LL-L "History" 2008.05.24 (03) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 24 May 2008 - Volume 03
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From: Pat Reynolds <pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "History" 2008.05.22 (01) [E]

 In message <57c981290805221037m5185fd0ex891e727b8ca2b1c3 at mail.gmail.com>,
Lowlands-L List <lowlands.list at GMAIL.COM> I.e. Mark writes

> .These 'Wurthen', these mounds - could they be called in some other
> Lowlands language or dialect 'terpen'?
>

From what I was taught of Northern European archaeology 25 years ago, yes,
they are the same things.

>
> & one last comment; Ron am I right in connecting the word 'Wyk' as well as
> the other familiar one across the Channel, '-wich' with the Latin 'Vicus',
> being the smallest community unit recognised for administrative purposes in
> the Later Roman Empire? Meaning roughly 'military colony' or 'armed camp'?
>

Apologies to Ron: this has come from the OED online, and I am at a loss to
get it into anything resembling decent text.  For a week you will be able to
see it here:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/display/50285241?keytype=ref&ijkey=ecgcLnxP
BEzHE

The OED gives this etymology for various meanings of 'wick' in English
{dag}1. An abode, dwelling, dwelling-place (in general). Obs.
   2. A town, village, or hamlet. Obs. or dial. (Survives as an element of
place-names in both forms, -wich and -wick, the local distribution of which
presents difficulties.)
  3. A farm; spec. a dairy farm. Now local.
   {dag}4. An enclosed piece of ground, a close. local.

[OE. wíc m., f. = OFris. wîk f., OS. wîc m. dwelling-place, house, MLG. wîk
f., n. town, place, MDu. wijc m. district, (Du. wijk f. quarter, district,
ward, WFris. wyk), OHG. wîch str. m. dwelling-place, town, MHG. wîch in
wîkbilethe civic rights, wichbilde (G. weichbild) precinct and jurisdiction
of a town, wîchgrave recorder; app. ad. L. v{imac}cus row of houses, quarter
of a city, street, village (cognate with Gr.
{omicron}{ilenisfrown}{kappa}{omicron}{fsigma}
house, etc., Goth. weihs village).]

I confess I remember the meaning of the place-name element -wick -wich (in
England and the Low Countries) as 'market', or 'tradig town'.

Best wishes,

Pat
-- 
Pat Reynolds

It may look messy now ...
       ... but just you come back in 500 years time (T. Pratchett).
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