Catsbrain (Fm)
Early-attested site in the Parish of Oakley
Historical Forms
- Cattesbreyne 1348 Cl
Etymology
'Catsbrain' is very common as a field-name in Bucks and is also found in Oxon and Berks. It is clearly the term cat-brain used dialectally to describe a soil consisting of rough clay mixed with stones. Professor Ekwall has furnished an interesting parallel in the form Catesbragen in the Cartulary of St Nicholas Hospital, Salisbury (Wilts Rec. Soc.) 204 f. the name of a place in Broad Chalke (W). This form and the braʒen in Layamon B suggest to him an alternative OE bragen from a stem *bragun -, in contrast to the usual brægen from *bragin and this may ultimately in its turn have a bearing on the mysterious Bragen in Brayfield supra .