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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread a fosse around my hythe? #19991 02/23/2001 12:19 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 20 Maryland garynamy stranger garynamy stranger Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 20 Maryland I'm rereading Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" these days, and I came across two words very near each other that I've never seen (ever!) in any other context. I looked them up of course...a 'hythe' is described simply as 'a haven,' and 'fosse' seems to be an exact synonym of 'moat.' Is this a mysterious hole in my vocabulary? Are these words in common use in other, maybe specialized, areas? And how are they pronounced...I presume 'hythe' rhymes with 'writhe' and 'lithe,' but does 'fosse,' along with the famous choreographer, rhyme with 'bossy?' Puzzled in Maryland.... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: a fosse around my hythe? #19992 02/23/2001 1:29 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 In Kent this was spelled foss ‘when I were a lad’. and meant ditch or even a “hole in the ground”. This is what I think is an accurate representation of the pronunciation. I will leave BelM to describe a fosse septique – I remember my father installing one in France, hence know this connection! I would be pretty sure that hythe is a word of Old English extraction – seem to vaguely remember coming across something about this in connection to Alfred’s time. The only version I actually know about is the wonderful little steam railway I used to adore as a kid: http://www.nlewis.freeserve.co.uk/rlyromney.html Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: a fosse around my hythe? #19993 02/23/2001 1:35 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass fosse is also spelled foss (also meaning ditch), which gives you the orthoepy. it's used mostly these days in historical or archeological contexts. another earlier sense was 'cart-rut', which has come up here before. 1969 C. Cochrane Lost Roads of Wessex i. 14 No Roman way has been listed as located between Salisbury and the southern part of the Fosse [One of the four great Roman roads in Britain, so called from the ditch or fosse on each side; it probably ran from Axminster to Lincoln, via Bath and Leicester]. Ibid. vi. 119 For a short distance the Roman quarrystone paving of the Foss was intact. [Cochrane was taking no chances with the spelling!] hithe/hythe - A port or haven; esp. a small haven or landing-place on a river. Now obsolete except in historical use, and in place-names, as Hythe, Rotherhithe, Lambeth (orig. Lamb-hithe), Hythe Bridge at Oxford, Bablock Hithe on the Thames above Oxford. [OED] Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: a fosse around my hythe? #19994 02/23/2001 2:14 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 esp. a small haven or landing-place on a river Yes, that brings it back - it was in connection to Alfred taking London, in which he fortified the old Roman site of what is now the Tower of London. Is there any etymology or citation, tsuwm? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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