THE SOUND OF THE WATERS.
The GRETA in the English Lake District has been generally derived from
Old Norse _grâta_, Scotch _greet_, to weep or mourn, in allusion to the
wailing sound made by its waters. There is also a GRETA in Westmoreland
and a GRETA BECK in Yorkshire. In the Obs. Gael. and Ir., _greath_ also
signifies a noise or cry, so that it is quite possible that the original
Celtic name may have been retained in the same sense.
Of an opposite meaning to the above is the name BLYTHE of several small
rivers in England. I do not see how this can be otherwise derived than
from the Ang.-Sax. _blithe_, merry. And how appropriate this is to many
of our English streams we hardly need poetic illustration to tell us.
Of a corresponding meaning with the Saxon name Blythe may be the AVOCA
or OVOCA of Wicklow, the OBOKA of Ptolemy. Baxter refers it to Welsh
_awchus_, acer, a word of no very cheerful association for the spot
where
"Nature has spread o'er the scene
Her purest of crystal, and brightest of green."
The Gael. _abhach_, blithe, sportive, would seem to give a better etymon
for the bright waters of Avoca. Whether the OCKER of Germany (ant.
OBOCRA, OVOCRA, OVOKARE), may be derived from the same word I do not
know sufficient to judge.
From the Gr. {bremô}, Lat. _fremo_, Ang.-Sax. _bremman_, to roar, Old
Norse _brim_, roaring or foaming of the sea, Welsh _ffrom_, fuming,
Gael. _faram_, din, I take the following. The following description
given by Strabo[62] of the Pyramus shews the appropriateness of the
derivation. "There is also an extraordinary fissure in the mountain,
(Taurus), through which the stream is carried.... On account of the
winding of its course, the great contraction of the stream, and the
depth of the ravine, _a noise, like that of thunder, strikes at a
distance on the ears of those who approach it_."
1. _England._ The FROME. Five rivers.
The FRAME. Dorsetshire.
_Germany._ BRAM(AHA) or BREM(AHA), 9th cent., a stream in
Odenwald.
PRIMMA, 9th cent. Near Worms.
The PRÜM in Prussia.
_Denmark._ The BRAM(AUE) in Holstein.
_Italy._ FORMIO ant. in Venetia.
_Asia Minor._ PYRAMUS ant., now the Jihun.
2. _With the ending t._
_Germany._ The PFREIMT in Bavaria.
3. _With the ending nt._
_Germany._ PREMANTIA, 9th cent., now the PRIMS.
4. _With the ending es._
_Greece._ PERMESSUS ant. B[oe]otia.
In the Gael. _fuair_, sound, _faoi_, a noisy stream, we may perhaps find
the origin of the FOWEY in Cornwall, and of the FOYERS in Inverness, the
latter of which is noted as forming one of the finest falls in Britain.
From the Gael. _gaoir_, din, we may derive the GAUIR in Perthshire; and
from _toirm_ of the same meaning, perhaps the TERMON in Ulster. Hence
might also be the TROME and the TRUIM, elsewhere derived at p. 70.
From the Gael. _durd_, _durdan_, Welsh _dwrdd_, humming or murmur, Lhuyd
derives the name DOURDWY, of some brawling streams in Wales; but quoting
the derivations of some other writers, he adds, with more humility than
authors generally possess--"Eligat Lector quod maxime placet." To the
same origin may probably also be referred the DOURDON in France, Dep.
Seine-Inf.
FOOTNOTES:
[62] Bohn's Translation.