_Welsh Names "Blaen"_ (Vol. v., p. 128.).--Although my acquaintance with
the language of the Cymri is very limited, I think that a knowledge of
the cognate Erse or Gaelic enables me to make a shrewd guess at the
meaning of the word _Blaen_, prefixed to the names of so many farms in
Wales. The Gaelic word _Baile_, pronounced _Ballé_, signifies a
town--the Scotch _toun_--or farm, and, with the preposition _an_ or
_na_--Anglicè _of_--is written _Baile'n_, pronounced _Ballen_: this, I
think, is probably the same word as _Blaen_, and means, being
interpreted, "the farm of." In the examples given by your correspondent
α, the words affixed to _Blaen_ are descriptive; many of them
scarcely differ in sound from their Gaelic synonyms _e.g._ _Blaen-awen_
is the Gaelic _Baile'n abhuinn_, pronounced _Ballen avine_, Ang. "the
farm on, or of the river;" _Blaen-argy_--Gaelic, _Baile'n airgiod_, "the
silver farm," or perhaps _'n arguin_, of strife; _Blaen-angell_--Gaelic,
_Baile'n aingeal_, "angel farm"; _Blaen-y-foss_--Gaelic,
_Baile-na-fois_, pronounced _f[=o]sh_, and synonymous with the Dutch
_lust_, "leisure or pleasure farm;" and _Blaen-nefern_--Gaelic,
_Baile-na-fearn_, "alder farm." In England these farms or towns would
have been called respectively, _Riverton_, _Silverton_, _Alderston_, and
so on. The same word, generally spelt _Bally_, forms part of the name of
a very large proportion of the small towns and farms in Ireland.