NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Kelds
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2006 Jul 25, 20:15 -0500
Lu Abel wrote:
"what's a "keld?" "
That had me wondering, too. Here's what the OED has to say. It's listed as
"northern dialect" (which means the local dialect of northern England just
south of Scotland) and says it's derived from Old Norse, Danish has "kilde".
There are two related meanings: 1) "a well, fountain, or spring" or 2) "a deep
still smooth part of a river". It says the word is "common in places names in
Cumberland, Westmorland, and Yorkshire". And an early 19th century definition
is quoted: "The still parts of a river which have an oily smoothness while
the rest of the water is ruffled". Putting these pieces together, I interpret
this to be a smooth-surfaced upwelling, which you do often see along with
whirlpools in waters with deep turbulence.
Here's a line from an article in "Yachting Monthly" which is apparently a UK
publication:
" An indication that a fast current is running is the appearance of 'kelds'
- dimples, swirls, mini-whirlpools and large glossy patches like old burn
scars. "
Finally, if you go to google and type in "define:KELD" you'll find a brief
reference in an article on a web site about Scandinavian toponyms in the
Danelaw (the part of England that was heavily settled by the Norse). It says simply
"spring or well".
That said, the AOL spell checker (which I've been using lately to catch
typos) does not believe that the word keld exists and suggests "kelp" --which
also fits in context! As for Westmorland, it suggests "Switzerland" <g>.
-FER
42.0N 87.7W, or 41.4N 72.1W.
www.HistoricalAtlas.com/lunars
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From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2006 Jul 25, 20:15 -0500
Lu Abel wrote:
"what's a "keld?" "
That had me wondering, too. Here's what the OED has to say. It's listed as
"northern dialect" (which means the local dialect of northern England just
south of Scotland) and says it's derived from Old Norse, Danish has "kilde".
There are two related meanings: 1) "a well, fountain, or spring" or 2) "a deep
still smooth part of a river". It says the word is "common in places names in
Cumberland, Westmorland, and Yorkshire". And an early 19th century definition
is quoted: "The still parts of a river which have an oily smoothness while
the rest of the water is ruffled". Putting these pieces together, I interpret
this to be a smooth-surfaced upwelling, which you do often see along with
whirlpools in waters with deep turbulence.
Here's a line from an article in "Yachting Monthly" which is apparently a UK
publication:
" An indication that a fast current is running is the appearance of 'kelds'
- dimples, swirls, mini-whirlpools and large glossy patches like old burn
scars. "
Finally, if you go to google and type in "define:KELD" you'll find a brief
reference in an article on a web site about Scandinavian toponyms in the
Danelaw (the part of England that was heavily settled by the Norse). It says simply
"spring or well".
That said, the AOL spell checker (which I've been using lately to catch
typos) does not believe that the word keld exists and suggests "kelp" --which
also fits in context! As for Westmorland, it suggests "Switzerland" <g>.
-FER
42.0N 87.7W, or 41.4N 72.1W.
www.HistoricalAtlas.com/lunars
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
