Tansley
Major Settlement in the Parish of Tansley
Historical Forms
- Taneslege 1086 DB
- Tanesl' 1154–9 Darley
- Taneslea 1175 P 1181 et passim
- Tanesley(e) 1330 Ass
- Taneslee 1573 HMC
- Teneslege 1086 DB
- Tanneslegh, Tannesley(e), Tannesleie, Tanneslay 1276 RH 1325 Ipm 1326 Cl 1329 Crich 1519 DbAxix
- Tannysley 1538 WollCh
- Tansl(e)y 1577 Saxton 1577 DbAi 1610 Speed
Etymology
Perhaps 'Tān's clearing', v. lēah ; cf. Tansor (PN Nth 208), where it is pointed out that this unrecorded OE pers.n. would be a parallel to OHG Zeino . Ekwall (DEPN) on the other hand assumes a genitival compound of OE tān 'branch', used in a transferred sense of a valley branching from the main dale, and lēah , which would not be inappropriate topographically. On the other hand the use of tān in its more original sense of 'sprout, shoot' is quite likely, the name denoting 'wood or clearing from which shoots were obtained'; on the use of the gen. v. -es 2 .