Wirral revisited

Coates, Richard

Abstract

This article has two goals. The first is to document fully the recurrent English place-name Wirral and a number of similar ones which can be shown, in some cases definitely, in others probably or possibly, to have the same origin, as well as others which appear to have the same first element. The second is to re-interrogate the widely accepted meaning of the Old English word wīr which is, beyond reasonable doubt, the first element of the name, because the grounds for the general belief that it denotes the shrub known as bog myrtle or sweet gale (Myrica gale) have not yet been properly explored.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Sep 14, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 10, 2016
• Journal: Nomina
• Print ISSN: 0141-6340
• Publisher: Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Pages: 75-105
• Keywords: Wirral, names, Engliah place names
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/937614
• Publisher URL: http://www.snsbi.org.uk/Nomina.html
• Contract Date: Feb 10, 2016