From: tgpedersen
Message: 57162
Date: 2008-04-11
>Or possibly heed your own advice
> At 2:24:10 AM on Friday, April 11, 2008, fournet.arnaud
> wrote:
>
> >>> In nothern France, there are place names like
> >>> belle-brune supposedly Celtic bala "white river" and
> >>> Germanic brunnen "fountain".
>
> >>> I suppose you won't appreciate this Celtic presence in
> >>> your substrate.
>
> >> What's your source for that etymology?
>
> > A modest source. Poulet, D., 1997, Noms de lieux du
> > Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Editions Bonneton, p.73
>
> The name appears as <Berebronna> 1116, <Belebrunna> 1172,
> <Bellebrona> 12th c., <Bellebronna> 14th c. Unless Poulet
> has new evidence, I'd go with Morlet (and the older Dauzat &
> Rostaing) and derive the first element from the masculine
> Gmc. name <Bero>.