twistle

English

Etymology

Alteration of twissel (literally “double, forked”), from Middle English twisel, twisil, from Old English twisla (“confluence, junction, fork of a river or road”), from Proto-Germanic *twisilą (“fork, bifurcation”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwis- (“twice, in two”). Cognate with German Zwiesel (“fork”). Compare also Icelandic kvísl (“branch, a fork; fork of a river”).

Noun

twistle (plural twistles)

(obsolete) A boundary stream.

References

Used primarily in British placenames, such as Oswaldtwistle.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.