Isle of Man Place Names

One definition you will not find in my Isle of Man Place Names book, is that of Ham and Egg Terrace.

The unlikely name of Ham and Egg Terrace was first coined when visitors came to the Great Laxey Wheel. Women living in the terrrace saw the opportunity to offer ham and eggs (and presumably other snacks and drinks) to tourists. The nickname was quickly adopted locally and now known as such instead of the official Dumbell’s Row. The official name is after George William Dumbell, a major shareholder and chairman of the Great Laxey Mining Company.

That was not what I meant. (I)

When working through the list of words it never fails to astonish me how often words have not only changed in meaning completely, but have even come to mean the opposite of the earlier sense. And who can we blame? Those who speak the language - or perhaps speak the language badly, would be a better way of describing it.

Idiom, a distinctive expression or turn of phrase, began in the sixteenth century as a reference to a specific language.

Improve must surely have always meant 'make better', surely? But no. For in the sixteenth century there are plenty of written used where the word is clearly used to mean 'make profit'.

Impudent or 'cheeky' today, but the word actually tells us its meaning of 'not pudent' and therefore was used to mean 'immodest. lacking decency' in the fourteenth century.

Inane comes from Latin, and instead of meaning 'mad, crazy' as used today, was first used in English to mean 'empty'.

Industry meant 'skill' or 'dexterity' in the fifteenth century, not seen in a manufacturing sense until the eighteenth century.

Infants today are young children, but for nearly the entire existence of the English language it simply referred to a child of any age.

Infest today suggests being subjected to an attack by hordes of undesirables, but originalyl described the 'swarm' of anything, be it undesirable of not.

Inmate today suggests someone who resides in an institution and who would not be there by choice. When the word was first used in English it was simply referred to one residing at another's premises, such as a lodger or tenant.

Inn, today a word which can only be a pub or perhaps a hotel. Yet in the fourteenth century we all lived in inns, for every dwelling was referred as such.

Insulate is to keep separate, detach, today. But when first used in English it described somewhere 'made into an island'.

Insult would be insulting to define in the modern sense, so we'll stick with the sixteenth century sense meaning 'to triumph over'.

Interfere originates from the Latin inter 'one another' and ferire 'to strike', and thus what is used today to mean 'meddle' began as being used to mean 'to strike each other'.

Invent or 'devise' today, was a fifteenth century word meaning 'to come'.

Investment has a financial meaning today, but began in the sixteenth century meaning 'to clothe'.

Involve is derived from the Latin onvolvere or 'to roll in', which is exactly what it meant in the fourteenth century.

Item is an individual object today, but in the fourteenth century meant 'also' which, if the list is itemised, and 'item' inserted before each then that makes perfect sense.

Vanuatu Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Vanuatu cities.

Lorevilko gets its name from the East Santo language and means 'wild kava'.

Port Vila is self-explanatory and means exactly what it seems.

Ambrym was allegedly named 'ham rim' by Captain Cook, although there is no evidence he ever landed here.

Erromango is said to have been named when Captain Cook came here and was given a yam to eat. In the Sorung language he was told armai n'go meaning 'this food is good' but he thought it was the name of the island.

Shepherd Islands were named by Captain Cook after his friend Anthony Shepherd, a British astronomer.

Vot Tande means 'the rock of frigatebirds'.

Merelava in the Mota language means 'the big boy', compare this with the nearby island of Meryriyi 'the small boy'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Tuvalu Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest places of Tuvalu.

Tausoalima means 'hand of friendship' and typifies the very basic meanings of Tuvalu's place names.

Falekaupule translates as 'traditional island meeting hall'.

Papa Elise is a reference to Father Ellice, the missionary who came to Funafuti in the late 19th century.

Te Afuafou comes from te afua fou or 'the new beginning'. This refers to an incident with the first contact with a white man, when the locals were allowed on the vessel and one stole a bucket. The perpetrator was shot at, much to the astonishment of the locals.

Tepuka comes from te puka, the name of a tree known to science as Hernandia peltata, itself named after the Spanish botanist Francisco Hernandez de Toledo.

Meang is a name which simply means 'west'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Thailand Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Thailand's cities.

Bangkok's origins are unclear, although most often said to be bang 'village on a stream' and ko 'island'. Alternatively this could be bank makok, where the latter refers to Elaeocarpus hygrophilus a plant which produces fruit similar to the olive.

Pak Kret refers to its location as 'the village at the lesser bypass', not a road but a rerouting of the Chao Phraya River..

Surat Thani was named by King Vajravudh in 1915 as 'the city of good people'.

Chiang Mai simply means 'new city', although the city was founded in 1296.

Nakhon Ratchasima comes from several sources: Nakhon is the Sanskrit for 'city', raj from Sanskrit for 'sovereign', and Thai suma 'temple'.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is 'the city of the righteous ruler', a reference to the religious concept of Dharma.

Nakhon Sawan describes itself as the 'heavnely city'.

Phuket is possibly from the Malay for 'hill', which would fit with its previous name of Thalang derived from 'cape'.

Ubon Ratchathani describes itself as the 'royal lotus city'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Sao Tome and Principe Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Sao Tome and Principe cities.

Sao Tome is simply the Portuguese for 'Saint Thomas'.

Ilheu Gabago translates from Portuguese as 'the bragging islander'.

Trindade is Portuguese for 'trinity'.

Santa Cruz is Portuguese for 'saint of the cross'.

Pantufo is simply the Portuguese word for 'slipper'.

Santo Antonio translates, somewhat predictably, as 'Saint Anthony'.

Santa Catarina is the portuguese for Saint Catherine.

Porto Alegre is Portuguese for 'happy port', although we have no idea why.

Sao Joao dos Angolares translates as 'Saint John' with Angolar a Portuguese-based creole language.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Saint Lucia Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest St Lucian cities.

Anse La Raye is simply the French for 'Bay of Rays', the rays being the flat fish found here.

Bocage can be traced to the Old Norman boscage. itself a combination of Old French bosc and a later suffix -age and describes 'the place of the wood'.

Castries has been known as such since 1785, when it was renamed after the French Minister of the Navy and Colonies, the splendidly named Charles Eugene Gabriel de la Croix, marquis de Castries. (1727 - 1801).

Canaries is also known locally as Kanawe, this coming from the Amerindian to describe 'cooking pots'.

Choiseul had earlier been known as Anse Citron, literally 'lemon handle'. The present name has never been understood.

Gros Islet translates from the French as 'large island'.

Laborie is named after Baron de Laborie, French governor of Saint Lucia from 1784 to 1789. Earlier it had been known as L'islet a Caret, said to refer to the Loggerhead turtles in the area, itself known to science as Carretta caretta.

Micoud is another named after a former French governor of Saint Lucia, Baron de Micoud held the role in the 18th century.

Mon Repos is, as anyone with a mastery of schoolboy (or schoolgirl) French knows, a phrase meaning 'my rest' and thus simply describing someone's home.

Ravine Poissin, like the previous name, is easily translated as 'the valley of the fish'.

Rodney Bay is named from the British era, specifically after Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who built a fort at Pigeon Island.

Roseau is named for the local flora, for it simply means 'reeds'.

Soicis is another named during the era of French control and is an unusual name as it means 'troubles'. Just why this was chosen is unclear.

Vieux Fort is another of French origin, this simply translates as 'old fort'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Palau Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the a few of Palau's names.

Ngerchoki was held to be where the waters of youth could be found, Jumping in the waters would result in one looking many years younger. But don't bother going today as the waters have lost their powers ever since a woman and her child came along to drink the water. However it was a hot day and she jumped in with the expected result. Unfortunately her child no longer recognised her and cried until she jumped back in and reversed the process. Since then the waters have proven useful only as water.

Kabekel is also the name of a war canoe.

Ngiwal is named for being the stomach of Uab, hence the people have very big appetites and in particular the local dish of soup, pumpkin, rice and coconut milk.

Koror was known as Los Arrecifes by the Spanish, it simply means 'the reefs'.

Helen Island was first charted by the Spanish naval officer Felipe Tompson, who referred to it as the San Felix shoal.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.