Thwaite (placename element)

Thwaite is a common element of placenames in North West England, and Yorkshire. It is also found elsewhere in England, including two places called Thwaite in Norfolk and one in Suffolk. It is most often found as a suffix. It is a common element of field names, as well as settlement names.

The name is usually from Old Norse thveit (also written þveit), but sometimes from Old Danish thwēt, both meaning "clearing" or "meadow". Nevertheless, in England the name does not necessarily indicate a place of Scandinavian or Norman foundation, because it is often found in combination with Middle English or Old German personal names.

The element is also found in Normandy. In the Eure department alone there are at least five placenames with the same thveit root and meaning "clearing in a wooded area", locally represented as Thuit: Le Thuit; Thuit-Hébert; Le Thuit-Simer; Le Thuit-Signol; Le Thuit-Anger. In total there is no fewer than 89 placenames in Normandy with 'Tuit' in them.

In Orkney and Shetland the element appears as . In Norway, the element appears as Tveit (Nynorsk) or Tvedt (Dano-Norwegian). In Sweden the word survives in the placename Tveta, denoting for instance a hundred in Småland province and parishes in Småland, Värmland and Södermanland.

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