TON (A.S.),
TUN (Scand.),
an enclosure, a town. The primary meaning of this word comes from the Gothic tains, Scand. teinn, Ger. zaun, a fence or hedge formed of twigs. Originally it meant a place rudely fortified with stakes, and was applied to single farm-steadings and manors, in which sense tun is still used in Iceland, and toon in Scotland. The word toon retained this restricted meaning even in England in the time of Wickliffe. These single enclosures became the nucleus of a village which, gradually increasing, became a town or city, in the same manner as villages and towns arose around the Celtic duns, raths, and lises. This root, in the names of towns and villages, is more common than any other in Anglo-Saxon topography, being an element in an eighth part of the names of dwelling-places in the south of Great Britain. The greatest number of these names is connected with those of the original proprietors of the places, of which but a few examples can be given here. In such cases, the root ton is generally preceded by s or ing—qu. v.; e.g. Grimston, Ormiston, Ribston, Haroldston, Flixton, Kennington (the property of Grim, Orm, Hreopa, Harold, and Felix); Canewdon (of Canute); Addlington and Edlington (of the nobles); Dolphinton, Covington, and Thankerton, parishes in Lanarkshire, took their names from Dolphine, Colban, and Tancred, to whom the lands were given in very early times; Symington and Wiston, in Lanarkshire, are found mentioned in old charters, the one as Symington, in Ayrshire, named from the same Simon Lockhart, the progenitor of the Lockharts of Lee; Cadoxton, i.e. Cadog’s town, in Wales; Ecclesia de uilla Simonis Lockard (the church of Simon Lockhart’s villa), and the other, Ecclesia uilla Withce (the church of Withce’s villa); Haddington (the town of Haddo); Alfreton, Wimbledon, Herbrandston, Houston (of Alfred, Wibba, Herbrand, Hugh); Riccarton, in Ayrshire, formerly Richardston, took its name from Richard Waleys, i.e. Richard the Foreigner, the ancestor of the great Wallace); Stewarton, in Ayrshire, had its name from the family which became the royal race of Scotland; Boston, in Lincoln (named after St. Botolph, the patron saint of sailors); Maxton, a parish in Roxburghshire (the settlement of Maccus, a person of some note in the reign of David I.); Flemingston and Flemington (named from Flemish emigrants); Woolston (from St. Woolstan); Ulverston (from Ulphia, a Saxon chief); Wolverhampton and Royston (from ladies who endowed religious houses at these places); Minchhampton (the home of the nuns, minchens); Hampton (the enclosed home); Preston and Presteign (priest’s town); Thrapston (the dwelling at the cross-roads); Broughton (the town at the fort or mound), a parish in Peeblesshire, with a village of the same name; Albrighton (the town of Aylburh); Harrington (of the descendants of Haro); Barton and Barnton (the enclosure for the crop; literally, what the land bears); Shettleston, in Lanarkshire, Lat. Villa-filii-Sadin (the villa of Sadin’s son); Bridlington (the town of the Brihtlingas, a tribe), sometimes called Burlington; Adlington (town of Eadwulf); Prestonpans, in Mid Lothian, named from the salt pans erected there by the monks of Newbattle; Layton, in Essex, on the R. Lea; Luton, in Bedford, also on the Lea; Makerston, in Roxburghshire, perhaps from St. Machar; Johnstone, in Renfrew (founded by the Laird of Johnston in 1782); Liberton, near Edinburgh, where there was an hospital for lepers; Honiton, Co. Devon, Ouneu-y-din (the town of ash-trees); Kensington (of the Kensings); Edmonton, in Middlesex (Edmond’s town); North and South Petherton, in Somerset (named from the R. Parret), anc. Pedreda; Campbeltown, in Argyleshire, received its name from the Argyle family in 1701—its Gaelic name was Ceann-Loch (the loch head); Launceston—v. LANN; Torrington, in Devon (the town on the hill, tor, or on the R. Torridge); Watlington (the village protected by wattles). Of towns named from the rivers near which they are situated, Collumpton, Crediton, Frampton, Taunton, Lenton (on the Culm, Credy, Frome or Frame, Tone, and Lee); Northampton (on the north shore of the R. Aufona, now the Nen); Okehampton, on the R. Oke; Otterton, Leamington, Bruton, Moulton, Wilton, on the Otter, Learn, Brue, Mole, and Willy; Darlington or Darnton, on the Dar; Lymington, in Hants, anc. Lenton (on the pool); Southampton (the south town on the Anton or Test, which with the Itchen forms Southampton Water); Ayton, in Berwickshire, on the R. Eye.
TOPOL (Sclav.),
the poplar-tree; e.g. Töplitz, Neu and Alt (the place of poplars), in the basin of the R. Elbe, to be distinguished from Teplitz, in Bohemia—v. TEPLY, which is sometimes misnamed Töplitz.
TORGAU (Sclav.),
a market-place; e.g. Torgau, Torgovitza, Torgowitz (market-towns).
TORR (Gadhelic),
TWR (Cym.-Cel.),
a mound, a heap, a conical hill, cognate with the Lat. turris, the Ger. thurm, and the Grk. pyrgos (a tower); Tor, in Ireland, means a tower also; e.g. Toralt (the tower of the cliff); Tormore (great tower or tower-like rock); Tornaroy (the king’s tower); Tory Island, off the Irish coast, had two distinct names—Torach (i.e. abounding in tower-like rocks), and Toirinis (the island of the tower), so named from a fortress called Tor-Conaing (the tower of Conaing, a Fomorian chief); Torran, Tortan (little tower), applied to little knolls, as in Toortane and Turtane; Mistor and Mamtor, in Devonshire; Croken Torr, in Cornwall (a hill where meetings were held—gragan, Welsh, to speak); Torphichen (the raven’s hill), a parish in West Lothian; Torbolton, in Ayrshire, tradition says is the town of Baal’s mound. There is a beautiful hill in the parish where superstitious rites are still held; a bonfire is raised, and a sort of altar erected, similar to those described in the sacrifices to Baal on Mount Carmel; Torbay, in Devonshire, named from the hill which overlooks the bay, which gives its name to Torquay; Torrdubh and Torrduff (black hill); Torbane and Torgorm (the white and the blue hill); Torbreck (speckled hill); Torinturk (the wild boar’s hill); Kintore (at the head of the hill), in Aberdeenshire; Turriff, in Banffshire, is the plural form of toir. From the Lat. turris and its derivatives, come Tordesillas (the tower of the bishop’s see), in Spain; Torquemada, Lat. Turris cremata (the burned tower); Torr-alba and Torre-blanca (the white tower); Torrecilla, Lat. Turricellæ (the church-towers), in Spain; Torres-novas and Torres-vedras (the new and old towers), in Portugal; Torella (the little tower), Naples; Truxillo, in Spain, i.e. Turris-Julii (the tower of Julius); Tourcoing (corner tower), in France; La-tour-Sans-Venin, near Grenoble, is a corrupt. of Tour-Saint-Verena—to this saint the chapel was dedicated; Tournay, in Belgium, Lat. Turris Nerviorum (the tower of the Nervii); Torres-Torres (the fortifications of the mountains), Tours, in France, is not named from this root, but from the Turones, a tribe; but Torres Strait was named after the navigator Torres, who discovered it in 1606. In the Semitic languages also Tzur means a rock; it is the root of the names of the city of Tyre, and of Syria, of which in early times it was the chief city. Taurus or Tor is a general name for a mountain chain; Tabris (the mountain town), a city of Persia.
TRAETH (Cym.-Cel.),
TRAIGH (Gadhelic),
a strand; e.g. Traeth-mawr (great strand); Traeth-bach (little strand); Trefdraeth (the dwelling on the strand), in Wales; Traeth-coch (red strand), in Anglesea. In Ireland: Tralee, Co. Derry, is from Traigh-liath (the gray strand); Tranamadree (the strand of the dogs), Co. Cork; Ballintra, when it occurs on the coast, means the town on the strand, but inland it comes from Baile-an-tsratha (the town on the river-holm); Ventry, Co. Kerry, is from Fionn-traigh (white strand); as also Trabane, Trawane, and Trawbawn, which derive their names from the whitish colour of the sand; Fintray, a parish in Aberdeenshire on the R. Don, is also white strand; but Fintray, in Dumbartonshire, was formerly Fyntref or Fyntre, probably the dwelling, tre, on the Fenach, which is the boundary-stream of the parish on one side; Traeth-Saith, in Wales, named after a mythological patriarch.