Moel Famau
| Moel Famau | |
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Feb2004.jpg)
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,821 ft (555 m) |
| Prominence | 912 ft (278 m) |
| Parent peak | Moel y Gamelin |
| Listing | Marilyn, Council top |
| Coordinates | 53°09′16″N 3°15′21″W / 53.1545°N 3.2559°WCoordinates: 53°09′16″N 3°15′21″W / 53.1545°N 3.2559°W |
| Naming | |
| Translation | The bare hill of ?Mama (Welsh) |
| Pronunciation | Welsh: [ˈmɔɨl ˈvama] |
| Geography | |
 Moel Famau
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| OS grid | SJ162627 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 116 |
Moel Famau (or Moel Fama) is the highest hill within the Clwydian Range, formerly Flintshire Range, on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire in Wales. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985. It is also surrounded by several well-preserved Iron-Age hill forts.
A northern part of the Offa's Dyke footpath, one of the UK's most popular National Trails, crosses the summit of Moel Famau and the Jubilee Tower.
Although historical sources attest to a variety of spellings (such as Moel Famma, Moel Vamma and Moel Fammau), the only two in common use today are Moel Famau and Moel Fama. The first word moel is a common Welsh place-name element meaning 'a bare hill'. The meaning and preferred spelling of the second element are less certain.
Attestations from as early as the fourteenth century consistently show that the second element ends in –a. This conforms to the local pronunciation (Welsh: [ˈvama]) and is 'the preferred spelling', according to the Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales. The meaning of the 'Fama' is somewhat uncertain, but it is probably a lenited form of a personal name, 'Mama'.
The alternative form 'Moel Famau' is a result of an 'antiquarian perception' first attested in the eighteenth century that the second element was the lenited form of the common noun mamau ('mothers'). If that were the case, however, the early forms in –a would be very difficult to explain. Nevertheless, the form 'Moel Famau' is common today and it is still sometimes said to mean 'Mothers' Hill'.
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Wikipedia