Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Dalebanc 13 Font

• Dalebank 1665 Visit

• Dale 1314 Pat

• Dall(e) c.1230 Ripiv 1314 Pat 1319 Cl 1347 Ripi 1375 FF

• Dall(e)ban(c)ke 1537 WillY 1609 Ripiii

• Daulebanke, Dawlebanke 1527 Testv 1585 WillY

• Dolbanke 1577 PRRip 1610 KnaresWill

• Doll Bank 1771 M

Etymology

The early spellings with Dalle do not favour derivation from either dæl , dalr 'valley' (which should have become ModE  Dale ) or dāl 'share of common land' (which should have become local dial. dale [diəl]). The probable explanation is to be found in Fr  dalle 'conduit tube'; the word is found in English as dale , dalle in the technical sense of 'trough for carrying off water from a ship's deck', 'outlet drain in the fens', and Cotgrave gives dalle 'a sewer or pit whereinto the washings…and other such ordure of houses are conueyed' (NED s.v. dale ). Some such sense would no doubt be appropriate in the p.n. The word may be ultimately of Germanic origin. The later forms have the normal dial. development of -al - before a consonant to [ɔː] (cf. Phonol. § 6).