ETYMOLOGY OF LANE. ily 
~J 
The Etymology of Lane. 
By the Epirors. 
The term lane, signifying a narrow deep rivulet or 
watercourse, appears to be confined almost entirely to 
Galloway, where it is of frequent occurrence. Jamieson in 
his Dictionary mentions that it is also to be found in Lanark- 
shire. In the district between Loch Dee and Loch Doon 
the term abounds—the Gala Lane, Cooran Lane, Carrick 
Lane, Eglin Lane, Carsphairn Lane, Tunskeen Lane, Balloch 
Lane—and others might be multiplied. In the parish of 
Mochrum is the village now called Elrig, but before it was 
endowed with a telegraph station it was always called the 
Lane of Mochrum, from a lane or narrow brook which, run- 
ning out of Elrig Loch, runs along behind the houses. 
The etymology of the term is obscure. The English 
lane, a narrow way, is the Anglo-Saxon ldne or lone, the 
latter form being preserved in the Lowland Scots, loan and 
loaning: Skeat, who remains the dominant authority on 
English etymology, pronounced lane to be of unknown 
origin, perhaps allied to the Icelandic lon, an inlet, a sea 
loch, laena; a hollow place, a vale. In this he is supported 
by Jamieson, who does not, however, say from what Icelandic 
word it is derived. His dictionary, invaluable as a record 
of phrase, is untrustworthy in etymology, for he did not 
always distinguish between words derived from each other 
and those of common descent. 
If the term be of Icelandic or Norse origin (and Mr W. 
G. Collingwood points out that there is an Icelandic word, 
leyningr, a hollow way), it is strange that it should for the 
most part occur in remote and inland parts where Norse 
influence was least likely to be felt or leave any permanent 
impression. In Cumberland, where Norse influence was un- 
doubted, there is no such word as lane. A narrow road is a 
lowning, or in the southern part of the district a loan. 
J. D. Johnston, in his Place Names of Scotland, p. 165, 
mentions a Gaelic word, lean, a swamp; and Mr Collingwood 
suggests that lane as a sluggish stream, if one can risk a 
