Dun - Toponymy

Toponymy

The word in its original sense appears in many place names, and can include fortifications of all sizes and kinds, for example, Din Eidyn, in Gaelic Dùn Èideann which the Angles renamed Edinburgh, Dún na nGall in Ireland (Irish Gaelic: "fort of foreigners") renamed Donegal by English planters, and the Broch Dun Telve in Glenelg.

  • Dundee, Dunfermline, Dunbarton
  • Donegal
  • Dunedin
  • Duns
  • Singidun
  • London

The Proto-Celtic form is *Dūno-, yielding Gaulish δου̃νον. It is ultimately cognate to English town. The Gaulish term survives in many toponyms in France and Switzerland:

  • Lyon < Lugdunum.
  • Nevers < Noviodunum
  • Yverdon < Eburodunum
  • Verdun < Verodunum
  • Thun < Dunum

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