A (Old Norse),
a possession;[2] e.g. Craika, Torfa, Ulpha; A (Scand.) also means an island—v. EA, p. 71.
AA, A (Scand.),
a stream; from Old Norse â, Goth. aha, Old Ger. aha (water). The word, in various forms, occurs frequently in river names throughout Western Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, and often takes the form of au or ach; e.g. the rivers Aa, Ach, Aach; Saltach (salt river); Wertach (a river with many islands)—v. WARID, etc.; Trupach (troubled stream); Weser, i.e. Wesar-aha (western stream); Lauter, i.e. Hlauter-aha (clear stream); Danube or Donau, i.e. Tuon-aha (thundering stream); Main, i.e. Magin-aha (great stream); Fisch-aha (fish stream); Schwarza (black stream); Zwiesel-au (the stream of the whirlpool); Erlach (alder-tree stream); Gron-aha (green stream); Dachau (the clayey stream); Fulda, i.e. Fold-aha (land stream); Rod-aha (reedy stream); Saale and Saala from salz (salt stream). The simple a or o, with a prefix expressive of the character of the stream, is the most frequent form of the word in Iceland and Scandinavia, and in the districts of Great Britain colonised by Norsemen or Danes; e.g. Laxa (salmon river); Hvita (white river); Brora (bridge river); Rotha (red river); Greta (weeping river); Storaa (great river); Thurso (Thor’s river), which gives its name to the town; Lossie, anc. Laxi-a (salmon river).
AB (Sansc.),
AW (Pers.),
water; e.g. Doab (the district of two waters); Menab (the mouth of the water), on the Persian Gulf; Busheab or Khoshaub (good water), a river in Hindostan, also an island in the Persian Gulf; Neelab (blue water); Punjaub (the district of the five streams); Chinab or Chenaub R., said to be a corrupt. of its former name Chaudra Bhagee (the garden of the moon), so called from a small lake of that name from which it proceeds. Cognate with this root is the Gadhelic abh, in its forms of aw or ow. Thus in Scotland we have the River Awe and Loch Awe; in Ireland, Ow and Owbeg (little stream); Ow-nageerah (the stream of the sheep); Finnow (clear stream). Cognate with these root-words is the Lat. aqua and its derivations in the Romance languages, as well as ae or ea (A.S. water). Forsteman finds river names, allied to the foregoing, throughout Germany and France, in such forms as ap, op, ep, etc., as in the Oppa, Lennep, Barop, Biberaffa.
ABAD (Pers. and Sansc.),
a dwelling or town, generally connected with the name of its founder; e.g. Hyderabad (the town of Hyder Ali, or of the Lion); Ahmedabad (of the Sultan Ahmed); Furrackabad (founded by Furrack the Fortunate); Agra or Akberabad (founded by Akber); Nujiabad (of Nujibah-Dowlah); Auringabad (founded by Aurungzebe); Jafferabad (the city of Jaffier); Jehanabad (of Shah Jehan); Jellabad (of Jellal, a chief); Moorshedabad (the town of Moorshed Khoolly-Khan); Moorabad (named after Morad, the son of Shah Jehan); Shahabad (of the Shah); Abbas-abad (founded by Abbas the Great); Dowladabad (the town of wealth); Hajiabad (of the pilgrim); Meschdabad (of the mosque); Islamabad (of the true faith); Allah-abad (of God); Secunderabad (named after Alexander the Great); Resoulabad (of the prophet); Asterabad (on the River Aster); Futteabad (the town of victory); Sadabad or Suffi-abad (the town of the sadi or suffi, i.e. the sage).
ABER (Cym.-Cel.),
ABHIR and OBAIR (Gael.),
a confluence of waters; applied, in topography, to places at the conf. of streams, or at the embouchure of a river. The derivation of the term has been traced by some etymologists to the conjunction of ath (Gael.), a ford, and bior, water; by others to Cym.-Cel. at (at) and bior (water). This prefix is general in many of the counties of Scotland, throughout Wales, and, in a few instances, in Ireland, although in the latter country the synonyms inver and cumar are more frequent. Both words are found in the topography of the Picts, but the Scots of Argyleshire used only inver before they came from Ireland to settle in that district. The word aber seems to have become obsolete among them; and as there are no abers in Ayrshire, Renfrew, and Lanarkshire, the word had probably become obsolete before the kingdom of Strathclyde was formed. Dr. Joyce, in his Irish Names of Places, traces its use as prefix or affix to the Irish root abar (a mire), as in the little stream Abberachrinn (i.e. the river of the miry place of the tree). In Wales we find Aberconway, Aberfraw, Aberistwyth, Aberavon, Aberayron, Aberdare, Aberdaron, Abergavenny, at the embouchure of the Conway, Fraw, Istwyth, Avon, Aeron, Dar, Daron, Gavenny. Barmouth, corrupt. from Aber-Mowddy, a seaport in Merioneth, at the mouth of the R. Mowddy. Berriew, corrupt. from Aber-Rhiw (at the junction of the R. Rhiw with the Severn); Aberdaugledden, the Welsh name for Haverford-west, at the mouth of twin rivers resembling two swords (gledden), which unite at Milford Haven. It is called by the Welsh now Hwlford (the sailing road) because the tide comes up to the town. Aberhonddu, at the mouth of the R. Honddi or Honddu (the county town of Brecknock), and Aberdovey, at the embouchure of the R. Dovey in Wales. In Scotland, Aberbrothwick or Arbroath, Abercorn, anc. Aeber-curnig, Aberdour, Abergeldie, Abernethy, at the embouchure of the Brothock, Cornie, Dour, Geldie, and Nethy. Aberchirder is Abhir-chiar-dur (the conf. of the dark water); Abercrombie (the curved conf.); Aberfeldy, i.e. Abhir-feathaile (the smooth conf.); Aberfoyle (the conf. of the pool, phuill); Aberlemno (the conf. of the leaping water, leumnach); Arbirlot, anc. Aber-Elliot (at the mouth of the Elliot); Applecross for Abhir-croisan (the conf. of trouble); Old Aberdeen and New Aberdeen, at the mouths of the Don and Dee, Lat. Devana-castra; Fochabers (the plain, at the river mouth), Gael. faigh, a plain; Lochaber (at the mouth of the loch); Barmouth, in Wales, corrupt, of Aber-Mawdoch or Maw.