TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 177 



On certain Georiraphical Names in the Ccimtij of Sussex. 

 By Dr. Charnock, F.S.A. 



Among other names, tlie paper attempted the etymology of the follo\^ing : — 

 Fairlight may translate in Saxou beautiful meadow {ffcficr-hay), but is more pro- 

 bably the same as the English local names Farley, Farlie, Farleigh, from the 

 'D&msh.-^&xon faar-h'iKj, sheep's meadow. The author discards the usual etymo- 

 logy of Hastings, and" gives two suggestions, viz. from Danish hest-eng, horse 

 meadow, and Astcn-eiu/e, meadow of the Asten, a stream which runs through the 

 battle-field. Framfiel'd is for Frantville, etymologically the same as Frant, -which 

 gave the ancient appellation of Frant Wells to Tunbridge Wells ; from Danish 

 vand, water. The ancient name Senlac is from sccn-lcag, beautiful meadow. The 

 author compares Aderida with Anderitium in Senonia Lugdunensis, Andetrium 

 in lUyria (the Andretium of the Peutiuger Table), and also with the* Anderitum of 

 Bavennas, a town of Aquitanian Gaul (now Javols iu the Gevaudun), which the 

 author derives from Keltic anncdd-ar-rid, a dwelling near a passage or ford. Mutii- 

 autonis may be from mant-an-ton, mouth of the water, or imcth-ant, rapid river. 



Roumanian Oipsies. By Dr. CnAKNOCK, F.S.A. 



By the census of 18G0 the Boumanian gipsies are put down at 300,000. Thpy 

 are well-formed and long-lived. There are, however, many cripples from artificial 

 causes. They are adroit in work, but work very little, and pass whole days in 

 sleep. Thej^ are fond of carrion, and are great cowards. Chastity is scarcely 

 known. Their ordinary diet is a polenta of maize called ■mdmalir/a. Men, women, 

 and children smoke from the age of five. The native dance is the tdnand. Most 

 of them have fixed residences. The Viltrassi class are all well built, have beauti- 

 ful black eyes and long black hair. Ou becoming motheis the women are very 

 ugly. The people have entirely forgotten their native language, and have lost the 

 manners and usages of gipsies. The best musicians are found amongst them. 

 Some are engaged iu agriculture, and they are more civilized than the Bormianian 

 peasants. 



The paper concluded with full remarks on the grammar, and a comparative voca- 

 bulary of the dialect with other gipsy dialects and also with the Indian languages. 



On iJie Gipsy Dialect called "Sim." By Dr. Chaenock, F.S.A. 

 The dialect in question is spoken by Egyptian gipsies in the presence of stran- 

 gers and for secrecy. The author traces most of the words to the Arabic, con- 

 cealed by prefixes or sufiixes and sometimes by both. The Egyptian suffix ish 

 (under various forms) is found in a great many words. Other sulKxes are mi, ma ; 

 and dJi, ch are used as prefixes. The paper contained many examples, including 

 numerals. The word Sim is probably from d-s'nniyd, for el hmiya, secrecy. 



On the Ethnological and Fhilolor/ical BeJations of the Caucasus. 

 By Hyde Clarke, 

 This paper communicates the further researches of Mr. Hyde Clarke on the 

 classification of the languages of the Caucasus. It identifies : — (1) the Ude with 

 the ancient Egy])tian and Coptic ; (2) the Abkhass with the Agaw, Falasha, &c. 

 of the Upper Nile; (?>) the Circassian with the Dravidian ; (4) the Georgian, 

 Lazian, and Siuan with the Caucaso-Tibetan. The Udo and Abkhass are con- 

 nected with the statements of Herodotus (Book II.) as to the Egyptian colony 

 established in Colchis by Sesostris. Mr. Hyde Clarke observed that the Caucasus 

 was not a centre of population for the world, but a place of passage, and showed 

 the relations of the Abkhass (Agaw) and Circassians with their congeners in Europe, 

 Africa, Asia, Australasia, and America (Omagua, Guarani), illustrating the common 

 population of the new and old world, and the knowledge of America by ancient na- 

 tions, dimly preserved though not understood by the Greek and Boman geographers. 



