a mouth, in its literal sense, but in a secondary sense, signifying an entrance into any place. In Ireland it is often united with ath (a ford), forming belatha (ford entrance). The word bel itself is often used to denote a ford; e.g. Belclair, i.e. Bel-an-chlair (the ford or entrance to the plain); Belatha (Anglicised Bella) is found in many names, as in Bellanagare, i.e. Bel-atha-na-gcarr (the ford mouth of the cars); Lisbellaw (the fort at the ford mouth); Bel-atha is often changed in modern names to balli or bally, as if the original root were baile (a town), as in Ballinamore (the mouth of the great ford); Ballinafad (the mouth of the long ford); Ballyshannon is corrupt. from Bel-atha-Seanach (Shannagh’s ford); Belfast, anc. Bel-feirsde (the ford of the farset or sandbank); Ballinaboy, i.e. Bel-an-atha-buide (the mouth of the yellow ford); Ballinasloe, Bel-atha-na-sluaigheadh (the ford mouth of the armies); Bel (a ford) is not found in Scotland, but a word with a kindred meaning as applied to land, bealach (a pass or opening between hills), is frequent there, as well as in Ireland, and takes the form of ballagh or balloch; e.g. Ballaghboy in Ireland, and Ballochbuie in Scotland (the yellow pass); Ballaghmore (great pass); Ballaghkeen (the beautiful pass, cæin); Ballaghadereen (the pass of the little oak grove); Balloch alone occurs in several counties of Scotland, the best known being Balloch, at the entrance to Loch Lomond; Ballochray (smooth pass, reidh); Ballochmyle (the bald or bare pass); Ballochgair (short pass); Ballochcraggan (of the little rock); Balloch-nam-bo (the pass of the cattle), etc.
BELED, or BELAD (Ar.),
a district; e.g. Beled-es-Shurifa (the district of the nobles); Belad-es-Sûdân (the district of the Blacks); Belad-es-Sukkar (sugar district); Belad-t-moghrib (the district of the West), the Arabian name for Morocco, also called Beled-el-Djered (the land of dates); Beled-el-Sham (the district of the north or on the left), the Arabic name for Syria, to distinguish it from Yemen (to the south or right). Syria was also called by the Turks Soristan, and by the Greeks Suria, i.e. the country of Tyre (Tzur, the rock). The word in its secondary sense means prosperous or happy—hence the Greeks called it Αραβια ἡ εὐδαίμων, to distinguish it from Arabia deserta (Ar.), El-Badiah (the desert), hence the Bedawees or Bedouins.
BENDER (Ar.),
a market or harbour. Bender is the name of several towns on the Persian Gulf, and also of a town on the Dniester; Bender-Erekli (the harbour of the ancient Heraclea), on the Black Sea.
BENI (Ar.),
sons of; e.g. Beni-Hassan (a town named from the descendants of Hassan); Beni-Araba (belonging to the sons of the desert); Beni-Calaf (to the sons of the Caliph); Beni-Sham (the sons of Shem), i.e. Syria; Beni-Misr (the land of Mizraim or Egypt).
BERG (Ger.),
BIERG (Scand.),
BRIG, BRAIGH (Celtic),
a hill, a summit; e.g. Ailberg (eagle hill); Bleyberg (lead hill); Schneeberg (snowy hill); Walkenberg (the hill of clouds); Donnersberg (of thunder); Habsberg, Falkenberg, Valkenberg (of hawks); Finsterberg (dark hill); Groenberg (green hill); Teufelsberg (the devil’s hill); Greiffenberg (the griffin’s hill); Geyersberg (of the vulture); Jarlsberg (of the earl); Dreisellberg (the hill of three seats); Kupperberg (copper hill); Heilberg (holy hill); Silberberg (silver hill, near a silver mine); Schoenberg (beautiful hill). The word berg, however, is often applied to the names of towns and fortresses instead of burg; and, when this is the case, it indicates that the town was built on or near a hill, or in connection with a fortress; e.g. Kaiserberg (the hill fort of the Emperor Frederick II.); Würtemberg, anc. Wirtenberg (named from the seignorial chateau, situated upon a hill). The name has been translated (the lord of the hill) from an Old Ger. word wirt (a lord). Heidelberg is a corrupt. of Heydenberg (the hell of the pagans), or from heydel myrtle, which grows in great abundance in the neighbourhood; Lemberg, Lowenburg, or Leopolis (the fortress of Leo Danielowes), in Galicia; Nurnberg, anc. Norimberga or Castrum Noricum (the fortress of the Noricii); Lahnberg (on the R. Lahn); Spermberg (on the Spree); Wittenberg (white fortress); Köningsberg (the king’s fortress), in E. Prussia and in Norway; Bamberg (named after Babe, daughter of the Emperor Otho II.), in Bavaria; Havelberg (on the R. Havel). There are several towns in Germany and Scandinavia called simply Berg or Bergen; e.g. Bergen-op-Zoom (the hill fort on the R. Zoom), in Holland; Bergamo (on a hill), in Italy. Berg (a hill) sometimes takes the form of berry, as in Queensberry, in Dumfries; also of borough, as in Flamborough Head and Ingleborough (the hill of the beacon light). Gebirge signifies a mountain range; e.g. Schneegebirge (the snow-clad range); Siebengebirge (the range of seven hills); Fichtelgebirge (of the pines); Erzegebirge (the ore mountain range); Glasischgebirge (of the glaciers); Eulergebirge (of the owls).
BETH (Heb.),
BEIT (Ar.),