Quair Water

The Quair Water is a tributary of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Its name is related to Traquair.

Etymology

The name Quair has a Brittonic etymology.^[1] It may be derived from the element *wejr (<*wẹ:drā)^[1] meaning "a bend, something curved or twisted" (cf. Middle Welsh gweir, Welsh gwair, gwŷr; in compounds).^[1] The name could also descend from *wẹ:Σ- or *wiΣ, both forms of the root *wei which has a basic sense of "flowing",^[1] with the suffix –urā-.^[1]

Quair may share an etymology with the rivers Wear and Wyre in Northern England,^[1] as well as the river-names preserved in place-names like Troqueer in Kirkcudbrightshire.^[1]

See also

• List of places in the Scottish Borders
• List of places in Scotland
• List of rivers of Scotland