Problems
- Interpreting some names can be difficult, if the reason for the name is no longer evident. Some names originally referred to a specific natural feature such as a river, ford or hill, that can no longer be identified. For example, Whichford (Warwickshire) means "the ford on the Hwicce", but the location of the ford is lost.
- The elements den (valley) and don (hill) from Old English are sometimes confused now that they lack obvious meaning - for example Croydon is in a valley and Willesden is on a hill. Their expected spellings might therefore be "Croyden" and "Willesdon".
- Another problematic element is -ey, as in Romsey. This commonly means 'island', from the Old English -eg . However, -ey can also be derived from the Old English haeg, meaning 'enclosure', for example in Hornsey.
- The elements wich and wick can have a variety of meanings. Generally wich/wick/wyke indicates a farm or settlement (e.g. Keswick - 'Cheese-farm'). However some of the sites are of Roman, or shortly post-Roman origin, in which the wich is related to the Latin vicus ('place'). These "wics" seem to have been trading posts. On the coast, wick is often of Norse origin, meaning 'bay' or 'inlet' (e.g. Lerwick).
Read more about this topic: Toponymy Of England
Famous quotes containing the word problems:
“Our young people are diseased with the theological problems of original sin, origin of evil, predestination, and the like. These never presented a practical difficulty to any man,—never darkened across any man’s road, who did not go out of his way to seek them. These are the soul’s mumps, and measles, and whooping- coughs, and those who have not caught them cannot describe their health or prescribe a cure. A simple mind will not know these enemies.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot—a sense of collective participation, experience with organizational roles, and group support in the enterprise of growing up. Groups also pose for the child some of the most acute problems of social life—of inclusion and exclusion, conformity and independence.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections.... Males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)