Mithe: Difference between revisions
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==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
The name is obviously unrelated to the English verb ''[[Wiktionary:mithe|mithe]]'' meaning "hide, conceal, avoid". | The name is obviously unrelated to the English verb ''[[Wiktionary:mithe|mithe]]'' meaning "hide, conceal, avoid". | ||
The Welsh language is the most likely source, and Owen-Pughe's Dictionary (1832), which Tolkien used at times, yields: midde pronounced midhe. The dh denotes a voiced th sound as in though. A midde is a pit or pool in a river, where fish resort to. | |||
[[Andreas Möhn]] has suggested that ''Mithe'' means "Place where two streams meet", derived from [[Old English]] ''[[Wiktionary:muþ|mūþ]]'' or ''[[Wiktionary:gemyþ|ġemȳþ]]'' "river-mouth, meeting of streams". Möhn adds that ''Mithe'' "is evidently related to 'mouth' and probably a derivative surviving in English place-names".<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Andreas Möhn]]|articleurl=http://lalaith.vpsurf.de/Tolkien/Bombadil_in_the_Shire.html|articlename=Bombadil in the Shire|dated=|website=Lalaith |accessed=16 May 2012}}</ref> | [[Andreas Möhn]] has suggested that ''Mithe'' means "Place where two streams meet", derived from [[Old English]] ''[[Wiktionary:muþ|mūþ]]'' or ''[[Wiktionary:gemyþ|ġemȳþ]]'' "river-mouth, meeting of streams". Möhn adds that ''Mithe'' "is evidently related to 'mouth' and probably a derivative surviving in English place-names".<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Andreas Möhn]]|articleurl=http://lalaith.vpsurf.de/Tolkien/Bombadil_in_the_Shire.html|articlename=Bombadil in the Shire|dated=|website=Lalaith |accessed=16 May 2012}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 20:18, 25 December 2016
Mithe was a body of water in the Shire, the outflow of the Shirebourn river into the Brandywine.
At the Mithe there was a landing-stage called Mithe Steps,[1] from which a lane ran to Deephallow and so on to the Causeway road that went through Rushey and Stock.[2]
Etymology
The name is obviously unrelated to the English verb mithe meaning "hide, conceal, avoid". The Welsh language is the most likely source, and Owen-Pughe's Dictionary (1832), which Tolkien used at times, yields: midde pronounced midhe. The dh denotes a voiced th sound as in though. A midde is a pit or pool in a river, where fish resort to.
Andreas Möhn has suggested that Mithe means "Place where two streams meet", derived from Old English mūþ or ġemȳþ "river-mouth, meeting of streams". Möhn adds that Mithe "is evidently related to 'mouth' and probably a derivative surviving in English place-names".[3]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "Bombadil Goes Boating"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "Preface"
- ↑ Andreas Möhn, "Bombadil in the Shire", Lalaith's Middle-earth Science Pages (accessed 16 May 2012)
