to cross a river.
Ford in modern English still means to cross a river without a bridge. A town with the -ford suffix was where a river was broad and shallow so that people could cross.
What does Ton mean at the end of a town name?
village
Ton: This word ending, that remains very familiar today, was used to describe a settlement. A name ending in ton refers to a farmstead or village. Wich, wych or wick: This relates to some sort of specialised farm, and turns up in places like Droitwich, Nantwich, and also the Aldwych in London.
What does bury mean at end of town names?
a fortified place
A placename suffix indicating a fortified place.
What does ham mean in town name?
village or estate
Armed with just a little etymological expertise, you can easily decode common parts of place names. You’ll begin to notice some simple suffixes like ‘ton’ (farm or hamlet), ‘ham’ (village or estate), ‘ly’ or ‘ley’ (wood or a clearing), ‘stow’ (place or meeting place) and ‘bury’ (fort).
What does the suffix by mean in place names?
by. From Old Norse, meaning ‘settlement’ or ‘village’. Since this is at the end and weak, we don’t say /baɪ/, we say /bi/ weakly instead: Grimsby, Derby, Rugby.
What does Bassett mean in a town name?
The name Bassett is part of the ancient legacy of the early Norman inhabitants that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Bassett was a Norman name used for a person of small stature having derived from the Old English word bas, meaning of low stature.
What does Kirby mean in town names?
English: habitational name from any of numerous places in northern and eastern England called Kirby or Kirkby from Old Norse kirkja ‘church’ + bȳ ‘farmstead village’.
Why do so many towns end in Ford?
Ford in modern English still means to cross a river without a bridge. A town with the -ford suffix was where a river was broad and shallow so that people could cross.
What does Chester mean in town names?
The English place-name Chester, and the suffixes -chester, -caster and -cester (old -ceaster), are commonly indications that the place is the site of a Roman castrum, meaning a military camp or fort (cf. Welsh caer), but it can also apply to the site of a pre-historic fort.
What does Leigh mean in Devon?
clearings
‘Leighs’ are clearings. So Buckfastleigh is the old ley or pasturage of the abbey, and Gidleigh, the clearing of Gytha or Gydda, probably King Harold’s mother who was one of the biggest landowners in eleventh century Devon.
What does Boro mean in city names?
borough
A borough, also -boro, -burg or -bury, comes from the Anglo-Saxon term for towns surrounded by walls or forts. Towns, which we also know as -tons, are a Norse term for a village surrounded by a fence or palisade.
What does bury mean in Old English?
The geographical use of “-bury” and “Bury” is derived from burg or burh, Old English for a town or fortified place, while the verb “bury” comes from byrgan, an Old English verb meaning to raise a mound, cover, or inter.
What does combe mean in town names?
narrow valley
A combe (/kuːm/; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through which a watercourse does not run.
Why do towns end in ham?
Herwick said that “ham” essentially means a village. “And to take it a step further, that H-A-M — that ‘ham’ itself — in old English means ‘home,’ which is why it sort of doubles to mean ‘village’ as well. So that word ‘ham’ actually means home,” he said.
What does Berry Mean town?
The surname Berry derives from the Old English byrig, meaning a fortified place, or the later beri, denoting a fortified manor house. The place-name Bury, found in Lancashire and Suffolk amongst other places, comes from the same root.
What is the most common town name in the UK?
Newport is one of the most common names found in Britain with at least 10 decent-sized towns sharing this name. And that’s before we get to Newport Pagnell. Possibly the most famous is Newport, Gwent in South Wales, a city no less.
What does Bally mean in town names?
place of
Bally is an extremely common prefix to town names in Ireland, and is derived from the Gaelic phrase ‘Baile na’, meaning ‘place of‘.
What does gate mean in town names?
VIKING YORK. Some of the names found in York are also evidence of its Viking history. Toft was Old Norse for a building plot, found in Toft Green, and Gate comes from the word for street: Gata. It’s important to remember in York: Bar means Gate, and Gate means Street.
What does Hurst mean in a town?
hurst in American English
1. a hillock, knoll, or mound. 2. a grove or wooded hillock. ▶ USAGE: Now usually in place names [Sandhurst]
What does Diego’s name mean?
supplanter
Diego Origin and Meaning
The name Diego is boy’s name of Spanish origin meaning “supplanter”. The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.
What does Cary mean in a place name?
CASTLE CARY
The river name is derived from the Celtic word ‘caric’, which meant loving, or pleasant stream.