); Saxenhausen (the dwelling of the Saxons); Wendenhausen (of the Wends); Schaffhausen (the ship station), which consisted originally of a few storehouses on the banks of the Rhine for the reception of merchandise; Dunkelhauser (the dark house); Aarhuus (the town on the watercourse), a seaport in Denmark; Aggers-huus, in Norway, on the R. Agger. This district and river seems to have been named from an agger or rampart erected near Christiania in 1302, on the Aggerfiord. Ward-huus (the dwelling in the island of the watch-tower), on the coast of Fenmark; Holzhausen (the dwelling at the wood); Burghausen (the fortified dwelling); Distilhousen (the dwelling among thistles), in Belgium. In Hungary, Bogdan-haza (God’s house); Oroshaza (the dwelling of the Russians); Chaise-Dieu, Lat. Casa-Dei (the house of God), in France. Also in France, Chaise, Les Chaises; Casa-nova (new house); Casa-vecchia (old house), in Corsica; Chassepierre, Lat. Casa-petrea (stone house), in Belgium; Casa-bianca (white house), in Brazil.

prefixes with various meanings in Eng., Ger., and Scand. topography. Sometimes they mean holy, Ger. heilig, as in Heligoland (holy isle); Heilbron (holy well); Heligensteen (holy rock); Heilberg and Hallidon (holy hill); Heiligencreuz (the town of the holy cross), Hung. Nemet-keresztur (the grove of the cross); Heiligenhaven (holy harbour); Heiligenstadt (holy town); Halifax, in Yorkshire (holy face), is said to have been named from an image of John the Baptist, kept in a hermitage at the place; Hoxton, in Sussex, was originally Hageltoun (holy town), because it was there that St. Edmund suffered martyrdom. Sometimes, however, hell denotes a covered place, as in Helwell, in Devonshire (the covered well); sometimes it means clear, as in Hellebrunn (clear or bright fountain); Heilbronn, in Wurtemberg (fountain of health), named from a spring formerly used medicinally. Hellefors, a waterfall in Norway, and Hellgate, New York, seem to derive their names from a superstition connected with Hel, the goddess of the dead; Holyhead, in Wales, is in Welsh Pen-Caer-Gibi (the hill fort of St. Cybi, called holy in his honour); Holy Island, Lat. Insula-sancta, obtained its name from the monastery of St. Cuthbert—its more ancient name, Lindisfarne, is probably the ferry, fahr, of the brook Lindis, on the opposite shore; Holywell, in Flint, took its name from St. Winifred’s Well, celebrated for its miraculous cures—its Welsh name is Tref-fynnon (the town of the clear water); Holywood, Dumfriesshire, Cel. Der Congal (the oak grove of St. Congal).

a cave into which the tide flows; e.g. Hellr-hals (the neck or strait of the cave); Heller-holm (the island of the cave); Hellersness (the headland of the caves).

a place; e.g. Vasarhely (the market-place); Varhely (the place of the fortress); Marosvasarhely (the market-place on the R. Maros), in Ger. Neumarkt; Vasarhely-hod-Mezö (the market-place of the beaver’s meadow); Szombathely (the place where the Saturday market is held, szombat); Csotortokhely (the Thursday market-place), Germanised Donners-markt; Udvarhely (court place); Szerdahely (Wednesday market-place), Vasar, Hung. (a market), from Turc. Bazar.

old; e.g. Henly (the old place), on the Thames; Hentland, for Hen-llan (old church, now St. Asaph’s); Henlys (old palace): Hen-egglys (old church), in Anglesea.

old, ancient; e.g. Henlys (the ancient hall).

a horse—hence Hengiston, in Cornwall, either an enclosure for horses or the town of Hengist; Hengestdorf or Pferdsdorf (horse’s village); Hengistridge (horse’s ridge); Hinksey (the horse’s island or marshy place); Hinkley (the horses’ meadow).

a duke or lord; e.g. Herzogenbosch or Bois-le-Duc (the duke’s grove); Hertogspodler (the duke’s reclaimed land); Herzogenburg (the duke’s fortress); Herzogenrath (the duke’s cleared land); Herrnsbaumgarten (the duke’s orchard); Herrnhut (the Lord’s tabernacle), founded by Count Zinzendorf, in Saxony, for the Moravian Brethren, in 1722; Herisau (the duke’s meadow), Lat. Augia-Domini, in Switzerland.

a hedge or thicket; e.g. Hessingen (the dwelling in the thicket); Maashees (the thicket on the R. Maas); Wolfhees (the wolf’s thicket).

an elevation, cognate with the Ger. hugel; e.g. Silver-hill, named after Sölvar, a Norse leader, in the Lake District; Hilton, Hilston (hill town); Woolwich, anc. Hyl-vich (hill town); Butterhill (the hill of Buthar), a personal name in the Lake District.

water; e.g. the Rivers Indus, Inde, Indre, etc.; Hindostan (the district watered by the R. Indus).

a walled town; e.g. Hippo, near Carthage. There were three cities called Hippo in Africa and two in Spain: Olisippo (the walled town), now Lisbon; Oreppo, Belippo, Lacippo.

long.

the hart; e.g. Hirzenach (the hart’s stream); Hersbrock (the hart’s marsh); Hirschberg, Lat. Corvamontem (the hart’s hill); Hirschfeld, Herschau, Hirschholm, Hirschhorn (the field, meadow, hill, peak of the harts).