LL-L "Etymology" 2002.08.23 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 23.AUG.2002 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Criostoir O Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.08.22 (05) [D/E/LS]

Dear all,

Colin Wilson wrote:

> I'd be interested in knowing the source of this
> information. The letter
> "x" is not used in Gaelic and, to my knowledge,
> never has been. The
> name *might* have been "Grian-Chnoc" which does
> indeed mean "Sun-Hill".

I immediately thought the same. I would have thought,
however, that "hill of the sun" was "cnoc na ngrian"
or even "cnoc ghreine" the adjective following the
noun as is standard in all Celtic languages. As far as
I know, and at least in my usage, "grian" is not one
of the exceptional words that can be used as a prefix,
unlike "sean" (old) for example. Therefore I suspect
that Greenock's etymology is not "sun hill" at all,
and linguistic substrates of the region, particularly
Brythonic, should be investigated.

I happen to believe it is simply a mauling of "green
oak" (or whatever Scots form thereof) - perhaps
indicating a tree smothered with green lichen. This in
itself may be a Scots translation of an earlier Gaelic
or Brythonic placename - probably something like
"draoi ghlais".

Who knows?

Beannachtai oraibh,

Criostoir.

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From: "JOHN BLUCK" <JGBluck at msn.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.08.22 (10) [D/E/LS/Z]

Hello all,

I joined your group discussion to try to find out what my last name,
Bluck, might mean. I am by no means a
language expert, although I also speak some Spanish. I was quite
interested in the discussion by Daniel
Prohaska below about the word "tree." My great grandparents came to
America from Germany in search of
gold and they stayed. I was always curious about my last name, and so I
made inquiries of people who
speak German, and my name doesn't seem to be German. Once I was talking
from someone by phone in
Sweden, and she said "Bluck" is quite common there. She thought it might
mean "block" or "log" in English.
(That is why the discussion of "tree" peaked my interest.)

Recently, I made a search on the Internet and found some old maps of
England. One old map, dated 1675,
and called Ogilby, shows old names, no longer used in the south of
England near a place called Rumsey. One
notation on the map says "Bluck on the Heath." Another nearby notation
says, "Bluck on the Heath post." I
also noticed there seem to be many people in England with the surname
"Bluck," although my ancestors
came from Germany.

If you have any thoughts about my question, please feel free to let me
know. This question about the
meaning of my name has interested me for a long time.

Cheers, John Bluck, California, USA.

P.S> I hope I have followed your format correctly in this discussion
group. this is my first attempt at
participating in a chat session.

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From: "Ahlfeld, Ross" <ross.ahlfeld at invitrogen.com>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.08.22 (05) [D/E/LS]

The source is a book which was published about 100 years ago called
"Views
and Reminiscences of Old Renfrewshire " by William Macrae it also states
that the translation for "Gourock" would be "Gorriag" meaning "Bay Hill"
(Which was also another site of Druid worship) Do you know if this
translation and meaning are correct as the term Bay Hill is still used
locally ?
Warmest Regards
Ross

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