Place
Names 4
Many
farms and settlements took their names from the vegetation that predominated in
the vicinity. Cornwall was once heavily wooded. In the east of Cornwall, where
the language was lost first, the Old Cornish cuit
for wood has effectively been
fossilised. We can deduce a variety of pronunciations from the original and current
spellings:
|
Cuddenbeak
(Cotynbeke
1330)
|
little
point-wood
|
|
Cotehele
(Cotheyle
1302)
|
wood
by tidal flats
|
|
Kilquite
(Kylguit
1327)
|
wood
ridge
|
|
Lesquite
|
tail
of a wood
|
|
Lydcott
(Lotkoyd
1284)
|
grey
wood
|
|
Menacuddle
(Menequidel
1250)
|
hillside
with a small wood
|
|
Penquite
(nr
Golant Penquyte C1470)
|
end/top
of a wood
|
|
Penquite
(nr Landrake
Pencoet 1286)
|
end/top
of a wood
|
|
Quethiock
(Quedoc 1201)
|
wooded
|
|
Tamsquite
(Stymguyt
1327)
|
bend
of a wood
|
Further west
many places incorporate the later Cornish coos for wood:
|
Melancoose
(Melyncoys
C14
Mellangoose c17)
|
wood mill
|
|
Mellangoose (nr Helston) (Melyn Goys 1535)
|
woodland mill
|
|
Mingoose
(Meyngoys 1327)
|
woodland stones
|
|
Pencoose
|
end/top of a wood
|
|
Pencoys
|
|
|
Pencoise
|
|
|
Pencoose (nr Stithians) (Broncoys 1278)
|
hill wood
|
|
Pendoggett
(Pendewgoys 1302)
|
end/top of two woods
|
|
Stencoose
(Sturncoys 1327)
|
bend of a wood
|
|
Hugus
|
high wood
|
Sometimes place names just
incorporate (g)wyth or (g)wethow indicating the presence of
lots of trees (current SWF spelling gwydhMC
or gwedhLC
):
|
Lostwithiel
(Lostwythyel 1349)
|
tail of a
wooded area
|
|
Porthgwarra
(Porthgorwethau 1387)
|
cove of
wooded slopes
|
|
Gloweth (nr. Trelissick Hospital, Truro)
(Glowyth 1485)
|
trees that
supply charcoal
|
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