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List of British place-names containing reflexes of Celtic *kaitos "woodland"

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The Celtic word *kaitos is one of the Celtic words appearing most widely in British place-names, and those names are correspondingly important to understanding the phonological history of the Brittonic languages, and how Brittonic words have been borrowed into English and Gaelic. Despite its frequency in English place-names, the word seems never to have been borrowed into English as a common noun.[1]

Although in 2000, Richard Coates and Andrew Breeze commented that "the representation of this element in English names needs further careful study",[2]: 348  its evidence for both the history of /k/ and /t/ has since been assessed in some detail. Place-names containing *kaitos are a particularly important source of evidence for understanding the phonological development of the Indo-European diphthong /ai/ in the Brittonic languages;[3]: 324–30  for dialectal variation in the development of /t/ in Brittonic;[4] for the palatal diphthongisation of /eː/ after /k/ in Old English;[5] and for the process of palatalisation and affrication of /k/ in Old English.[6]

Place-names containing *kaitos also provide evidence for the history of forests in medieval Britain.[7]: 121 

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Phonological history

Celtic *kaitos shares a root with the Germanic word that survives in English as heath. Both descend from a root */kait-/, which developed as Common Celtic */kaito-/ > Common Brittonic and Gaulish */kɛːto-/ > Old Welsh coit > Middle and Modern Welsh coed; Old Cornish cuit > Middle Cornish co(y)s > Cornish cos; Old Breton cot, coet > Middle Breton koed > Breton koad.[8]

Since Old English lacked a vowel /ɛː/, Brittonic */kɛːt(-)/ was sometimes borrowed into Old English with the higher Old English vowel /eː/ (as in Chetwode and Datchet) and sometimes with the lower vowel /æː/ (as in Cathcart and Bathgate), though /eː/ predominates. In both cases, the vowel sometimes underwent palatal diphthongisation in Old English. The diphthongisation of /eː/ was to the sound written as ⟨ie⟩, which subsequently developed to /yː/ and usually then /iː/ (as in Chitterne) but occasionally /uː/ (as in Chute Forest). The diphthongisation of /æː/ was to /æːɑ/ (found in the Old English form Penceat, whose modern form is Penge).[3]: 327 

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List

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Places are listed by historic (pre-1974) county. Where multiple modern names derive from the same ancient name, they are grouped under the same bullet point. Inevitably some uncertainty attaches to many examples; names included here have been listed as probable examples by key authorities.[2][9]

Scotland

Unless otherwise stated, items on this list are from one by Simon Taylor.[9]

England

Unless otherwise stated, items on this list are drawn from the gazetteer of etymologically Celtic place-names in England published by Richard Coates and Andrew Breeze in 2000, and excludes Cornwall.[2]

North East

North West

Yorkshire and the Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East of England

South East

South West

Wales

Place-names including modern Welsh coed are very common in Wales. Examples are Bangor-is-y-Coed, Betws-y-Coed, Blaen-y-coed, Caeau Pen-y-coed, Cefn-coed-y-cymmer, Coedarhydyglyn, Coed Coch, Coed Darcy, Coedpoeth, Coed-y-Brenin, Coed-y-bryn, Coed y Garth, Ceredigion, Lôn Goed, Melin-y-Coed, Mynydd Drws-y-Coed, Pen-coed, Tal-y-coed Court, and Ysgubor-y-coed.

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References

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