handbook of the origin of place-names in wales and monmouthshire

Rhos means a moor. Some think the Latin rus is a cognate word, signifying undrained moorland. The Cymricrhos is frequently confused with the Gaelic ros, which signifies a promontory. Ross, the name of a town inHerefordshire, is probably a corruption of the former.Rhyd in its primary sense means a ford, but its secondary meaning - a stream, is frequently given to it. Rhyderwinmeans the rough, dangerous ford, whereas Rhydfelin designates a stream of water that turns a mill.Sakn is the Welsh for the old Roman paved road, and wherever it occurs one may almost certainly findtraces of a Roman road. Unlike almost every other road the Roman strata was distinguished for itsstraightness. It ran from fortress to fortress, as straight as an arrow course, in order to facilitatecommunications between those who were stationed in the chief strategic positions of Britain. It was generallyabout 15 feet wide, the sides being fenced by huge stones, and the middle well paved. Remains of it are stilldiscernible in many parts of the Principality, such as the neighbourhood of Caersws, Montgomery; Gaer,Brecon; Neath, Glamorgan; and many other places.Tal when applied to places means end, but when applied to persons it denotes front. Taliesin means radiantfront or luminous head, but Talybont signifies the end of the bridge. From this comes the English tall.Ton originally meant a piece of unploughed or uncultivated land, perhaps from twn, which implies a piece ofland taken for the purpose of cultivation. It is used in Glamorgan to denote a green. sward.Tref was the primitive Welsh appellative for a homestead, a dwelling-house. Myned tua thref going home, isstill a common expression in South Wales. In course of time the term was extended to indicate a group ofhomesteads. Having built a house for himself the lord would proceed to build dwellings for his people and hiscattle, and these formed what was called tref. The word gradually became to be applied to an aggregate ofhouses, hence the reason why it is used so frequently in village as well as in town-names.The root is widely distributed over Britain and Europe. The Norse by, the Danish thorpe, the German dorf,and the English ham and ton may be considered as its equivalents. It is spelt treu in Domesday Book, hencewe have Treuddyn for Treddyn.- Hendref forms the names of many old mansions, and is synonymous with the English Aldham and Oldham.Hydref (October) was the harvest season - the time to gather the produce of the fields to the barns, andleave the hafod, summer-house, to spend the winter months in the hendref, the older establishment. Theoriginal meaning of cantref (canton or hundred) is supposed to have been a hundred homesteads.Troed is the Welsh for foot, base. The Irish traig signifies the same, both of which, Professor Rhys thinks, areof the same origin as the Greek trecho, " I run." The English tread means to set the foot. The word isfrequently applied to places situated at the foot of a mountain. The Welsh Troedyrhiw and the Italian pie dimonte are almost synonymous terms.Ty generally means a house, a dwelling-place, but in Welsh nomenclature it is occasionally used to denote achurch or place of worship, as. Ty Ddewi, St. David's. The house of God is considered by many as equivalentto the church of God. Ty has an inferior meaning to bod ; the latter was the residence of a superior, and theformer is of a later date, signifying an ordinary house, a cottage.WrY — Gwy is an obsolete Celtic word for water, mostly used as a suffix in river-names, as Elwy, Tawy; andsometimes "as a prefix, as gwyach, a water- fowl; gwylan, sea-gull; gwydd, goose. Gwysg is related to it,which means a tendency to a level, as of a fluid or stream. We find the root in various forms, as Wysg task,uisge, usk, esh, ex, is-ca, &c.Ynys anciently signified, a quasi-island in the marshes, answering to inch in Scotland, Inch Keith; and inis orennis is Ireland, Ennis Killen, Ennis Corthy, Inniskea, &c„ The word is applied to some places with no river orwater near them, nor anything suggesting the probability that they had, in remote times, been islands.Ystrad is a general term for a low or flat valley through which a river flows. The Latin strata, the Scotchstrath, and the English street are supposed to be of the same origin. The term ystrad was used sometimes todenote a paved road.Origin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 11