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.

Voss

Early-attested site in the Parish of Plympton St Mary

Historical Forms

  • Fosse 1504 Ipm
  • atte Fosse 1330 SR

Etymology

This may be the English word foss , 'ditch, dike, etc.,' though the NED records no earlier instance than c. 1400.Alternatively we may have the Co  fos , used in the same sense, a borrowing from the Latin fossa . The 6″ map reveals nothing which might give a clue as to the exact sense of the name.