Talk:List of generic forms in place names in the British Isles

message: Where is this info from? Every origin I can find for the name "Halifax" gives fax as OE for "hair" or "coarse grassland", ME for "face", or Norman for "highway". The only references I can find for fax meaning "pale" or "fair" are all copies of this article. To be fair, I only have access to the net, not Fodor's Old Norse for Travellers, so could someone help me out? SigPig 08:38, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Fax = "fair, pale"?

message: There has been a merge tag on Place name origins for a long time, proposing a merger to this article.  I do not know the subject well enough to comment on the merge - could someone who does initiate a discussion to arrive at a decision on the merger proposal. Kcordina  Talk  09:42, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merger? 

message: Kingston (disambiguation) redirects to Kingston, so why revert the latter to the former?  —Tamfang 06:59, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: In general, direct links to disambiguation pages are "bad". The link should go the the intended specific article instead. It is a never-ending wikipedia maintenance job to review and correct links inadvertently created to disambiguation pages. However there are some links that are supposed to go to the disambig page. By deliberately linking to Kingston (disambiguation), it shows that the link is deliberately to the disambiguation page, and need not be checked again like the others at Special:Whatlinkshere/Kingston. See the second paragraph under WP:DISAMBIG#Generic_topic for the guideline, Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation for a project about disambiguation, and Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links if you want to help. --Scott Davis Talk 06:04, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Given the subject matter – the name, rather than one of the places that share it – the disambiguation page may be the most appropriate thing to link to.  —Tamfang 19:49, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Kingston 

message: This article and others linked to it use the forms place name, place-name and placename.  According to my understanding of hyphenation, all three are possible, but we should be consistent.  Anyone fancy trying to sort that out? --Doric Loon (talk) 10:05, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Hyphen

message: As has been raised previously, the article 'Place name origins' overlaps substantially (and unnecessarily) with this list. I am in the process of re-writing 'Place name origins' to make it a bit more interesting (and accurate); I aim to convert it to a 'Summary Style' article, providing links to British Toponymy and here, and to any other articles I find that are relevant. I am placing the list from Place Name Origins here for the sake of reference, until I am sure that all the elements are transferred into this list.
I would also propose moving the 'preliminary remarks' section from this article of to British Toponymy, where it will add depth. In a 'list' article, it does not seem appropriate to have a long pre-amble. I will do this later, unless anyone objects.
====Brythonic (Celtic) origins====
From 800 BC Celtic names (Brythonic and Goidelic) were dominant around the British Isles.  Over time the names, along with the Celts, were pushed back into Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and Wales, where these names are still very common.
*Aber – a river confluence or river mouth
*Afon, avon, esk, eye, dee – a river, river bank 
*Allt, bre, drum, pen, bryn – a hill or hillside
*Caer, castell, plas – a castle, fortress or palace
*Capel, llan – a chapel or church
*Coed – a wood or forest
*Cwm – a valley
*Din, dinas – a fort
*Llyn – a lake
*Mynydd – a mountain
*Pant – a hollow
*Pont, bont – a bridge
*Porth – a harbour
*Treath – a beach
*Ynys – an island
====Roman origins====
Parts of names used until the Roman Empire withdrew from the British Isles until the 5th century.
*Caster, cester, chester, caester – a fort or camp
*Fos, foss – a ditch
*Port – a harbour or gate
*Street, Strat-, Stret- – paved road
====Saxon origins====
Names taken from the Saxons up until around the 11th century.
*Bourne, burn, delph – a stream
*Burg – a large village
*Coombe – a valley
*Croft, worthy – a small enclosure
*Don, den – hill
*Eg, ey, ea, eig – an island
*Ham – a village
*Holt, Halt; a managed woodland, Used as in Northolt, Southall (which lost it's "T" over time)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.218.163.190 (talk) 21:19, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Merging

message: Names taken from the Saxons up until around the 11th century.
*Bourne, burn, delph – a stream
*Burg – a large village
*Coombe – a valley
*Croft, worthy – a small enclosure
*Don, den – hill
*Eg, ey, ea, eig – an island
*Ham – a village
*Holt, Halt; a managed woodland, Used as in Northolt, Southall (which lost it's "T" over time)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.218.163.190 (talk) 21:19, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Saxon origins

message: Names taken from the Vikings up until around the 12th century.
*Akr – acre
*Beck, kelda, slack – a stream
*Booth – a summer pasture
*By – a farm or village
*Ey, holm – an island
*Fell, how – a hill
*Fiskr – fish
*Gardr – a landing place
*Garth – an enclosure
*Gate – a road
*Gill – a valley
*Hus, toft – a house
*Ings – a marsh or meadow
*Kald – cold
*Kirk – a church
*Laithe – a barn
*Lund – a grove
*Melr – a sandbank
*Orme – a serpent
*Pollr – a pool
*Sker, stan – a rock
*Stakkr – a rock in the sea
*Stokkr – sound
*Tarn – a lake
*Thorp – a secondary settlement
*Thwaite – a clearing in a forest
*Wray – a remote place
MinisterForBadTimes (talk) 20:28, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Viking origins

message: The name Horsforth in Yorkshire has long been explained as "Horse Ford".  Only problem - no river! No river, therefore no ford.  What has been ignored from Ekwall onwards is the fact that the "forth" in "Horsforth" is pronouced "firth" (as in Holmfirth).  Add to this the fact that the "Hors" part is pronounced "haw" and combine it with the the preponderance of Hawthorn trees that once thickly covered the area, and the name is far better explained as "Hawthorn-wood"
It really is about time that the academics that dream up many of these fanciful topographical explanations actually visit to check them out first before rushing into print with explanations that simply cannot be correct.
(Jude710 (talk) 15:44, 30 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ford/Forth 

message: Here is what Ekwall The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names says about Hartlepool:
: Hartlepool (-lǐ-) Du [historic spellings omitted] means 'the pool by Hart', the reference being perhaps to the bay south of the peninsula.  The original name was very likely Heruteu, this name including both the present Hart and Hartlepool.  The latter was later distinguished from the former by the addition pool.  Hartlepool is thus from Heorotẽg-põl, which became Herte-põl and, owing to influence from Herterness (now Hartness, the old name of the district of Hart and Hartlepool), Herterpol and by dissimilation Hertelpol, Hartlepool.
(The article Hartlepool also gives several old spellings not containing le.)  Accordingly I deleted it from the entry le (leaving Chester-le-Street), saying, Hartlepool does not contain -le- according to Ekwall.  User:CJ DUB reverted, saying, what, is it a mirage? lol. it is another example of the form..see list.  The form, but not the substance.  What list is meant here?
Let's not neglect App-le-By, Att-le-Borough, Cast-le-Bay, Cong-le-Ton, Has-le-Mere, Ing-le-Borough, Kil-le-Arn, Nett-le-Bed, Temp-le-Combe, Wens-le-Ydale. —Tamfang (talk) 09:23, 2 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Funny, funny guy. Those examples are just non-phonetic spellings that have simple become spelled "l-e" (except Wensleydale). They are photetically "EL" or "UL". For example, Appleby the sound is a-PUL or apEL. There is no LE sound (leh, li, la, lay, li, lye) anywhere in any your hilarious examples. Why is Hartlepool pronounced Hart-LEE-pool? Why does it sound that way? Why is it spelled that way? CJ DUB (talk) 01:32, 3 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Good question. Particularly since the old pronunciation was HART-el-pool. Why did it become Hart-LEE-pool in modern times? -- Derek Ross | Talk 03:17, 3 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text:  spelling pronunciation, I imagine. —Tamfang (talk) 04:40, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

text:  Okay, I guess the joke was an unwise distraction.  Still I'm seeing no evidence, other than the current pronunciation, that Hartlepool reflects the French article in any way.  On another hand, the table could include it with a note that it's only folk etymology. —Tamfang (talk) 21:16, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

text: I'm not at all convinced that Hartlepool has the french element 'le' in it. All the other examples I can think of, off the top of my head, have the french word(s) very clearly hyphenated: Chester-le-street, Chapel-en-le-frith, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. MinisterForBadTimes (talk) 07:20, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hartlepool 

message: Found this entry on "-wich towns": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wich_town - thus, perhaps the definition for "wich" ('place') should be amended on this page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.210.192.35 (talk) 02:35, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Yabbut see Talk:Wich town.  That article might be a candidate for deletion.  (Put new matters at the bottom, using the "new section" button.) —Tamfang (talk) 06:17, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Wich towns

message: Using Corby Glen as an example of 'Glen' is not straightforward.  The Village was known as just Corby until after the 2nd world war, and took the Name 'Glen' to differentiate it from the new town built in Northamptonshire for steel production.  The name comes from the adjacent river Glen, which does occupy a narrow valley, but not where the village is!
That said, I have a feeling that it was me that added it.  I just thought though that this note may be helpful--Brunnian (talk) 19:47, 9 May 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Corby Glen 

message: "ness[7] OE, ON promontory, headland (literally 'nose') Sheerness, Skegness, Inverness, Furness suffix" in the case of scottish Inverness the assignment can't be right. "Ness" in this case means the River Ness like in Loch Ness and had nothing to do with the word ness with the meaning headland etc. Am I right? --195.200.70.37 (talk) 07:33, 7 March 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Correct! --Doric Loon (talk) 10:47, 8 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  *ness 

message: I'm a wikipedia lurker and donator and I want to say thank you so much for compiling this information! As someone working on a fantasy video game, this has been immeasurably useful. Gharowse (talk) 19:23, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Thank You All 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: With regards to the article 
stow	OE	(holy) place (of assembly)
		
Stow = Place understandable. 
Not sure how the 'holy' and 'of assembly' fits in? Looking at these two below. I'd like a source for this translation.
Felixstowe
“The monks were licensed to hold a fair and Walton Priory was also referred to as Fylthestow, which is Saxon for place of felled trees where hay grows." http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/priory_holds_clues_to_foundation_of_what_we_know_as_felixstowe_1_4259800
"Felixstowe does not appear in any documents until the 12th century. It probably comes from the name Fylthestow, meaning a place where trees or meadowgrass were harvested." http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/felixstoweintro.htm
West Stow
"Anglo-Saxon wēste stōw = 'deserted place', rather than 'western place'". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Stow
31.185.175.89 (talk) 21:20, 22 March 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stow 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: As seen in Runnymede, Thamesmead, probably others but i don't get about much. I believe it just means "meadow". I don't have a source, so won't add it!
Well, i've got this, but it's not exactly what we want: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED27141  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.169.25.2 (talk) 22:25, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mede/Mead 

message: Suffix. Mainly in West Yorkshire. Meaning, A woodland clearing.
Examples: Mytholmroyd, Hanging Royd, Hebden Royd. Pilotpete01 (talk) 14:29, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Royd