Language and places

A brief look at cognates and derivatives in the context of etymology and place-names.

AN interesting e-note, penned about two years ago, apparently got misplaced in MOE’s e-mail inbox. Verbatim it read: “Recent articles in your excellent column Mind Our English on the subject of suffixes and word etymology brought to mind an article on etymology I read in one of the local newspapers very many years ago. One of the topics discussed in that article was on the origin of the suffix bury as found in the names of the English townships Canterbury, Salisbury, Tilbury, etc. It appears that the suffix buri as found in the names of the Thai townships Kanchanaburi, Saraburi, Lopburi, etc is etymologically linked to the English bury and that both suffixes carry the same meaning. Improbable as this may seem it is, nevertheless, true. How did this happen? – Noel”