Lincoln.
_Meaning of Tye_ (Vol. iii., p. 263.).--On or contiguous to the South
Downs, in Sussex, there are several portions of land bearing this
designation, as Berwick Tye, Alfriston Tye, Telscombe Tye, &c. They are all
contiguous to the villages from which they derive their names. These lands
were formerly held in common by the tenants of the respective manors, and I
think the origin of the expression may be traced to the tethering or
_tying_-up of cows, horses, &c., for the double purpose of preventing their
straying, and of preserving the fences of the neighbouring tenements. I
offer this conjecture with some diffidence, because the word is very often
found in _composition_ with proper names of places, as Lavortye,
Brambletye, Holtye, Puxtye, Ollantigh. The vulgar notion, that it means a
space which originally measured ten acres, is, I think, untenable.