English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Grindsworthy

Early-attested site in the Parish of Ashwater

Historical Forms

  • Gryndeworthi 1330 SR
  • Gryndesworthy 1516 Recov

Etymology

Blomé's first suggestion (135) that we have here the OE  pers. name Grind is perhaps the most likely, though the authority for that name is not very strong and its origin disputed (Björkman ZEN 39). Blomé's alternative derivation from OE  *grinde , 'gravel, shingle,' does not suit the locality (ex inf. the Rev. G. D. Melhuish).