Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Risewarp(e), Rysewarp(e) 1145–8 YCh 1351 Whitby

• Riswarp 1316 Vill

• Ruswarpe 1665 Visit

Etymology

Ruswarp is on the north bank of the river Esk, and this fact must be taken into consideration in deciding the etymology of the second element. A dialect word warp 'the sediment de- posited by a river, an accumulation of mud checking the flow of a river' is found in the North Riding (EDD), and a compound warp-land 'land formed by the silt of a river' is adduced from the East Riding (EDD); this is the meaning required by the geographical situation of Ruswarp. These two words and the second element of the place-name are identical in form with ON  varp (neut.), varpa (fem.), found in the Norw place-name Varpet (Rygh, NG i. 218, etc.), and the root idea of the whole series is 'something cast up' from varpa 'to throw, cast.' The meaning of Ruswarp is therefore 'silt-land overgrown with brushwood' v. hris .

The change of Rise - to Rus - is probably due to the influence of w especially in the neighbourhood of r ; cf. Ruddings 85supra and Ruswick and Runswick 241, 139infra .