Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Deningei 709–45 Bodl(James23) 17th

• (on) Denesige 942–51 ASWills 14th

• Daneseiā 1086 DB

• Daneseiam 1123–83 OxonCh

• Dan(e)seie 1297 Ipm

• Dan(e)sheia 1198 CurR

• Dan(e)sy(e) 1212 1235 Ass 1288 FF

• Dan(e)sey(e) 1247–61 1274 RH 1283 Pat 1310–13 Londin 1314 Ipm 1346 FA 1354 Cl

• Den(e)seie, Den(e)seye 1274 RH 1369 Fine

• Dan(y)seye 1404 ADi

• danningam 1222 StP

• Danengeye supra Mare 1276 FF 1299 Abbr

• Danyngeye, Danyngeye alias Dansey 1304 IpmR 1305 Pat

• Daneg(e) 1236 Fees 1290 Cl

• Danigeye 1247 FF

• Dange(ye) 1251 Ch 1313 1353 Ipm 1387 Pat 1428 FA

• Daungey 1395 Cl

• Angeye 1313 Cl

• Dengeye 1344 Misc

Etymology

Zachrisson (Acta Philologica Scandinavica , i, 284 ff.) is probably right in connecting the name of this place with Danbury and the forest of Danegris (infra 248–9). The forms of these two place-names clearly go back to earlier dæn (n )ingabyrig and -hris respectively, denoting the burh and the hris or brushwood-land occupied by the Dænningas . This would seem to be an ingas-derivative of the word dænn , used of 'woodland pasture for swine,' the name denoting a folk settled in an old forest-area, such as we know to have existed near Danbury in the past. In the VCH (i, 376), evidence is noted for a strip of woodland running across Dengie Hundred, which at its western end borders on Danbury. It may be that the original name for Dengie was therefore Dænninga -eg , 'marshland occupied by the Dænningas -folk .' See further Introd. xxii–iii. The Danes -, Denes - forms are difficult, but some process of sound confusion and folk-etymology has obviously been at work, otherwise it is impossible to bring the forms into relationship with each other.Connection with Danes and substitution of [nz] for [ndʒ] would readily arise.