I am looking for a source, on the internet preferably, for the entomology of town name suffixes. I have heard that the suffix –ich or –wich meant something in particular, I believe something to do with the salt trade. I believe that some towns that had charters to hold markets back in the Middle Ages also had a distinguishing suffix.
I’ve tried searching but I cannot find anything thing in this manner.
Does anyone know of a web site that might help me in this research?
Here’s one that might help.
Also, your search may go better if you search for “etymology” - entomology is the study of bugs.
Well, there’s a place in Hampshire called Havant.
If one wishes to ascertain the entomology of its suffix then surely it is ant.
I imagine that a fellow found an ant in the area, thought it would be nice to build a town there, hence Haveant, subsequently abbreviated to Havant.
Sorry no cite.
I will actually try to help. I don’t know of sites that might help, but some Dutch town names use a suffix “wijk” or “wyck” which sounds related to “-wich”, if that comes from older germanic roots it might just mean, as the Dutch version does, “district” or “area.”
From http://viking.no/e/england/danelaw/epl-danelaw.htm
courtesy of Google:
“-WICK The place-name element -wick or -wich is found in many English place-names. We have to be careful how we interpret this. Some -wicks no doubt have the Scandinavian -vik (creek or bay) as their root, especially if they are found on the coast of The Danelaw. Others, though, have their origin in the Anglo-Saxon word for a port, or any other place with a specific trading or manufacturing purpose.”
I certainly wish I’d had access to the internet when I had high school projects to complete! All that information, just for the proper spelling.