High Melton
Major Settlement in the Parish of High Melton
Historical Forms
- Middeltun, Mideltone, Medeltone 1086 DB
- Madaltuna 1148 YCh179
- Meheltonie 13 ADv
- Mealtona 13 Dugdv
- Methelton' 1208 FF
- Methylton 1252 YI
- Meauton 1252 YI
- Meuton 1269 Ch
- Meltun, Melton 1248 YI 1276 RH 1279–81 QW 1303 KF 1316 Vill 1428 FA
- Melton le He(y)g 1285 KI
- Hegh Melton 1342 FF 1379 PT 1425 Pat
- High(e) Melton 1403 Pat 1569 WillY 1739 PRHtnP
- Hie Melton 1546 WillY
- Melton super montem 1535 VE 1675 Comm52
- Melton (up)on (the) Hill 1546 FF 1590 WillY 1771 M
- Melton on the Hill als. Heigh Melton 1588 FF
Etymology
'Middle farmstead or village', v. middel , tūn ; it is half-way between Sprotbrough and Barnburgh. The history of the forms is interesting.OE middel was replaced by the cognate ON meðal (in Medel -, Methelton , etc.). Through AN influence medial -ð - was replaced by a hiatus-filler -h - (Meheltonie ) and then lost (Mealtana , Melton ), and sometimes the -l - was vocalised (Meau -, Meuton ); on these AN changes cf. IPN 110, 111, Zachrisson, ANInfl 146 ff. Bolton 83, pt. iv, pt. v and West Melton 114infra have similar developments through French influence. For the affixes 'high' and 'on the hill', v. hēah , hyll .