Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Langerhous(e) c.1416 Fount 1457 FountBurs 1496 FountPres 1535 VE 1838 PRBrn

• Lengerhowse 1565 WillY

• (ye) Laingerhouse 1657,1687 PRRl

• Lainger Beck 1858 O.S.

• Laneger House 1792 PRSk

• Langer Lane 1777 Glebe

Etymology

Lainger Beck & Lainger Ho [ˈleːndʒəraus], Langerhous (e )c. 1416 Fount, 1457 FountBurs, 1496FountPres , 1535 VEet freq to 1838 PRBrn, Lengerhowse 1565 WillY, (ye ) Laingerhouse 1657, 1687 PRRl, Lainger Beck 1858 O.S., Laneger House 1792 PRSk, Langer Lane 1777Glebe . The first el. appears to be repeated in Langer Hill v, 136, vi, 77 supra , Langerton 91, 96, Langerings 119infra , usually in compound hill-names. It is possible that we have ME  lenger , langer 'to linger' (a derivative of OE  lengan , ON  lengja 'delay', from lang 'long') in one or more of its senses, such as 'dwell, stay' (Lainger Ho meaning something like 'dwelling house, house in which to stay for a time', perhaps an outlying hospice of Fountains Abbey to which it belonged). The current pronunciation of Lainger Ho a is spelling pronunciation. In the cases of the hill-names, however, we must have OE  lengra , ME  lenger , langer 'longer'; the hills in Stirton, Hartlington and Thorpe are long, comparatively low, hills.