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.

Felliscliffe

Major Settlement in the Parish of Hampsthwaite

Historical Forms

  • Felgesclif 1086 DB
  • Fellesclive 1230 Ebor
  • Fellesclif(e) 1301 YI 1386 MinAcct
  • Fellesclyff 1379 PT
  • Felesclif 1319 Cl
  • Fyllysclyf(f), Fyllisclyf(f) 1498,1649 MinAcct
  • Fillistcliffe 1651 ParlSurv
  • Felleshclyff 1521 KnaresWill
  • Felliscliffe 1559 ib
  • Feliscliffe Hamlett 1676 PRHmp

Etymology

Ekwall proposes as the meaning 'steep bank near the newly cultivated land' (v. felh , cf. falh in EPN i, 164–5) but notes the difficulty of the gen.sg. -es , which could only occur in a later p.n., since felh was a fem. noun in OE. It is therefore preferable to take the first el. as a shortened form of the ODan  pers.n. Felagh (corresponding to OSwed  Fælaghi ), which was originally a byname from ON  félagi 'fellow'. 'Felagh's bank', v. clif .

Places in the same Parish

Other OS name

Early-attested site