Mōtung:Lundendeoryscīr

Lundendeory?

I’m interested as to why Lundendeory with the rounded vowel was selected, and not Lundendeori or Lundendeorig, which would seem to match the pronunciation more closely? 2A02:C7C:C22A:B00:B906:38F3:CE25:D9F7 18:13, 10 Weodmonað 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That is a good question. Partly the path of least resistance, and perhaps in imitation of the name of 'Deoraby'. Deoraby is Norse (like many placenames across Ireland, if not this one) or Norse-influenced. It may be from 'Deor' or from the river, the Deorwente, the Derwent, which has the same etymology as 'Derry'. The "by" is Norse.

Places in England with modern names ending "y" typically reflect "byrig" (town, dative), "ieg" (island), "beorg" (hill), "leag" (meadow), "worþig", "by" (many in the Danelaw and the north), and occasional endings like "treo" (Coventry, Oswestry), or "Muntgumni" (from French).

This is an artificial exercise: trying to find an authentic name for name for which no authentic name is recorded by trying to second-guess what the scribes would have written had they heard of it. There is no right and wrong answer. The 'y' ending was known through.

I may have to go back to Gerald of Wales to see if there is any mention. Old English was still being spoken in the days of Henry II, by soldiers serving Strongbow, De Courcy and the like, so it is not impossible that someone once wrote the name of what became Derry and later Londonderry. Hogweard (motung) 08:52, 12 Weodmonað 2024 (UTC)[reply]