Drayford
Early-attested site in the Parish of Witheridge
Historical Forms
- Draheforda 1086 DB
- Draiford 1238 Ass (p), FF
- Drayford 1242 Fees758 1285 FA 1440 Exon
Etymology
This is clearly a compound of OE dræg and ford. The sense of dræg is as always obscure. In this particular case it might be OE dræge , 'dragnet,' from the use of such near the ford; or possibly we may have that word already used in the sense 'dray,' a use hitherto not recorded before 1369. Hence, perhaps, 'ford over which a dray can pass.'