Part 17

to flow, from whence are derived _rivus_ and _rivula_, Lat.; _rio_, Span. and Port.; _rivola_, _raes_, and _rith_, A.S. (a stream). The Eng. _river_ comes through the Fr. _rivière_, and that from _riparia_, in Mediæval Lat. a river, but literally a river-bank. From these root-words many river names are derived, or from _rhe_, _rea_ (swift), joined to root-words signifying water; _e.g._ the Rhone, anc. _Rhodanus_, the Rhine, Rye, Rea, Rhee, Rhea, Rey, Rheus, Roe, Ruhr, etc.; Rio-doce and Rio-dulce (sweet or fresh river), in opposition to Rio-salada (salt river); Rio-branco (white river); Rio-bravo-del-norte (the great north river); Rio-grande-do-sul (the great south river); Rio-negro (black river); Rio-tinto (coloured river); Rio-colorado, with the same meaning; Rio-de-Janeiro, generally called Rio--so named by the Portuguese discoverer because the bay was discovered on the feast of St. Januarius: the city founded at the place, and now called Rio, was originally named St. Sebastian; Rio-de-Cobra (the snake river), in Jamaica; Rio-dos-Reis (the river of the kings), in Africa, so named by Vasco de Gama, because discovered on the feast of the Epiphany; Rio-de-Ouro (the river of gold), on the coast of Guinea; Rio-azul (the blue river); Rio-Marahão (the tangled river); Rio-de-la-Plata (the river of _plata_, _i.e._ silver), so called from the booty taken on its banks.

[Sidenote: RHIADUR (Cym.-Cel.),]

a cataract; _e.g._ Rhayadar (the cataract), a town in Radnor, near a fall of the R. Wye, removed in 1780. Radnor itself is supposed to have taken its name from _Rhiadur-Gwy_ (the cataract of the R. Wye); Rhiadur-mawr (the great cataract), in Caernarvonshire; Rhaidr-y-wennol (the cataract of the swallow), so named from the rapidity of its motion, like that of the bird.

[Sidenote: RHIW (Welsh),]

an ascent; _e.g._ Ruabon, corrupt. from _Rhiw-Fabon_ (the ascent of St. Mabon).

[Sidenote: RHOS, ROS (Cym.-Cel.),]

in Wales signifying a moor, in Cornwall a valley; _e.g._ Ross, a town in Hereford; Rhoscollen (the moor of hazels), in Anglesea; Rhos-du (black moor); Penrhos (the head of the moor), in Wales. In Cornwall: Roskilly (the valley of hazels); Rosecrewe (the valley of the cross); Rosvean (little valley); Rosmean (stony valley).

[Sidenote: RHUDD (Cym.-Cel.), RUADH (Gadhelic), ROTH and RUD (Teut.), ROD (Scand.),]

red; _e.g._ Rutland (red land), or perhaps cleared ground--_v._ RODE; Rhuddlan (the red bank, _glan_); Rhuthin, corrupt. from _Rhudd-din_ (the red land); Llanrhudd (the red church), in Wales; Romhilde, anc. _Rotemulte_ (red land); Rother, Rotha, Rothback (red stream); Rotherthurm, Hung. _Vörostoroney_ (red tower); Rothen-haus, Sclav. _Czerweny-hradek_ (red house or castle), in Bohemia; Rotenburg, in Switzerland (the town on the red brook); Rothenburg, in Hanover and Bavaria (the red fortress); Rothenburg, in Prussia proper, is called by the Sclaves _Rostarezewo_ (the town of the Sclavonic deity Ratzi); Rothenfels (red rock); Rotherham (the dwelling on the red river); Roughan and Rooghaun (reddish land), in Ireland. But the prefix _rud_ is sometimes the abbreviation of a proper name, thus--Rudesheim, in Germany, is from _Hruodinesheim_ (the dwelling of Hruodine); Rudby, in Yorkshire (of Routh); Rudkioping, in Denmark (the market-town of Routh).

[Sidenote: RHYD (Welsh),]

a ford; _e.g._ Rhyderin, corrupt. from _Rhyd-gerwin_ (the rough ford); Rhyd-y-Boithan, corrupt. from _Byddin_ (the ford of the army); Rhydonen, corrupt. from _Rhyd-hen_ (the old ford); Rhyd-dol-cynfar (the ford of the valley of the ancient fight).

[Sidenote: RIDING, or THRITHING,]

the three _things_, _q.v._, _i.e._ the three places or districts where the Scandinavians held their judicial assemblies; _e.g._ the Ridings, in Yorkshire, so named under the Danish rule; Lincoln was divided by the Danes in the same manner.

[Sidenote: RIED (A.S.),]

a reed; _e.g._ Retford and Radford (the reedy ford); Radbourne (reedy brook); Redbridge, in Hants, anc. _Reideford_ (reedy ford). Bede calls it _Arundinis-vadum_, Lat. (the ford of the reeds).

[Sidenote: RIGGE (A.S.), RÜCHEN (Ger.),]

a ridge; _e.g._ Hansrücke (John’s ridge); Hengistrücke (the horses’ ridge); Hundsricke (the dog’s ridge); Rudgeley (the field at the ridge); Brownrigg, Grayrigg (the brown and gray ridge); Reigate (the passage through the ridge), contracted from _ridgegate_; Lindridge (lime-tree ridge); Rucksteig (the steep path on the ridge); Langrike (long ridge); Steenrücke (stony ridge).

[Sidenote: RIPA (Lat.), RIVA (It.), RIBA (Span. and Port.), RIVE (Fr.),]

a bank or the border of a stream; _e.g._ Riva (on the bank of Lake Como); Riva or Rief (on Lake Garda); Rive-de-Gier and Aube-rive (on the banks of the R. Gier and Aube); Aute-rive and Rives-altes (the high river-banks); Rieux, anc. _Rivi-Castra_ (the camp of the river-bank); Riberac (on the bank of the water), in France; Rivalta (the high bank), in Piedmont; Rivoli, anc. _Ripula_ (the little bank), in Piedmont; Romorantin, anc. _Rivus-Morentini_ (the bank of the R. Morantin), in France; _Riveria_ or _Riberia_, in Low Lat. signified a plain on the bank of a river--hence Rivière, Rivières, Hautes-Rivières, La Rivoire, etc., in France; Rivarrennæ, _i.e._ _Ripa-arenæ_ (the sandy bank), on the R. Cher; the Rialto at Venice is corrupt, from _Riva-alto_ (the high bank); Rye, in Sussex, in Lat. records _Ripa_; Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, formerly _Rye_ (on the bank of the water); Altrupp, on the R. Rhone, anc. _Alta-ripa_ (the high bank); Ribaute and Autrepe, for _Haute-rive_ (high bank), in Belgium; Ribadavia and Riba-de-Sella (the bank of the Rivers Avia and Sella), in Spain; Ripon, in Yorkshire, anc. _Ripum_ (on the bank of the R. Ure).

[Sidenote: RISCH (Ger.), RISGE (A.S.), ROGOSCHA (Sclav.),]

the rush; _e.g._ Ruscomb (the rushy hollow); Rushbrook (the rushy stream); Rushford, Rushmere, Rushholme, Ryston (the rushy ford, marsh, island, and town); Rogatzn, in Poland, and Rogatchev, in Russia (the place of rushes).

[Sidenote: ROC, ROCHE (Fr.), ROCCA (It.), ROC (A.S.),]

a rock--derivatives from the Lat. _rupes_; _e.g._ Rocca-bianca (white rock); Rocca-casale (rock village or dwelling); Rocca-secura (the safe rock fortress), in Italy; Rocca-Valoscuro (the rock in the dark valley), in Naples; Rochefort-sur-mer (the strong fortress on the sea), at the mouth of the R. Charente; La Rochelle (the little rock fortress); Rochefort (rock fortress), in Belgium; Rochester, Co. Kent (the fortress on the rock), or, according to Bede, the fort of Hrop, a Saxon chief; Rochester, in New York, named after Colonel Rochester, one of the early settlers; Roche-Guyon, Lat. _Rupes-Guidonis_ (the rock fortress of Guido); Roche-Foucault, anc. _Rupes-Fucaldi_ (the fortress of Foucalt); Rocroi, Lat. _Rupes-Regia_ (the royal fortress), in France; Roxburgh (the rock fortress)--the ancient town, as well as the county, taking their name from the strong castle, situated on a rock near the junction of the Tweed and Teviot--the ancient name of the castle was _Marchidun_ (the hill-fort on the marshy land).

[Sidenote: ROS, ROSS (Gadhelic),]

a promontory or isthmus, and also, in the south of Ireland, a wood; thus New Ross, Co. Wexford, anc. _Ros-mic-Treoin_ (the wood of Treuon’s son); Roscommon (of St. Coman); Roscrea (Cree’s wood); Ross-castle (on a promontory on Lake Killarney); Muckross (the peninsula of the pigs), in several places in Ireland; Muckros (with the same meaning--the pig’s headland) was the ancient name of the town of St. Andrews; Rossbegh (of the birches); Rossinver (of the confluence); Port-rush (the landing-place of the promontory); Ross-shire seems to have taken its name from _Ross_ (a wood); Montrose, anc. _Monros_ (the promontory on the marshy land, _moin_); Rosneath, anc. _Rosneveth_ (the promontory of St. Nefydd), in Dumbartonshire; Roslin (the promontory on the pool); Kinross (the head of the promontory), either with reference to the county--in regard to Fife, of which it anciently formed part--or with reference to the town at the head of Loch Leven. Fife was anciently called _Ross_: it got the name of Fife in honour of Duff, Earl of Fife, to whom it was given by Kenneth II.; and in 1426 Kinross was made a separate county. Roskeen (the head or corner of Ross-shire); Rosehearty, in Aberdeenshire, corrupt. from _Ros-ardty_ (the dwelling on the high promontory).

[Sidenote: RÜHE (Ger.),]

rest; _e.g._ Ludwigsrühe (Ludowic’s rest); Carlshrühe (Charles’s rest), founded by Charles William, Margrave of Baden, in 1715; Henricksrühe (Henry’s rest).

[Sidenote: RUN (A.S.),]

council; _e.g._ Runhall (the hall of the council); Runnington, anc. _Runenton_ (the town of the council); Runnymede (the meadow of the council).

[Sidenote: RYBA (Sclav.),]

fish; _e.g._ Rybnik, Rybniza (the fish pond); Rybinsk, Rybnaia (fish town).

[Sidenote: RYSCH, or ROW (Sclav.),]

a dam or ditch; _e.g._ Prierow (near the dam); Prierosbrück (the bridge near the dam); Ryswick (the town on the dam); Riez, Rieze, Riezow, Riezig (at the dam).

S

[Sidenote: SA (Sclav.), ZA,]

behind; _e.g._ Sabor (behind the wood); Zadrin (behind the R. Drin); Zamosc (behind the moss); Zabrod (behind the ford); Zablat (behind the marsh).

[Sidenote: SABHALL (Gadhelic),]

a barn; _e.g._ Saul, Co. Down, anc. _Sabhall-Patrick_ (Patrick’s barn), being the first place of worship used by St. Patrick in Ireland; Saval (the barn used as a church), near Newry; Drumsaul (the barn or church on the ridge); Sawel, a mountain in Ireland, probably from the same root; Cairntoul, a hill in Aberdeenshire, originally _Carn-t-Sabhall_ (the cairn of the barn).

[Sidenote: SABLE (Fr.),]

sand; _e.g._ Sable, Sablé, Sablat, Sablon, Sablières, La Sablonière, in France.

[Sidenote: SALH, SAEL (A.S.), SALIX (Lat.),]

the willow; _e.g._ Salehurst (willow copse); Salford (willow ford); Saul, in Gloucestershire (the place of willows). In France many places take their name from _Saule_, Fr. (the willow); _e.g._ Sailly, from _Salicetum_ (a place planted with willows), as also Saux, Saules, Saulzais, etc.

[Sidenote: SALL (Teut.), ZAAL,]

a stone dwelling; _sel_, a cottage, cognate with the Span. and Port. _sala_; _e.g._ Hohensale (high dwelling); Nordsehl (north dwelling); Oldenzeel (old dwelling); Eversal (the dwelling of the wild boar); Brunsele (the dwelling at the well); Holzselen (at the wood); Laufenselden (the dwelling near the waterfall); Marsal (on the marsh), in France. In Spain: Salas (the halls); Salas-de-la-ribera (the dwellings on the river-bank); Salas-de-los-Infantes (the dwellings of the infantry); Upsal, Scand. _Upsalr_ (the high halls), in Sweden.

[Sidenote: SALZ (Ger.), SALANN (Gadhelic), SOL (Sclav.), HALEN (Cym.-Cel.),]

salt, cognate with the Lat. _sal_ and the Grk. _hals_; _e.g._ the Rivers Saale, Salzach, Salzbach, Sal, Salat (salt stream); Salies, Salins, Salinas, Salines, Salenillas, Salskaia, place-names in France, South America, and Russia (in the neighbourhood of salt mines or springs); Saalfeld, on the R. Saal, in Saxony; also Saalfelden, in Austria (the salt field); Salamanca, in Spain, anc. _Salmantica_ (the place in the neighbourhood of salt springs); Salzburg, on the R. Salzach; Salzbrunn (the salt well); Salzkammergut (the public treasury of the salt-works); Soultz or Soultzbad (the saline bath); Soultzbach (the salt brook); Soultz-sous-forets (the salt springs under the woods); Soultzmatt (the meadow of the salt springs); Selters, anc. _Saltrissa_, in Nassau, near the Selzar or mineral springs; Saltzkotten (the huts of the salt miners), in Westphalia; Solikamsk (the town of the salt-works on the R. Kama), in Russia; _salt_ and _saltz_, as affixes, are also applied to dwellings on the sea-coast, thus--Westersalt, Ostersalt, Neusaltz (the west, east, and new watering-place by the sea); but Salton, a parish in East Lothian, does not come from this word. It is said to have derived its name from Nicolas de Soules, who possessed that part of the country in the thirteenth century. _Hal_, the Celtic word for salt, still exists in the names of places where there are or were salt-works; _e.g._ Haling, in Hants; Halton, in Cheshire; Halsal and Hallaton, in Lancashire; Halle, in Prussian Saxony, stands on the R. Saala; Reichenhall, on the Saale; Hallein, on the Salza, near the salt mines in Tyrol.

[Sidenote: SANG (Ger.),]

a place cleared of wood by burning, from _sengen_, to burn; _e.g._ Feuersang (the fire clearing); Altensang (the old clearing); but Vogelgesang means the place of singing-birds.

[Sidenote: SARN (Welsh),]

a road. The word _sarn_ refers to the old Roman road which the Emperor Maximus called in honour of his wife Helen, a Welsh princess whom he had married; _e.g._ Sarn-Helen (Helen’s road); Pen-Sarn (the head or end of the road); Tal-Sarn (the face of the road).

[Sidenote: SAX, SAHS (Teut.),]

a stone, cognate with the Lat. _saxum_; _e.g._ Sachsa (the stony water in the neighbourhood of quarries); Sasso, in Italy (the stone or tomb); Sassoferrato (the fortified rock); Sassuolo (the little rock or stone), in Italy; but these words, either as prefixes or affixes, in topography generally indicate places belonging to the Saxons, who were so called from the _seax_, a kind of sword which they used in warfare; thus Sachsenberg, Sachsenburg, Sachsenheim, Sachsendorf, Sassetot, denote the dwellings of the Saxons; Saxony, in Germany (peopled by Saxons); Sussex, Essex, and Wessex (the south, east, and west districts of the Saxons), in England; Saxby (the Saxons’ town), in Lincoln; Saxlingham (the home of the descendants of the Saxons), in Norfolk; Sassenberg (the Saxons’ hill), in Westphalia.

[Sidenote: SCALE, SKALI (Scand.), SHEAL, SHEALING (Scotch),]

a hut or shed; _e.g._ Scalby and Scaleby (hut town); Scalloway (the huts on the bay, _vig_), in Shetland; Galashiels (the huts on the R. Gala); Biggarshiels (the huts near the town of Biggar); Larbert, Co. Stirling, formerly _Lairbert-scheills_ (the huts of a man named Lairbert); North and South Shields, originally a collection of fishermen’s huts; but as _scald_, in the Scandinavian language, means a bard--that word is likely to have formed an element in place-names. Scaldwell is probably the bard’s well; Skalholt, in Iceland, may be the bard’s hill.

[Sidenote: SCAM (Old Ger.),]

little; _e.g._ Schambach, Schamach (the little stream).

[Sidenote: SCHANZE (Ger.),]

a bulwark; _e.g._ Rheinschanze (the bulwark of the Rhine); Hochschanze (high bulwark).

[Sidenote: SCHEIDE (Ger.),]

a watershed, from _scheiden_, to divide; _e.g._ Lennscheide, Remschede, Nettenscheide (the watershed of the Rivers Lenn, Rems, and Nette); but this word sometimes means a place separated by an enclosure from the surrounding land, as in Scheidhof (the separated or enclosed court); Scheidlehen (the separated fief).

[Sidenote: SCHENKE (Ger.),]

a public-house; _e.g._ Schenholtz (the wood near the public-house); Shenklein (the little public-house); Shenkendorf (the inn village).

[Sidenote: SCHEUNE (Ger.),]

a shed or barn; _e.g._ Ziegelscheune (the brick barn); Kalkscheune (lime-shed); Scheunenstelle (the place of sheds).

[Sidenote: SCHLAG (Ger.),]

a wood clearing or field; _e.g._ Leopoldschlag (the field of Leopold); Grafenschlag (of the count); Pfaffenschlag (of the priest); Kirchsclag (of the church); Schlagenwald (the cleared wood); Schlagberg and Schlaghöck (the cleared hill and corner); Murzuschlag (the clearing on the R. Murz), in Styria.

[Sidenote: SCHLANGE (Ger.),]

a snake; _e.g._ Slagenhorst (snake thicket); Schlangenbad (snake bath).

[Sidenote: SCHLEUSE (Ger.), SLUYS (Dutch), ECLUSE (Fr.),]

a sluice; _e.g._ Rhinschleuse (the sluice of the Rhine); Sluys, in Holland; and Slooten, also a town in Holland, on a lake of the same name (from _sloot_, a ditch); Sluispolder (the reclaimed land at the sluice); Schlusseburg, in Russia (the fortress at the sluice), built on an island at the spot where the R. Neva issues from Lake Ladoga; Helvoetsluis (the sluice on the Haring-vliet, an arm of the R. Maas); Fort de l’Ecluse (the fortress of the sluice), in France.

[Sidenote: SCHLOSS (Ger.),]

a castle; _e.g._ Marienschloss (the castle of the Virgin Mary); Heidenschloss (the castle on the heath); Schlossmühle (castle mill); Schlosshof (the castle court).

[Sidenote: SCHMAL (Ger.), SMAA (Scand.),]

little; _e.g._ Schmalkalden, anc. _Schmalenaha_ (the town on the small stream); Smalley, with the same meaning; Smaalehlen (the small fief), in Norway; Smallburgh (little town); Schmallenberg (little hill); Smailholm (little hill), a parish in Roxburghshire.

[Sidenote: SCHMEIDE (Ger.),]

a smithy; _e.g._ Nagelschmeide (the nail smithy); Schmeidefeld and Schmeidsiedel (the field and site of the smithy); Schmeideberg (the hill of the smithy).

[Sidenote: SCHWAIG (Old Ger.), SCHWEIG,]

a cattle-shed; _e.g._ Herrnschweige (the count’s cattle-shed); Brunswick, anc. _Braunsweig_ (Bruno’s shed, or the town of Bruno).

[Sidenote: SCHWAND (Ger.),]

a wood clearing; _e.g._ Schwand or Schwandt, in Bavaria; Schwanden, in Switzerland; Schwandorf (the village at the wood clearing).

[Sidenote: SCHWARZ (Ger.),]

black; _e.g._ Schwarza, Schwarzach, Schwarzbach, Schwarzwasser (black stream); Schwarzburg (black fortress); Schwarzberg (black mountain); Schwarzwald (black wood); Schwarzkreutz (the black cross).

[Sidenote: SCHWERE (Sclav.),]

a wild beast; _e.g._ Schwerin and Schwerinlake, in Mecklenburg; and Schwersentz, in Posen (places infested by wild beasts).

[Sidenote: SCIR (A.S.), SCER,]

clear, bright; _e.g._ Sherbourne (the clear stream); but this word is sometimes used instead of _scyre_, a division or shire, as in Sherwood (the wood where the shire meetings were held); Sherston (shire boundary stone); Shardlow and Shardhill (the boundary hill); Sharnford (the boundary ford); Sharrington (the town of the children of the shire or division).

[Sidenote: SEANN (Gadhelic),]

old; _e.g._ Shanmullagh (the old summit); Shandrum (the old ridge); Shangarry (the old garden); Shanbally and Shanvally (the old dwelling); Shanbo, Shanboe, and Shanbogh (the old hut), in Ireland; also Shankill (old church), and Shandon, Irish _Seandun_ (old fort). There are several places in Ireland called Shannon from this word, but it is uncertain what is the origin of the R. Shannon, whose ancient name was _Senos_; Sanquhar, Gael. _Seann-Cathair_ (the old fortress), in Dumfriesshire, named from an old castle near the town.

[Sidenote: SEE (Ger.), ZEE (Dutch),]

a lake or sea; _e.g._ Ostsee and Oostzee (east lake); Zuyderzee (the Southern Sea); Zealand and Zeeland (land surrounded by the sea); Gransee (boundary or corner lake); Bodensee or Lake Constance, named from _Bodami-Castrum_, the castle of the legate of the Carlovingian kings on its shore, and latterly from a fortress erected by Constantine the Great; Dolgensee, Sclav. (the long lake); the Plattensee (the lake on the marsh, _blatto_); Unterseen (below the lakes); the Red Sea, the translation of the sea of _Edom_ (the red).

[Sidenote: SEIFEN (Ger.),]

a place where metals are washed; _e.g._ Seifen and Seifendorf (towns where metals were washed); Seifengold (where gold is washed); Seifenzinn (where tin is washed); Seifenwerk (the hill of the metal washing).

[Sidenote: SEILLE,]

an affix in French and Belgian topography, signifying a wood or forest, derived from the Lat. _saltus_ and _sylva_; _e.g._ Baseille (low wood); Haseille (high wood); Forseille (out of the wood); Senlis, Lat. _Civitas Sylvanectensium_ (the town of the _Sylvanectes_, _i.e._ dwellers in the woods); Savigny and Souvigny, Lat. _Sylvaniacum_ (in the woods); Selvigny, Souvigné, with the same meaning; La-silve-bénite (the blessed wood); Silve-réal (royal wood), etc., in France; Transylvania (the district beyond the woods)--its Hungarian name, _Erdely-Orsag_, means the woody country; Selwood, anc. Brit. _Coit-mawr_, Lat. _Sylva-magna_ (the great wood), perhaps Selby, in Yorkshire.

[Sidenote: SELENY, or ZIELENY (Sclav.),]

green; _e.g._ Selinga (the green river); Zelendorf (green village); Zielonagora (green mountain); Zieleng-brod (green ford); Zielenzig and Szelenek (green place).

[Sidenote: SELIG (Teut.),]

holy; _e.g._ Seligenstadt, Seligenfeld, Seligenthal (the holy place, field, valley); Sellyoak (holy oak), perhaps Selby, in Yorkshire, if it is not from _sylva_, wood.

[Sidenote: SET, SEATA (A.S.), ZETEL (Dutch), SITZ (Ger.), SSEDLIO (Sclav.), SUIDHE (Gadhelic),]

a seat, settlement, or possession, cognate with the Lat. _sedes_; _e.g._ Dorset (the settlement of the _Durotriges_, _i.e._ dwellers by the water); Wiltshire, anc. _Wilsaetan_ (the settlement on the R. Willy); Shropshire, anc. _Scrobsaetan_ (the settlement among shrubs); Somerset, named from _Somerton_ (the summer seat of the West Anglo-Saxon kings); Settle, in Yorkshire (the settlement); Sittingbourne, in Kent (the settlement on the brook). In the Lake District, colonised by Norsemen, this word often takes the form of _side_; _e.g._ Ormside, Ambleside, Kettleside, Silverside (the settlement of Ormr, Hamel, Ketyl, Soelvar), etc.; Pecsaeten (the settlement at the peak), in Derbyshire; Alsace, anc. _Alsatia_, _i.e._ the _other_ settlement, with reference to the German settlements on the west bank of the Rhine, as distinguished from the Franks or _Ripuari_, on the east; Holstein, anc. _Holtsatia_ (the settlement in the woods); Waldsassen (wood settlement); Winkelsass and Endzettel (the corner settlement); Neusass, Neusiedel, and Neusohl (the new settlement); Einsiedeln (the settlement of Eina), in Switzerland; Wolfsedal (of Wolfa); Soest or Söst, in Prussia, for _Suth-satium_ (the southern seat). In Sclavonian names we have Sedlitz (the possession); Stary-Sedlo (the old possession); Sedlitz-gross (the great settlement); Sursee, in Switzerland (the seat or dwelling, Old Fr. Zi), on the R. Sur; Sion or Sitten, in Switzerland, Cel. _Suidh-dunum_ (the seat on the hill-fort). In Ireland: Seagoe, Irish _Suidhe-Gobha_ (St. Gobha’s seat); Seeoran (Oran’s seat); Seaghanbane (the white seat); Seaghandoo (the black seat); Shinrone, anc. _Suidhe-an-roin_ (literally the seat of the seal, but figuratively of a certain hairy man); Hermosillo, in Mexico, Span. (beautiful seat).

[Sidenote: SHAN (Chinese),]

a mountain; _e.g._ Shan-tung (east of the mountain); Shan-se (west of the mountain); Thian-Shan (the celestial mountain).

[Sidenote: SHAMAR (Pers.),]

a river; _e.g._ Samer, Samara, Sambre, river names. The Samur, which flows into the Sea of Asoph.

[Sidenote: SHAW (A.S.), _sceaga_, SKEG (Scand.),]

a wood or grove; _e.g._ the Shaws, in Cumberland and Lanarkshire; Birchenshaw (the birch grove); Pollokshaws (the woods near the village of Pollok); Bradshaw (broad wood); Shaugh-Prior (the prior’s wood); Shawbury (the town in the wood); Evershaw (the wood of the wild boar, _eofer_); Skegness (the headland of the wood).

[Sidenote: SHEHR (Pers.), CHERI (Tamil),]

a dwelling; _e.g._ Begshehr (the dwelling of the beg or bey); Abou-shehr (the dwelling of Abou); Allah-shehr (God’s house); Eskshehr (old dwelling); Yenishehr (new dwelling); Anoopshehr (incomparable dwelling); Pondicherry, originally _Pudicheri_ (new dwelling or town); Paraicherie (the village of Pariahs)--probably Shiraz and Shirvan belong to this root.

[Sidenote: SIDH, SITH (Gadhelic),]

a fairy or a fairy hill. The belief in these supernatural beings is still general among the Celtic races. It was believed that they resided in the interior of pleasant hills called _sidhe_ or _siodha_. The word frequently takes the form of _shee_, as in the Shee Hills, in Co. Meath; Glenshee, in Perthshire; Mullaghshee (the fairy hillock); Sheetrim, _i.e._ _Sidh-dhruim_ (the fairy ridge), the old name of the rock of Cashel; Killashee (the church near the fairy hill); Rashee (the fort of the fairies); also Shean, Sheann, Sheane, Shane, in Ireland.

[Sidenote: SIERRA (Span.), CERRO (Port.),]

a mountain chain, having a serrated appearance, from the Lat. _serra_, a saw; or perhaps from the Ar. _sehrah_, an uncultivated tract of land, being the root of the desert of Sahara, in Africa; _e.g._ Sierra-de-fuentes (the mountain chain of the fountains); Sierra-de-los-vertientes (of the cascades); Sierra Leone (of the lion); Sierra-Calderona (the mountain chain with the cauldrons or craters); Sierra-de-las-Monas (of the apes); Sierra Morena (the dark mountain range); Sierra Nevada (the snowy); Sierra Estrella (the starry mountain range); Sierra-de-Culebra (of the snake); Sierra-de-gata (of agates); Esmeraldas-Serradas (the emerald mountains), in Brazil; Cerro-da-vigia (the mountain of observation); Cerro-de-la-Giganta (of the giantess); Cerro-largo (broad mountain); Cerro-gordo (fruitful mountain); Cerro-del-cobre (of the snake); but _serra_, in Italian, means a narrow place--as in Serra-capriola (the narrow place of the goats); and Serra-Monascesca (of the monks).

[Sidenote: SKAER (Scand.), SGOR and SGEIR (Gadhelic),]

a sharp rock-allied to the Welsh _skerid_, cleft asunder, _ysgariad_; _e.g._ Skerid-fawn and Skerid-fach (the great and little skerid or division). _Esgair_ is another word from the same root, applied to a long ridge; _e.g._ Esgair-hir (the long ridge); Esgair-graig (the rock ridge)--_e.g._ Scarcliff (the cliff of the sharp rock); Nashscaur (the promontory of the steep rock); Scarborough (the town on the rock or cliff); Scorton, with the same meaning, in Yorkshire; Scarnose and Scarness (the sharp cape); Skerryford, Skeerpoint, on the coast of Wales; Sheerness (the sharp headland), on the Thames; Scaranos, with the same meaning, on the coast of Sicily; Scarabines (the sharp points), in Caithness; Scuir (a sharp rock), on the island of Egg; Scordale, in Westmoreland, and Scordal, in Iceland (the valley of the steep rock); Scarsach (abounding in steep rocks), in Perth; Scarba (the island of the sharp rock), and Scarp, in the Hebrides; the Skerry and the Skerries, in the Shetlands, and on the coast of Ireland and Wales; Skerry-vore (the great rock), in the Hebrides.

[Sidenote: SKAW, SKAGI (Scand.),]

an isthmus or promontory; _e.g._ the Skaw or Skagen Cape, on the coast of Denmark; Skagerack or Skagen-rack (the strait near the promontory).

[Sidenote: SKI, SK, SKIA,]