Etymology
There are at least two theories on the etymology of the name. One is that the name Dumfries originates from the Scottish Gaelic name Dún Phris which means "Fort of the Thicket". According to another theory, the name is a corruption of two words which mean the Friars’ Hill; those who favour this idea allege the formation of a religious house near the head of what is now the Friars’ Vennel.
Read more about this topic: Dumfries
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)