Saturday 7 May 2016

Tabm a Gernow 37 (blackthorn and bramble)

Cornwall has always been a rather prickly place, as evidenced by place names (which, thus, give us some of our vocabulary). Modern versions are sometimes corrupted, so it helps to look at earlier names on old maps, etc.). Here are some thorny examples (thanks to Craig Weatherhill):

Spargo (Spergor in 1208) should now be Sperngor, "thorn hedge"
Sparnock (Spernek in 1280) should now be Spernek, "thorny".
(There is a Sparnock or Sparnick tunnel, started 1853, on the railway line between Truro and Falmouth.)
Sparnon Gate (Spernen in 1327) should now be Spernen, "thorn tree".
Trespearne (Trespernan in ca. 1200) should now be Trespernen, "thorn tree farm".
Spernic Cove should now be Porth Spernek, "thorny cove".

 We can expand our thorny vocabulary:
spern (collective noun) thorns, thorn bushes
spernen (n.f.) thorn, thorn bush (the -en ending is associated with feminine nouns)
spernek (adj.) thorny

also curün a spern (n.f.) crown of thorns, hangover

spern dû (collective noun), blackthorn, sloes, sloe bushes
spernen dhû (n.f.) individual blackthorn bush, sloe bush (shows soft mutation)

Otta spern dû. Ma flourys gwydn dhedhy lebmyn, bes dû ew an rüsk ha dreyn hir. En kidnyadh hy eyrin a vedh dû e'wedh.



Ma lies spernen dhû war an menedh. Ma semlant a eghr.






spern gwydn (collective noun), white thorn, hawthorn, hawthorn bushes, may
spernen wydn (n.f.) individual hawthorn bush, may tree (shows soft mutation).
Re avarr ew rag flourys spern gwydn whath. Nag eus bes buddys warnedhans.

also spern melen (collective noun) yellow thorn, barberries (garden Berberis)
spernen velen (n.f.) individual barberry bush

More thorny (less common) place names:

Trendrennen  should now be Tre'ndreynen, "farm at the thorn bush".
Trendrine  (Trendreyn in 1302) should now be Tre'ndreyn, "farm at the thorns".
Coldrenick} (Kyldreynak in 1302) should now be Kildreynek, "thorny nook".
Coldrinnick}

So we have:
dren (n.m) thorn
dreyn (plural) thorns
drenek (adj.) thorny

Less conspicuous and lower growing (but no less prickly) than the thorn bushes are the brambles.

Tredrizzick (Trethreysek in 1284) should now be Tredhreysek, "brambly farm".
Tredrossel (Tredrysell in ca. 1450) should now be Tredreysel, "bramble-place farm".

dreys (collective noun) brambles
dreysen (n.f.) a bramble
dreysek (adj.) brambly

En hav ha kidnyadh da ew genen cuntel mor dû dhort an dreys.



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