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-hou

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a map of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

-hou is a suffix (part added to the end of a word) found in many Channel Islands and Norman names. It is the Norman language version of the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small island, and often found anglicised elsewhere as "holm". It can still be found in modern Scandinavian languages, e.g. Stockholm.

The Norman hommet/houmet also comes from this suffix.

In Parisian French, the equivalent is îlot, which is the same as the English "islet".

Bailiwick of Guernsey

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Bailiwick of Jersey

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Aerial view of Les Écréhous
  • Les Écréhous
  • Le Plat Hommeit
  • Le Hommet du Ouaisné
  • Les Hommets
  • La Rocco (from rocque-hou)
  • Icho (from ic-hou)

Normandy

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References

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  • Lepelley, Rene (1999). Noms de lieux de Normandie et des iles anglo-normandes. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-2-86253-247-9.
  • Jersiaise, Societe (1986). Jersey Place Names: A Corpus of Jersey Toponymy. ISBN 978-0-901897-17-6.