Pil (placename)

In Welsh toponymy and hydronymy the word is often mistaken for another word "Pŵll" ("Pool"). However, there is no proven link between the words and the two are often found within the same localities (Caerleon has both a Pwll Mawr and a Pîl Mawr either side of the Roman port). It is thought that Pîl developed a secondary meaning of 'refuge', as the name also appears in more inland areas (such as Pilleth in Powys).

Instances of the name are found as far north as Pilling in Lancashire and as far south as South Pill and Pillmere in Saltash, Cornwall. However, the name is most associated with the Severn Sea, from Pembrokeshire in the west to Somerset and Gloucestershire in the east. Robert Macfarlane interpreted the word as denoting "a tidal creek or stream...capable of holding small barges", while Rick Turner noted the word was part of a common lexicon, shared across the Gwent, Somerset and Gloucestershire Levels.[2][3]

The Norman castles at Pembroke (left) and Newport (right) were built adjacent to pîls and both settlements would develop through their maritime trade.

The prevalence of this element indicates its significance in the development of medieval communities along the Severn. This is perhaps most evident on the River Usk, where Pîls were located both at the old Roman port of Caerleon and at the new Norman castle further south. The city of Newport would develop around a number of Pîls, such as those at Pillgwenlly (said to have been the base of piracy by Gwynllyw, the future patron saint of Newport and Newport Cathedral) and Arthur's Pîl (or Town Pîl), the site of the 2002 archaeological discovery of the Newport ship (now the Riverfront Arts Centre).[4][5][6]

The word was defined in the Archæologia Britannica, a 1707 work by the Welsh linguist Edward Lhuyd. Nineteenth century Welsh writers would often define the term in line with William Owen Pughe's 1803 definition as "a small inlet of the sea filled by the tide". Many of these writers would point out it's contemporary status as a colloquial or oral term still in use throughout the south of Wales. Pughe also noted the rarity of the term in other parts of Wales, stating that Camlas was often used for similar places in north Wales.[7]

• Celtic onomastics
• Celtic toponymy
• List of generic forms in place names in the United Kingdom and Ireland
• Toponymy in Great Britain
• Welsh place names in other countries
• Welsh toponymy