74 



The Names of Places in Wiltshire. 



limiting" the meaning to a particular portion of such settlement 

 or neighbourhood. The difference between the Celtic and Teutonic 

 languages in respect of compound names has already been noticed 

 (see above § 2), and therefore the remark need not here be repeated 

 or exemplified. 



In speaking of one class of Celtic Names — those comparatively j 

 few, in which to a word found in use the Teutonic settlers added I 

 their own terminations (see above § 3 c.) — we assumed that the 

 general purport of such (S endings " was understood. Now however 

 that we are discussing names, in which one or other of them almost 

 invariably occurs, it will be well to give a more exact account of 

 the meaning of those which are most common. 

 Tun. This ordinarily in terminations assumes the form of Ton. 

 The word originally denotes any enclosure, great or small. 

 From it is derived the verb tynan ( = to enclose). Hence 

 the Wiltshire words Garston, {gars-tun) literally "grass- 

 enclosure/"' and Tining, which denotes " enclosed ground." 

 The word is applied to areas of the most varying extent, a 

 garden, a court, a village, a town. In most cases perhaps 

 our word " village " would be its best interpretation. Indeed 

 what in our authorized version of the Bible is translated 

 " g° y e m fo> the village over against you, &c." (Luke xix., 30), 

 is in Tyndale's version (1526), translated "goo ye into the 

 tonne, &c." The village of Bethany moreover is called 

 (John, xi., 1) " the town of Mary and her sister Martha." 

 The very common word Barton, which is applied to the 

 buildings enclosed within a rick-yard, and also to any small 

 enclosed court or yard, is originally Bere-tun, i.e., literally 

 corn-town or enclosure. 

 89. Ham. This word also, like the preceding, means that which 

 surrounds, encloses, hems, or defends something. The word 

 itself occurs as a local name — spelt in the charter Hamme 

 (Cod. Dipl., 1220) — on the eastern border of the county, 

 not far from Hungerford. Leo tells us, that, according to 

 Grimm, it is connected with an obsolete root himan, which 

 must have signified to " enclose." He adds, from Outzen's 



