Blair Collection > Surnames & place-names of the Isle of Man

(HKimptinnti Bantj^s. 253
The following are both affixes and prefixes, and are
explained under the former : The Garth, ' The En-
closure ;' The How, ' The Mound ;' The Stack,
'The Detached Rock;' Holm, 'Islet;' the old name
of Peel, and Rig, ' Ridge.'
Part II. — Compound Names.
A (F), ' a river ;' as in Laxey (Lax-d), ' Salmon River.'
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between
d and ey, ' an island.' The only guides are the
ancient form of the name and the appropriate-
ness of the appellation in each case. [Laxa,
Iceland.]
Bcsr, beer, byr, 'a farm or landed estate;' as in
Crosby (Krossa-byr), ' Cross Farm.' In the Isle of
Man it is invariably found in the Swedish and
Danish form, by, though its general meaning is, as
in Iceland, a farm, not, as in Scandinavia, a
town or village. This word is a certain sign of
permanent colonization, and wherever it is found
it marks out the limits and extent of Scandi-
navian immigration. It is the commonest Scan-
dinavian affix in the Island.
Bali (M), ' a soft, grassy bank,' used especially of a
bank sloping to the sea-shore ; only in Bibaloe,
formerly Byballo (ve-balli), ' Grassy Bank House.'
Brekka (F), 'a slope;' as in Corbreck {Kora-brekka),
' Cori's Slope.' Brekka is common in Icelandic
local names. It was the name given there to
the hill where public meetings were held and
laws promulgated. [Sandbrekka, Iceland.]