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.

Cripple

Early-attested site in the Parish of Black Torrington

Historical Forms

  • Cripple 1744 Recov
  • Cromhale 1333 SR 1340 Ass

Etymology

The connexion of the earliest and latest forms is probable and the development must have been from crumhale to crump (h )ale and then, with a common development of u to i before nasals, to crimple and so by folk- etymology to cripple . The place lies in a crook in the river and the name is probably a compound of crumb , 'crooked,' and healh .