a sacred grove, cognate with the Lat. nemus and the Grk. nemos; e.g. Nemours, anc. Nemoracum (the place of the sacred wood or grove); Nanterre, also in France, anc. Nemetodurum (the sacred grove on the waters); Nismes, anc. Nemausus (the place in the grove); Augustonemetum (the splendid place of the grove), being the ancient name of Clermont; Nemetacum, the ancient name of Arras; Nemea (the place of the grove), in Greece.
NEU (Ger.),
NEWYDD (Cym.-Cel.),
NUADH (Gadhelic),
NOWY and NAU (Sclav.),
new, cognate with the Lat. novus and the Grk. neos and their derivatives; e.g. Neuburg, Neudorf, Neustadt, Neuville, Newbury, Newburgh (new town); Neumarkt (new market); Newbold, Newbottle, Newbattle (new building), in Germany, England, and Scotland; Newburgh, in Fife, is a town of considerable antiquity. It owes its origin to the Abbey of Lindores, in its neighbourhood. It was erected into a burgh or barony by Alexander III., in 1266, and in the charter it was called “Novus burgus, juxta monasterium de Lindores.” It seems, therefore, that there was a more ancient burgh belonging to the abbey in the neighbourhood—Newburn (new stream), in Fife. Newhaven (the new harbour), in relation to the older harbour of Leith. In the sixteenth century Newhaven had a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was then called our Lady’s port of grace; but in the year 1511 the city of Edinburgh bought up the village and harbour. In France: Nevers and Noyon, anc. Noviodunum (the new fortress); Neuvy, with the same meaning; Neuvéglise (new church); Villeneuve (new villa); Nièvre and Nivernais, a department and ancient province of France; Nienburg, corrupt. from Neuenburg (new town), in Hanover; Newport (new harbour), in Belgium; Newport, in the Isle of Wight, so named because it superseded the older harbour at Carisbrook; Newport, in Wales, which superseded Caerleon; Neusatz or Neoplanta (new station), founded in 1700, on the Danube; Neusohl (new seat), in Hungary—its native name is Bestereze-banya (the mine on the R. Bistritz); Neustadl (new stall); Neuwied (new pasture); Nimeguen, anc. Noviomagus (new field), in Holland; Novgorod and Novigrad (new fortress); Novidwar (new court), in Russia; Nowe-mjasto (new bridge), in Poland; Novobeilaiaskaia (the new town on the white stream), in Russia; Nova-Zembla, i.e. Novaia-Zemlia (the new land); Nowazamka (new castle); Novi-Bazaar (new market), in Turkey; Nowosedl (new seat); Nienburg, Nyborg, Nyby, Nystead (new town), in Denmark and Holland; Neocastro (new camp), in Greece; Nola or Novla (new place), in the Sardinian states; Naumburg and Nienburg, corrupt. from Neuenburg (new town); Nykioping (new market-town), in Sweden, and Nykjobing, in Denmark, with the same meaning; Newington, in Surrey, corrupt. from Neweton; Newfoundland, so called when rediscovered by John Cabot in 1427, but known previously by Icelandic colonists as Litla-Helluland; Nova Scotia (New Scotland), called by the Norseman Markland; New River, a large aqueduct from Hertfordshire to Islington, by which a great part of London is supplied with water; New Ross, Co. Wexford, corrupt. from its Irish name Ros-mic-Treoin (the wood of Treun’s son); Newtown-Hamilton, in Ireland, founded by the Hamilton family in 1770; Newtown-Limavady, Co. Londonderry, named from a castle in the neighbourhood called Limavady (the dog’s leap); Newtown-Stewart, Co. Tyrone, so called from Sir William Stewart, to whom it was granted by Charles I.; New York, named in honour of the Duke of York, afterwards James II.; New Zealand, called by Tasman, its Dutch discoverer, in honour, it is supposed, of his native province.
NIJNY (Sclav.),
lower; e.g. Nijny-Novgorod (the lower new fortress); Nijny-Neviansk (the lower town on the Neva), as distinguished from Verkii-Neviansk, the upper; Nijnaia-ozernaia-krepost (the lower fort of the lakes); Nijny-Devitzk (the lower town on the Devitza); Nijni-Tagelsk (the lower town on the R. Tagel), in Russia.
NIMZ (Sclav.),
foreign, from nemy or nêmec, dumb—a word applied by the Sclavonic races to the Germans, because their language was unintelligible to them: e.g. Niemitsch, Niemez, Niemtschitz, German towns in Bohemia; Nemet-uj-var (the new German fortress), in Hungary; but there is a Sclavonic deity called Njam, to whom the names of some of these places may be traced.
NO, NOE, NOUE (Old Fr.),
a low meadow habitually overflowed with water. It has evidently arisen out of noyer, to submerge; e.g. Noaillac, Noallau, La Noalle, Noalles, Noyelle, Noyellette, in which the word is probably joined to œuil, a water-source; Nogent (pleasant meadow); No-aux-Bois (in the woods); Les Noues, Neuillay, Neuilly, Noisy, Lat. Noesiacum.
NORDEN, NÔORD (Teut.),
NOR (Scand.),
NORD (Fr.),