The sky over RNAS Culdrose on the Annual Air Day
Public domain image. Credit: Vernon39
Having now taken delivery of a copy of Oliver Padel’s Cornish Place-Name Elements (English Place-Name Society, 1985), I thought I would do an update on this puzzling name.
First, Padel is convinced that the second element is ros with the meaning “rough land”. However, he does not commit himself to a decision on the first element, saying it could either be cul “narrow” or kyl “nook”. In the entry for cul he says that some instances of Kilquite and Colquite (the second element means “wood”) could derive from cul, but makes no comment on the unusual adj + noun order if this is the case. The only name he lists which he reckons definitely contains the element is Porthcuel (“narrow harbour”) where the order is the usual noun + adj.
Secondly, for Culdrose he makes no comment on the magic <d>, or none that I have been able to find yet. However, my friend JDL has pointed out to me that there are quite a few names beginning Tres- that Padel reckons derive ultimately from ros. So where did the <t> come from in these words? Trescoll, Treskilling, Tresmaine and Tresmeer are a few examples. The puzzlement abides.
Craig Weatherhill gives “Culdrose” in Cornish as Culros ‘narrow roughland’. He also gives for “Treskilling” Cornish Roskelyn ‘holly hillspur’, but for “Tresmeer” he gives Trewasmeur ‘Gwasmeur’s farm’.
Could the initial T- come from English “at Ros…” etc?
I believe that the English Narberth for the Welsh Arberth is claimed to derive from either English “in” or Welsh “yn” (= ‘in’) + Arberth.
Ken George might know of course – expert on all things Cornish!
Perhaps this is the point to ask whether “Culdrose” is mainly original or mainly anglicized? How far back is there evidence of different wordforms? Is the adjective-noun word order a sign of anglicization? Even “Culrose” is adjective+noun.
@Michael
Padel gives ros+meur for Tresmeer and comments under the entry for tre that the element appears as a false prefix in about 66 names on the modern map — false in the sense that it replaces the original element, usually ros or rid. So this may explain the magic <t>s. Why there is disagreement between Padel and Weatherhill I don’t know. I don’t even know if they are talking about the same place.
@Martin
You mean DR. Ken George, don’t you?
According to Padel there are some names, mainly in east Cornwall, and mainly of English origin, that have acquired a false tre because of an original Middle English name beginning atte(r). One of his examples is Treway, which in 1327 was atte Weye.
@Sidney
I am afraid I can’t answer any of your questions at the moment. Neither Weatherhill nor Padel gives any earlier forms for the name Culdrose.
It occurs to me that the prevalence of false-tre words which originally seem to have had ros/res may point to a process where tre was prefixed to the original name. Something beginning treros- or especially treres- seems an eminent candidate for haplology.
Dr. Dr. George …
Not many folk with doctorates in marine and in celtic studies!