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.

The Denes, North Denes, South Denes

Other OS name in the Parish of Yarmouth

Historical Forms

  • Den 1100–35,1155–8,1175–86 Holme
  • Denne 1281,1283,1285 YPleas 1318 Pat
  • (le) Dene, Den' 1286 YD
  • (The) Deanes 1668 Paston'sMap 1693 Collins
  • Denes 1829 NfTour
  • North Denes, South Denes 1906 OSSix-InchMap

Etymology

, Den 1100–35, 1155–8, 1175–86 Holme, Denne 1281, 1283, 1285YPleas , 1318 Pat, (le )Dene , Den '1286YD , (The ) Deanes 1668 Paston's Map, 1693Collins, Denes 1829 NfTour, North Denes , South Denes 1906 OSSix-Inch Map . OED gives dene ' a bare sandy tract by the sea , a low sand hill ' as a word of uncertain derivation , although LG  düne , Fris düne , dün , Du duin ' sand-hill on the coast ' are quoted as parallels . EDD s.v. dene knows the word only from Nf and D and derives it from EFris  düne , dün . In Yarmouth the term Denes refers to the open areas of sand along the seafront , especially at the northern and southern end of the town . The ContGerm word is considered to be related to OE  dūn ' hill ' , an early loan from Celtic , ModE  down .