THE following are the more important significant syllables or words that enter into the composition of the names (especially British) of rivers, mountains, towns, etc.:

A (A.S. ea, Ice. -aa), 'a stream;' as Greta, Thurso ('Thor's stream').

Abad

Abad (Pers. and Sans.), 'a dwelling;' as Hyderabad, Allahabad.

Aber

Aber (Celt.),'a confluence,"an embouchure;' as Aberfeldy, Aberdeen, Aberystwith. [Practically synonymous with Inver.]

Achadh

Achadh. See Auch.

Ain

Ain (Heb.), 'a fountain;' as Engedi.

Ak

Ak (Turk.), 'white;' as .Ak-serai, ' white palace.'

All

All (Gael.), ' white;'Al-ian,' white water,' so the rivers Allen, Ellen, Aln, Lune, Allwen, Elwin.

Alt

Alt (Gael.), 'a stream;' as Allt-an-Thearna.

Ar

Ar, found in many river-names; as Aire, Ayr, Aar, Arro, Arrow, Arve. [Ety. dub., perh. conn. with Sans. ara, 'swift,' 'flowing;' perh. with Celt. garw, ' violent.']

Ard

Ard (Celt.), 'high;' as Ardoch, Airdrie, Ard-rossan, Ardglass, Arden, Ardennes.

Ath

Ath (Ir. and Gael.), 'a ford;' as Athlone, Ath-truim (now Trim).

Auch

Auch (Gael.), Agh (Ir.), ' a field;' as Aiichinleck, Aghinver, Aghadoe.

Auchter

Auchter (Gael.), 'summit;' as .Auchterarder.

Avon

Avon (Celt.), ' a river;' as Avon, Aven, Aisne, Inn, Ain, Vienne.

Ay

Ay. See Ey.

Bab

Bab (Ar.), 'a gate;' as Bab-el-mandeb, Bab-el.

Bach

Bach. See Beck.

Bad

Bad (Teut.), 'a bath;' as Bath, Baden, Carlsbad.

Bahia

Bahia (Port,), 'a bay.'

Bahr

Bahr (Ar.), ' a sea, lake, or river;' as Bahrein.

Bally

Bally (Ir. and Gael.), 'a village' or 'town;' as Ballymore, Balbriggan, Balmoral.

Ban

Ban (Celt.), ' white;' as Banna, Banon; the rivers Ben, Bann, Bandon, Banney, etc.

Beck

Beck (Scand.), Bach (Teut.), 'a brook;' as Holbeck, Lauterbach.

Bedd

Bedd (W,), ' a grave;' as Beddgelert.

Beg

Beg, Bihan (Celt.), 'little;' as Ballybeff, Mor-bihan.

Ben

Ben (Gael.), 'mountain,' Pen (Welsh), 'headland,' 'hilltop;' as Ben Nevis, Ben Lomond, The Twelve Pins, Bangor; Pen, Pennigant, Penzance, Pennine Alps, Apennines, Pindus.

Berg

Berg, Borough (A.S. beorh), 'a hill;' as Ingle-borough, Flamborough Head, Queensberry, Browberg Hill, Konigsberg, Bergen. [From the same root as Burgh (below).]

Beth

Beth (Heb.), 'a house;' as Bethel (house of God).

Blair

Blair (Gael.), 'a plain,' orig. 'a battlefield;' as Blair Athole. Boca (Span.), ' a mouth.'

Bottle or Battle

Bottle or Battle, Buttel (Teut.), 'a dwelling;' as Newbattle, Wolfenbuttel.

Broad

Broad (E.), as Braddon, Pradshaw, Bradford.

Brod(Slav.), 'a ford.'

Brunn

Brunn (Ger.), 'a spring;' as Salzbrnnn, Pader-bom.

Bryn

Bryn (W.), 'a hill-ridge;' as Brown-Willy.

Burgh

Burgh, Borough, Bury (Teut.),' a fortified place,' 'a town;' as Edinburgh, Peterborough, Shrewsbury, Hamburg, Cherbourg, Carisbrook, Burgos.

[A.S. byrig, Ger. burg.] Burn (N. Eng. and Scot.), 'a brook;' as Burnfoot, Blackburn, Tyburn, Eastbourne. By (Scand.), 'a dwelling,' ' a town;' as Derby, Rugby, Whitby, Elbœuf. Caer, Cader (W.), Caher (Ir.), 'fortified inclosure;' as Caerleon, Caernarvon, Cardigan, Carlisle, Cader-Idris, Sanguhar, Carlingford. Cam (Celt.), 'crooked;' as Cam, Cambeck, Cambuskenneth, Morecambe Bay, Cambrai. Carn (Celt.), ' a heap of stones.' Caster, Chester, Cester ( - L. castra), 'a camp;' as Doncaster, Chester, Winchester, Leicester. Ceann (Gael.), 'a head or promontory;' as Kin-tyre, Kinghorn, Kenmare. Cefn (Celt.), 'a ridge;' as Cefncoed, Chevin, Keynton, Chevington, Cheviot, Cevennes. Cheap and Chipping (A.S. ceap), 'price,' 'a market;' as Chipping-'Norton, Chepstow, Cheapside, Copenhagen (Dan. Kjoben-havn, 'merchants' haven'). Civita (It.), Ciudad (Sp.), 'a city;' as Civita Vecchia ('old city'); Ciudad Rodrigo ('city of Roderick '). [From L. civitas.] Clach, Cloch (Gael.), 'a stone;' as Cloqher.

Clyd

Clyd (Celt.), 'warm,' Clyth (Celt.), 'strong,' as Clyde, Cluden, Clwyd, Cloyd, etc.

Cnoc

Cnoc (Gael.), a knoll, hill; as knockmeledown. Coed (Celt.), 'a wood;' Cotewold Hills, Chatmoss. Coln (from L. colonia), 'a colony;' as Lincoln, Colne, Cologne (Koln). Combe (A.S.), Cwm or Cum (Celt.), 'a hollow between hills;' as Wycombe, Compton, The Coombs, Como. Craig, Carrick, Crag (Celt.), 'a rock;' as Craigie, Crathie, Carrick, Carrickfergus, Crick, Cricklade, Croagh-Patrick. Dagh (Turk.), 'a mountain;' as Karadagh. Dal (Scand.), Thal (Ger.), Dail and Dol (Celt.), 'a dale,' ' a field;' as Liddesdale, Rydal, Kendal, Arundel, Rheinthal; (in Celtic names prefixed) Dairy, Dalkeith, Dolgelly. Dar (Ar.), 'a dwelling district;' as Darfur, Diarbekr. Den or Dean (Teut.), ' a deep wooded valley;' as Tenterden, Southdean, Hazeldean, Denholm. Don or Dan (derivation not ascertained), 'water;' as the Don, Bandon, Dun, Tyne, Tone; so in the Dniester, Dnieper, Tanais, Donetz, Dwina. Dorf. See Thorpe. Dour (Celt.), 'water;' as the Dour, Adour, Douro, Dore, Thur, Doro, Adder, Derwent, Darwin, Darent, Dart, Dorchester, Dordogne. Drum and Drom (Celt.), 'a backbone,' 'a ridge;' as Dromore, Drummond, Aughrim, Leitrim. Du (Celt.), ' black;' as the Douglas; the rivers Dulas, Dowlas, and prob. Dee; Dublin ('dark pool'). Dun (Gael.), Dinas, Din (Welsh), 'a hill fortress;' as Dunmore, Dunblane, Dunkeld, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Dunstable, Dunmow, Doum-Patrick, Donegal, London, Verdun, Leyden, Dinant. Dysart (Celt. - L. desertuni), ' a hermitage;' as Dysart, Dysertmore. Ea, Ey (A.S. ig, Ice. ey, Norw. and Dan. o), 'an island;' as Swansea, Eton, Jersey, Rothesay, Staffa, Faroe. Eccles, Egles (like Fr. eglise, through L., from Gr. ekklesia), ' a church;' as Eccleston, Ecclefechan, Terregles. Elf, Elv (Goth.), ' a river,' as Elbe. Ermak (Turk.), ' a river;' as Kizil-ermak. Esk (Gael, and Ir. easg [obs.] or uisge, W. wysg), 'water;' as the Esk, Usk, Esky, Ise, Easeburn, Ashbourne, Iz, Isis, Exe, Ux, Ouse, Wisk, Wis, Ischxa, Isere, Aisne, Auxonne, Oise. Eski (Turk.), 'old.' Fell (Scand. fjeld), ' a mountain;' as Carter/ell, Goatfell, Snafel, Fitful Head (corr. of Hvit- Fell, 'white mountain'). Fiord or Fjord (Scand.), 'a creek or firth;' as Waterford, Laxfirth, Lymfiord. Fleet (Scand. fleot, E. flood), 'a small river' or 'channel;' as Purfleet; found in Normandy as fleur, as Harfleur (anciently Harvoflete). Folk (A.S.), 'people;' as Norfolk ('north people'), Suffolk (' south people '). Ford (A.S.), 'a shallow passage over a river;' as Chelmsford. See also Fiord. Fors, Foss (Scand.), 'a waterfall;'as Wilberforce. Garth (Scand.), 'yard;' Gorod, Grod, Grade, Gratz (Slav.), 'inclosure,' 'town;' asStuttgart, Novgorod (= Newton), Belgrade (= Whitton), Koniggratz (= Kingston). Garw (Celt.), ' rough;' hence Garonne, Garioch, Farrow, Yair, possibly Garry. Gate (Teut.), 'a passage' or ' road;' as Canongate, Harrowgraie, Reigate ( =Ridgegate), Cattegat. Gebel, Jebel (Ar.), 'a mountain;' as Gibraltar, Jebel-Mukattam. Glen (Gael.), Glyn (W.), 'a narrow valley;' as Glencoe, Glengarry, Glyneath, Glamorgan. Gorm (Gael.), 'blue;' as Cairngorm, kingorn ('blue point'), corrupted to Kinghorn. Gorod, Grod (Slav.). See Garth. Gwent (Celt.), 'a plain;' Latinised into venta, as Venta Belgarum (now Winchester), Caerwent. Gwy. See Wy.