Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 157, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1910 — English Names for Towns. [ARTICLE]

English Names for Towns.

Many names of towns in England have been appropriated for a similar use in this country. These names frequently Indicate in themselves the origin of the towns. For instance, names ending in “cheater” or “cester” or “caster,” such as Dorchester, Worcester and Lancaster, undoubtedly apply to sites of old military settlements or camps, and the termination Is derived from “castra,” the Latin word for camp. If the name of a place ends in “coin,” like Lincoln, then it, too, is of Roman origin, because the Latin word for colony Is colonia. When the syllable “by” ends the word, like Rugby, we then know that the Danes are responsible for the name, for the Danish word for town Is by.