At 12:51:23 PM on Monday, June 22, 2009, tgpedersen wrote:
[...]
> So it seems it's *nem-et-, of which the first element was
> an adj. That fits in with the Danish place names (Niløse
> is on Sjælland, the rest on Djursland in Jutland or just
> south of it), and presumably British Nympton.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemeton
<Nympton> (<Nemetone Episcopi> 1269, <Bysshopes Nymet> 1334,
<Bishops Nymeton> 1377; <Nimeton(e)> 1086, 1238, <Nimet>
1238, 12490) is 'estate on the river Nymet'. The river-name
is 'pagan sacred place, sacred grove', from Prim. Welsh
*nïv~ed, Brit. *nemeto- (OIr. <nemed> 'sacred place',
OFrank. <nimid>, Gaul. <nemeton>, Lat. <nemus> 'sacred
wood', Gk. <némos> 'wood'). The element is found in the
OWel. place-name <Eidnivet> and the OBret. place-name
<Iudnimet>. Matasovic appears to suggest a possible
connection with PCelt. *nemos- 'heaven, sky' (< *nebHos
'cloud, cloudy sky').
Brian