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.

Ovis

Early-attested site in the Parish of High Bray

Historical Forms

  • Houese 1238 Ass
  • Lunese (sic) 1261 FF
  • Ouese 1408 IpmR
  • Office 1809 M
  • atter Houese 1333 SR

Etymology

This is OE  ofes (e ), 'edge,' a by-form of efes , 'eaves, border.' Cf. Woodovis infra 220 and v. PN Wo 391. It is preserved in the dialectal ovvis , recorded from Somerset.Ovis lies along the western border of the parish.

Places in the same Parish