AU, AUE (Ger.),
AUGIA (Lat.),
a meadow, formed from aha (water), and frequently annexed to the name of a river; e.g. Aarau, Ilmenau, Rheinau, Wetterau, Oppenau, Muhrau (the meadow of the Aar, Ilmen, Rhine, Wetter, Oppa, Muhr); Frankenau (the Franks’ meadow); Lichtenau (the meadow of light); Reichenau (rich meadow); Schoenau (beautiful meadow); Greenau (green); Langenau (long); Weidenau (pasture-meadow); Rosenau (the meadow of roses); Lindau (of lime-trees); Herisau, Lat. Augia-dominus (the Lord’s meadow); Eu, anc. Augia (the meadow), in Normandy; Hanau (the enclosed meadow); Nassau (the moist meadow); Iglau (the meadow of the R. Igla, in Moravia); Troppau, in Silesia (the meadow of the R. Oppa).
AUCHTER or OCHTER (Gadhelic),
UCHDER (Welsh),
the summit, or, as an adjective, upper; e.g. Auchtertyre, anc. Auchterardower (the summit on the water); Auchterarder (the upper high land); Auchterblair (upper field); Auchtercairn (upper rock); Auchtermuchty (the upper dwelling, tigh, of the wild boar, muc); Auchterau (the upper water); Auchtertool (the upper land on the R. Tiel), in Fife; Auchterless (the upper side, slios). In Ireland this word takes the form of Oughter; e.g. Oughterard (upper height); Oughter-lough (upper lake, in reference to Loch Erne); Balloughter (upper town); Lissoughter (upper fort); Killoughter (upper church). The Irish adjective uachdar is not unfrequently Anglicised water, as in Clowater in Carlow, i.e. Cloch-uachdar (upper stone or castle); Watree, in Kilkenny, i.e. Uachdaraighe (upper lands)—v. Joyce’s Irish Names of Places.
AVON, AFON (Cym.-Cel.),
ABHAIN, ABHUINNE (Gael.),
AMNIS (Lat. Sansc. ap.),
water, a river; e.g. the Avon, Aven, Aune, Auney, Inney, Ewenny, Aney, Eveny, river names in England, Wales, and Ireland; Avengorm (red river); Aven-banna (white river); Avenbui (yellow river); Avonmore (great river), in Ireland; the Seine, anc. Seimh-au (smooth river); the Mayenne or Meduana (probably the middle river, from Cel. meadhou). In France there are from this root—the Ain, Avenne, Vilaine, Vienne; the Abona, in Spain. In Scotland: the Almond or Awmon; Devon (deep river); Doon (dark river); Kelvin (woody river); Annan (quiet river); the Leith, Leithen, Lethen (the broad or the gray river); the Don, in Scotland and England (dark or brown river); Irvine and Earn (the west-flowing river); Anwoth, in Kirkcudbright, i.e. Avonwath (the course of the river); the Spey, speach-abhain (swift river); the Allan (beauteous river, aluinn); the Boyne, anc. Bouoninda (perhaps yellow river, buidhe). Many towns derive their names from their rivers, or from their vicinity to water: thus, Avignon and Verona (on the water); Amiens, the cap. of the Ambiani (dwellers on the water, i.e. of the Samara or Somme). Teramo, anc. Interamnia (between the rivers), and Terni, with the same meaning; Avenay, anc. Avenacum (on the river); Avesnes, celebrated for its mineral springs. But such names as Avenay, Avennes, etc., may have been derived in many cases from Lat. avena, Fr. avoine (oats)—v. Cocheris’s Noms de Lieu.
B
BAAL,
a prefix in Phœnician names, derived from the worship of the sun-god among that people; e.g. Baalath and Kirjath-Baal (the city of Baal); Baal-hazor (Baal’s village); BaalHermon (near Mount Hermon); Baal-Judah, etc., in Palestine. Sometimes, however, the word is used as synonymous with beth (a dwelling), as Baal-tamar and Baal-Meon (for Bethtamar and Beth Meon). But Baal-Perazim, we are told, means the place of breaches, and has no reference to the sun-god, Baalbec (the city of the sun), in Syria.
BAB (Ar.),