Cumbrian words and placenames
The Lake District has had a rich past. You can sometimes tell where Norse people lived because of local place names. Names ending in –by such as Ireby mean village. Those ending in –thwaite, like Satterthwaite, mean clearing.
Dialect words
- blea - blue, especially water
- inbye - fields nearer the farms
- intake - higher fields by open fell
- gimmer - female lamb
- tup - ram
- brossen - eaten fit to burst
- laik - to play
- as garn yam - I am going home
- gurning - pulling a face
- thrang - busy
- lish - nimble or sprightly
- cowpt ower - fallen over, collapsed
- lig about - lay around
Place names
- beck - stream
- brant - steep
- dale - valley
- fell - hill or mountain
- force - waterfall
- gill - ravine
- how - rounded hill
- knott - rocky hill
- mere - lake
- thwaite - a clearing in the woods
- tarn - small mountain lake
Explanation of placenames
- Ambleside - a-melt-saetr - pastures by the river
- Coniston - Konungr-tun - king's town or land
- Elterwater - eltr vatn - swan lake
- Hawkshead - Haukr saetr - hawk's pasture
Interesting placenames
There's some weird and wonderful placenames in the National Park! Can you find any of the following on a map?
Pantomime placenames
- Baron's Hill
- Bessyboat
- Cinderdale Beck
- Dollywaggon Pike
- Rascal How
- Revelin Crag
- Slapstones
- Thack Bottom
Food placenames
- Pudding Beck
- Butter Crags
- Oatmeal Crag
- Peelplace Noddle
Spooky placenames
- Boo Tarn near Coniston
- Fangs Brow near Loweswater
- Hell Gill near Crinkle Crags
- Ravenglass on the west coat
- Wolf Crags above Ullswater
Romantic placenames
- Dovenest Crag
- Hartsop
- Lily Tarn
- Rose Castle
Useful links
All links open in a new window
- Bible readings in Cumbrian dialect - BBC Cumbria
- Lakeland Dialect Society
- Cumbrian dialect - Word Lingo
Want even more visitor information?
Visit Golakes (opens in new window), the official website of the tourist board for The Lake District and Cumbria. Browse and book accommodation and attractions online and see what's on in the area.