englishman.espadana-walker.com - Languages and Place-names

Place-names are
a distinct chapter of our linguistic heritage. Place-names proper (toponyms) refer to habitation or location names. Oronyms refer to names of natural elevations hills, mountains and peaks. Hydronyms refer to names of flowing or still waters – rivulets, rivers, estuaries, ponds and lakes.

These categories
with ethnonyms (personal and ethnic names), and the names of natural features such as forests, plains, districts etc. make up the large category of onomastics.

Great Britain
Ireland, northern and western France, the Low Countries inside the old Rhine frontier, parts of Germany and Switzerland, Spain and Portugal are covered. The Celtic and Germanic background and expansions, and the Roman conquest are treated.

English place and river names
in eastern England and northern France are emphasized