Torpenhow Hill (locally /trəˈpɛnə/, trə-PEN-ə) is claimed to be the name of a hill near the village of Torpenhow in Cumbria, England, a name that is tautological. According to an analysis by linguist Darryl Francis and locals, there is no landform formally known as Torpenhow Hill there, either officially or locally,[1] which would make the term an example of a ghost word.
A.D. Mills in his Dictionary of English Place-Names interprets the name as "Ridge of the hill with a rocky peak", giving its etymology as Old English torr, Celtic *penn, and Danish hoh.[2]
In 1688, Thomas Denton stated that Torpenhow Hall and church stand on a 'rising topped hill', which he assumed might have been the source of the name of the village.[3][4] Denton apparently exaggerated the example to a "Torpenhow Hill", which would quadruple the "hill" element, but the existence of a toponym "Torpenhow Hill" is not substantiated.[1]
In 1884, G.L. Fenton proposed the name as an example of "quadruple redundancy" in tautological placename etymologies, i.e. that all four elements of the name might mean "hill".[5]
It was used as a convenient example for the nature of loanword adoption by Thomas Comber in c. 1880.[6]
^ abFrancis, Darryl (2003). "The Debunking of Torpenhow Hill". Word Ways. 36 (1): 6–8.
^Mills, A. D. (1993). A Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-19-283131-6.
^English Place Name Society, 1950, The Place-names of Cumberland, p. 326
^Thomas Denton: A Perambulation of Cumberland, 1687-8, including descriptions of Westmorland, the Isle of Man and Ireland. [page needed]
^Fenton, G. L. (12 July 1884). "Torpenhow". Notes and Queries. 6th Series. 10 (237): 25–26.
^"the name thus meaning in reality hill-hill-hill-hill. Fortunately the Normans let it remain, and we are spared from having to call the place 'Torpenhow hill-mount'." Thomas Comber, "The Origin of the English Names of Plants", The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Volume 15 (1904), p. 616.
TorpenhowHill (locally /trəˈpɛnə/, trə-PEN-ə) is claimed to be the name of a hill near the village of Torpenhow in Cumbria, England, a name that is tautological...
Blennerhasset and Torpenhow (locally /blɛnˈreɪsɪt/ and /trəˈpɛnə/) is a civil parish in Cumbria, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population...
"mountain" Torpenhow, Cumbria, England, supposedly meaning "hillhillhill", exaggerated into an (unsubstantiated) "TorpenhowHill = hill-hill-hillhill" for...
Angels". A supposed extreme example is TorpenhowHill in Cumbria, where some of the elements in the name likely mean "hill".[citation needed] See the List of...
name "TorpenhowHill" is a quadruple etymological tautology. It concluded not only that Borgmann's etymology may be incorrect, but also that the hill does...
on the West by Gilcrux and Crosscanonby; on the South by Plumbland and Torpenhow; and on the East by Bromfield and Allhallows. There is a small industrial...
1950, Huston died of an aortic aneurysm in his hotel suite in Beverly Hills, two days after his 67th birthday. He was cremated. In 1960, a decade after...
Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as: "A township in Torpenhow parish, Cumberland; near the river Ellen, four and a half miles west of...
like tinsel /ˈtɪnsəl/ England Todmorden TOD-mər-dən /ˈtɒdmərdən/ England Torpenhow trə-PEN-ə /trəˈpɛnə/ Often regular England Towcester like toaster /ˈtoʊstər/...
Kershope Burn. The boundary runs south from Scotch Knowe along the Cheviot Hills, then followed a tributary of the River Irthing and crossed Denton Fell...
Welsh llannerch 'glade, clearing'. Penicuik, Midlothian: from words meaning 'hill of the cuckoo' (W. pen y gog). Penrith, Cumbria: meaning 'chief ford' (Welsh...
Silloth Spatry / Speeatry Aspatria Trepenah, Trappena Torpenhow (Tor, Pen, and How are all words for "hill") Wukington, Wukinton, Wukintun, Wukiton, Wukitn...
buildings in Bewaldeth and Snittlegarth Listed buildings in Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Listed buildings in Blindbothel Listed buildings in Blindcrake Listed...
of the district were settled. Aikton Allhallows Aspatria Bassenthwaite Torpenhow Isel Boltongate Bowness Bridekirk Brigham Bromfield Caldbeck Camerton...
Marsh common to Holme Low, Holme Abbey and Holme St Cuthbert, Thursby, Torpenhow & Whitrigg, Uldale, Waverton High & Low, West Newton & Allonby, Westward...
Global Information