Talk:Tardebigge

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[edit] Etymology

There is a theory that the name means "dung bag" referring to farming, and came from Anglo-Saxon *tærde (dung) and *bæga (bag/sack). But others say that that etymology needs too much of a linguistic jump: "turd" is attested in Anglo-Saxon as tyrdelu = "animal droppings", with a wrong vowel; and "bag" seems to have come from Old Norse and also has a wrong vowel. The name does not appear to have any likely meaning in Celtic either, and may be a stray survival from whatever non-Indo-European language was spoken in England before the Celts came.

I can't find any verification either for "tærde" and "bæga". Simplest conclusion: hoax. Official site [1] says "tower on the hill" but an apparently expert comment in the guestbook [2] disputes that. This paper goes into some detail and concludes ... etym uncertain. Tearlach 19:46, 22 January 2006 (UTC)