Re: [tied] *dan-

More accurately the word seems to refer to the kind of valley that is broached by rivers or streams cutting through a hillside. It can be a coastal fjord-like thing, rather narrow, if not necessarily deep in absolute terms, and typically wooded. "Dean" used to be an ordinary noun (OE denu, related to denn = Modern English den; the Germanic prototype for them is reconstructed as *danj-a-n as if from *dHon-j-om, perhaps connected with *dHon- 'run, flow, spring forth', but I'm only guessing here); now it's mostly toponymic (English -dean, -den(e)). There are plenty of -dean names especially (though by no means exclusively) in Sussex, it seems to me (more examples: Saltdean, Standean, East Dean, etc.); the phonetically reduced composition variant -den (Marden, Biddenden, etc.) is common in Kent (where the Jutes settled).

Piotr

----- Original Message -----

From: Torsten Pedersen

To: cybalist@egroups.com

Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2001 10:52 AM

Subject: [tied] *dan-

--- In cybalist@egroups.com, "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@......> wrote: > The shallow valleys along the south coast of England, where stream courses cut through the South Downs, are toponymically -deans (hence placenames like Saltdean, Rottingdean, Ovingdean, etc.). That's *dan- as well. The east coast of Denmark has lots of similar features. > > Piotr > > True, if we are talking about the east coast of Jutland. This is also where Jelling is, from where Harald Blutooth united or subjugated "all of Denmark". Is there any independent confirmation (other than toponyms) that *dan- is "shallow valley"? Torsten