Sir,—In my last letter I remarked that F. S. A. did not go deep enough in his etymology.
Ley in Scots, meaning land lying fallow, once meant land lying idle in grass to fertilise it or manure it. Crops in Scotland, from time immemorial, have been taken from the land in rotation. A portion in rotation was laid down in grass, and the cattle turned on to it to manure it. Latin Laetamen—manure. Laetifico—to manure. Perhaps the Anglo-Saxon is derived from the same root. To say, however, that every place name ending ley bears that meaning is simply guesswork.
F. S. A. says Knap means Hill-top. I know four Knaps, three of which are nowhere near a hill top, one of them being, in fact, at the bottom of a cleft between two hills.
I know a Wester which is east of an Easter of the same name! Also a Burnside and Burnhead which are not near a burn or stream. Till F. S. A. can explain these and other anomalies it is premature to tell us that Philology and Etymology are anything but tentative as applied to place names.
Mr. Watkins may be in error, but F. S. A. may be equally absurd unless he can give us a reason for a name in
addition to its Anglo-Saxon and present-day significance.—Yours, &c.,
Jeffrey Inglis.
Ellenbank, Broughty Ferry.
March 30th, 1923.
Source info: Journal named in cutting; letter dated “March 30th, 1923”.