272 



The Names of Places in Wiltshire. 



manor the brook itself is described as " rivulus cui nomen 

 est Weave." We can hardly avoid the conclusion that the 

 last mentioned name is a contraction, or corruption, of 

 W <efer, the original form being preserved more nearly in the 

 name of the mill on a higher part of the stream. 



Whittoxmede. This occurs only as a personal name in Wilts. See 

 Aubrey; index, sub voce. It is the name however of a place 

 not far from the borders of the county in the parish of Weliow, 

 in Somerset. Collinson, iii., 327. It is spelt in Domesday 

 Witoches-mede. The former portion of this word has the look 

 of a personal name, but at the time of Domesday surnames 

 were hardly yet in use, at all events they were excessively rare, 

 I cannot help thinking therefore that this portion of the name 

 is composed of the Cornish ctiit (= wood) and the adjectival 

 termination oc, (see above §26 under Lacock), and means sim- 

 ply " woody ; "the whole name designating the " meadow by 

 the wood/'' In the word Wheat-acre, which has become the 

 personal name F7^-taker, and which also assumes the form 

 of Gat-aker, (see above § 24,) we have, it is believed, another 

 variation of this same old Cornish word signifying " wood. '* 

 [It is right to add that in a Saxon Charter we meet with the ex- 

 pression Hwittuces-hloew , i.e., Wittuck's low (or tumulus) which 

 we can only regard as & personal name. Its origin may never- 

 theless be from the source indicated in the above paragraph.] 



Winfield. Near Trowbridge; spelt in Domesday Winefel, and in 

 the Sarum Registers, till very recent times, Wynfield, or 

 Winfield. Its former syllable is most probably the Welsh 

 clnvyn (= weeds). There is a local term in Wiltshire, whin, 

 which seems to be the same, and is used as a synonym for 

 furze. See HalliwelFs Pro vine. Diet. 



Whichbuey. On the southern border of the county, not far 

 from Downton. For reasons given in § 2 it is probable that 

 the former portion of this name is Celtic, and possibly from 

 the Welsh gwig (or gwic) which signifies a hamlet. It is 

 close by Breamore, which is clearly a Celtic name. See 

 above § 13. 



