|
Kil or Kill
(Place name adjunct as in Kilmarnock)
KIL, or Kill, an adjunct of very frequent
occurrence in Scottish topography. Some antiquaries derive it from the
Saxon King; others, from the Latin cella; others, from
the Gaelic cill—pronounced keel—which means 'a circle,'
and in which some etymologists have found the radix of the Latin
coelum. According to the latter, all places in this country having
the prefix cill or kill, originally derived their names
from the proximity of a Druidical circle. It is, however, an
historical fact, that when names of places begin with this adjunct, it
is generally found that the place was originally the cell or hermitage
of a saint, whose name usually forms the second half of the
appellation; and the presumption is that the word was borrowed by the
Gaels from the old Monkish Latin, cella. In the Highland
districts, Kil often implies 'a Burial-place,' probably from
there having been originally a cell or chapel, or station of an early
Christian missionary, in the neighbourhood.
|
