William Calhoun wrote:

> hamlet: Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French hamelet, diminutive
> of ham village, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English hAm village, home
> Thanks to Merriam-Webster OnLine If ham (or rather hamlet) is of Germanic
> origin than perhaps it did come from Norse to Engl.ish through Middle
> French. The Norse Vikings did indeed raid medieval France and were the
> founders of Normandy, where Old Norse mixed a tiny bit with French (I
> believe there is a French word for 'ring' similar to and rooted in the Old
> Norse 'baugr'). Normans were Norse that assimilated into French culture.
> I don't know if that helps!

English place names ending in -ham and -ton are Anglo-Saxon, those in -by and
variations of -borough are Norse.


--
Stephen Fryer
Lund Computer Services

**************************************************
The more answers I find, the more questions I have
**************************************************