Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• la Munede, le Muneden 1282 For

• Micheldeanes meend 1633 SPDom

• Deanes meene(s) 1669 Comm

Etymology

Mitcheldean Meend, 1830 M, la Munede , le Muneden 1282For , Micheldeanes meend 1633SPDom 19, Deanes meene (s )1669Comm .v. Mitcheldean (234infra ). The second el. meend is one that occurs a good many times in the Forest of Dean, usually with the form munede (once as menede ) in the 13th century, me (e )nd , me (e )ne or myne in the 16th and 17th centuries, and -meend , occasionally mesne (an analogical substitution of OFr  mesne 'demesne land') at the present time; cf. Clifford's Mesne (157supra ), Merring Meend (223), Little Dean Meend (225), Blind Meend (227), Bream's Meend (227), Clearwell Meend (229), Eastbach Meend (229), Gorsty Meend (238), Prior's Mesne (255infra ), etc. Eastbach Meend (229) was described as 'his Maiestyes wast soyle of the Forest' in 1669, and Lower Meend (244) was described as 'cleare ground, Laune or Meene' in 1641Comm (E. 178–5304). It would appear to be the same el. as that found in various p.ns. in the Welsh marches, such as Minton, Myndetown, Longmynd (Sa) and Mynde (He), which are usually derived from OWelsh  minid 'mountain'. Its frequent use in the Forest, however, points to its adoption as a ME  appellative munede ; the two descriptions of meends already cited, and local topography as far as it can still offer any help, show that it came to be used of 'a piece of waste or open ground in the forest, a forest-glade'. Welsh  mynydd usually means 'mountain'; Longmynd (Sa), foresta de Longa Muneta 1212, which was also called Longa foresta 1199 (Ekwall, DEPN s.n.), also suggests that in English usage munede was equated with 'forest'.