Posted by Robert Dilley on August 10, 2005 at 19:28:22 from 65.39.13.1 user rdilley.
In Reply to: HOW to RIGG a GHYLL posted by Ed Kiser on August 10, 2005 at 03:01:00:
HOW and HOWE come from the Old Norse haugr meaning a hill or mound. It is a common Lake District term, especially in field names. The final "e" is optional and depends on local choice/taste.
RIGG could come either from the Norse hryggr or the Old English hrycg. Both mean ridge.
GHYLL is a rather Wordsworthian version of the more usual "Gill" from the Norse gil: a ravine or narrow valley.
Norse names are especially common in the Lake District mountains (fell for mountain; force for waterfall and so on) as the Norwegians who settled the area went for the upland pastures they were used to at home. The somewhat later-arriving English stayed more in the lowland areas.
One book I have, taking the line that "language controls behaviour" (the same silly argument people use to replace "chairman" with "chairperson" on the grounds that the former stops you appointing women to positions of authority) argues that English is poorly equipped to describe mountain scenery as it was developed in a lowland area and lacks the vocabulary of, for example, Spanish (sierra, mesa etc). I counter this by pointing out that local language in mountain areas is more than adequate. A quick scan of the Lake District tourist map reveals Band, Bank, Breast, Brow, Buttress, Crag, Dod(d), Edge, End, Fell, Head, Height, Hill, How(e), Knott, Kop, Man, Moor, Pike, Raise, Rib, Rigg, Saddle, Scar, Seat, Side, Stile, Tod, Tongue, Top. I am sure there must be others (I hope Ed will forgive me for not giving the etymology of each).
Language is a wonderful area of study -- and AR is a great example thereof.