Zoom Meeting with speaker

The club’s first ever Zoom meeting speaker was Roy Marsden, President of the RC of Cupar.  Onomatics was the subject of his presentation.

Despite being brought up in Bolton Roy explained how his interest in Scottish place names had a connection with an estate in Fife and a pub between Bolton and Wigan.

Balcarres Arms is 260 miles away from the Balcarres Estate but Roy explained several names that were common both sides of the border.

Scottish places names are taken from several languages including Norse, Pictish Gaelic and Pre Celtic.  Roy said the Scottish mountain Sgurr nan Spainteach has a Spanish name.

Osnaburgh is an alternative name for Dairsie near Cupar and it comes from the name for the city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The place name Friockheim in Angus is literally translated, means 'Heather Home', with Friock being a derivative from the Gaelic 'fraoch' (heather) and 'heim' from the German for home.

Beauly comes from the French beau lieu, meaning 'beautiful place'.

Guardbridge is from Gare, French for station with the d appearing later in history.  Fife also has Mountfleurie in Leven, again French in origin.

In Edinburgh Cheynes has Italian origin as Sienna and Paisley may have Greek origin, a derivation either from the Brittonic word pasgill, "pasture", or from passeleg, "basilica", (i.e. major church), itself derived from the Greek βασιλική basilika.

Scandinivian influence is huge in the Northern and Western Isles but in Fife Couston and Otterston are examples. Galloway has Scandinavian place names and there are several examples in Shetland and Orkney of place names place starting Sj. 

Pictish names start Pit and Aber mainly in east and central Scotland although Applecross was originally Abercross.

A river name that is common In England and Scotland is Avon.  Avon is Welsh for river like other rivers of this name derived from Gaelic or Old Welsh. 

President Roger thanked Roy for his fascinating talk.