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).
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.
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).
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.
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).
SHAN (Chinese),