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.

Lythe

Major Settlement in the Parish of Lythe

Historical Forms

  • Lid 1086 DB 1201 Cur 1210 Abbr
  • Liz 1181 P
  • Lith(e), Lyth(e) 1201 Abbr 1508 Test
  • Leth 1401 YI
  • Lieth 1623 NR

Etymology

'The slope' v. hlið . The reference is to a slope which borders on the sea-coast north-west of Whitby. For the form Leth cf. Upleatham 153infra . The common form [lɑið] is from ON  hlíð (which had a long vowel).