Tuesday, August 10, 2010

WHAT'S IN A NAME???


Guest blogger ~ post written by JPE

I've become very curious about the suffixes
found in London names.
There are ---hams everywhere, such as in Tottenham, Wickham & Buckingham; and 
---bury, as in Salisbury & Canterbury.
Of course, we find the same suffixes in the US too.

It turns out ---ham is related to our word for
"home" & refers to a homestead or settlement.
The word "hamlet" also derives from this origin.

Both ---bury & ---borough
derive from the German "burgh" or "berg"
meaning castle.
A ---bury was an enclosed settlement.
The word "borough" evolved to define a county or region. Many cities in the UK & US continue to have 
divisions by "boroughs."
Canterbury means the "walled settlement of Kent." 

So, what is a ---wick, as in Chiswick or Gatwick? 
 What is a ---ton, as in Kensington or Winston?
 How about ---coomb or ---combe, as in Batcombe or Lyncombe?
AND, what is a ---stoke, as in Northstoke or Graystoke? 
Finally, how about ---ford, as in Stanford or Oxford? 

Did I peak your curiosity?
the answers can be found at these very
COOL websites.



3 comments:

  1. I hadn't thought about it but now that you mentioned it I find it quite interesting. The evolution on language amazes me.

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  2. How neat is that. Getting information, and getting it fast is one of the things I like best about the internet. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE this post! I have been mulling around a similar one. I'll add that 'Shire' means county and 'Chester' means the city was Roman.

    Laura, HappyHomemakerUK.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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