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Monday, 21st July
Tails, Heads and Feet
The Cornish word lost for "tail" is well established. We find it in place names from all eras, e.g:
LESQUITE (Pelynt) OC Lostcuit “tail of a wood”. We know it is OC because of the "quite" from "cuit".
LESQUITE (Lanivet) was MC Lostcoys “tail of a wood” in 1320, so ought to be Lostcoos.
LUSTY GLAZE (Newquay) Lostyn Glas “little green tail of land”
LOSTWITHIEL “tail of a wooded area” was Lostwythyel in 1349, now would be Lostwydhyel.
Looking at wildlife, we find losyow ôn "lambs tails" or "hazel catkins" and lostek, the familiar nickname for a "fox" (and also for the "long-tailed tit"). Another little bird is the lostik rüdh "red start".
The Cornish had a habit of naming things according to their dominant features, so the "hare" is scovarnek because of its big ears, and a "meteor" (shooting star) is steren lost(ek) (a star with a long tail).
If you want an insult to call someone "hare-brained" or worse you have a choice: pedn bobba, pedn cog, pedn scav, pedn sogh. Someone "big-headed" is pednek.
But don't confuse pedn drog "wicked" with drog pedn "a headache".
We are also spoilt for choice when it comes to place names with pedn (earlier penn) or pen. Some are at the "head" or "top" of a landscape feature.
There are several "spring-head(s)" or similar watery places,
PENVENTON (Carn Brea, Gwennap and Helston) Penfenten “spring-head”
PENTEVALE (Penfenton fala 1320) Penfenten Fala “springhead,source of the river Fal”
PENVENTINUE (Penfentenyou 1284) Penfentynnyow “spring-heads”
PENWEATHERS (Truro) (Penwothes 1327) Penwodhys “head of a place of streams”
PENGOVER GREEN (Pengover 1334) Pengover “end/top of a stream”
PELYN (Penlyn 1296) Penlynn “head/end of a pool”
PENHALE (8 examples) Penhal “end/top of a marsh”
PENGERSICK Pengersek “end of a reed marsh”
PENHALLOW (Perranzabuloe) Penhallow “end/top of marshes”
PENHALLICK (Camborne) (Penhelek 1314) Penhelik “end/top of willows”
PENADLAKE (Penhylek 1394) Penhelik “end/top of willows”
Around the coast there are dozens of "headlands" or "promontories", many called pen + additional description:
PEDNBEAN (Scilly) Pedn Bian “little headland” (pedn head + bian little)
PENTIRE HEAD: Pentir "promontory" (penn head + tir land)
PENTIRE POINT, East: (Pentirbighan c1270) Pentir Bian "little promontory"
PENZANCE (Pensans 1204) Pensans “holy/sacred headland”
PENDENNIS POINT (Falmouth): Penn Dinas "fort headland"
Confusion can arise with names derived from ben meaning "foot" (or base) of something (not anatomical):
PENDOWER (Bondowar 1558) Bendowr "water's foot"
PENTEWAN (Bentewyn 1297) Bentewyn “foot of the Tewyn (stream name)”
BENHURDEN (Benhordon 1329) Benhor’dhin ?“foot of a ram-fort”
PENBERTH (Benberd 932, Penbyrhy 1580) Benbryghy “foot of the Bryghy (dappled river)”
PENDEWEY (Bendewy 1310) Benduy “foot of the river Dewey”
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