[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:] SIR,—May I point out
that the Welsh names for Oxford and Cambridge—Rhyd ychen (the ford of the oxen) and Caer Grawnt (the fort of the Granta)—support the views that the derivations respectively are Oxenford and Grantabridge? My old tutor at Oxford, the late Mr. C. W. Boase, Fellow and Librarian of Exeter College, a man of immense erudition, was keenly interested to find that the Welsh name for Oxford embodied the "oxen" meaning. Mr. Boase (who, a celibate, was affectionately termed the "Ruth-less Boaz" by his pupils) was the author of the volume on " Oxford " in the "Historic Towns" series, edited by Freeman and Hunt. In this he 'wrote: "As to the meaning of the name Oxford (which some derive from the Celtic word for water or river, viz., Uis,; or Ouse), it may be noted that the early spelling of the name is always Oxnaford, where Ox.na is the early English genitive plural, meaning 'of oxen.'" The ford of oxen, like the ford of harts (Heortford, Hertford), marked an important passage across a river. The earliest forms of Oxford and Cambridge in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are Oxnaforda (A.D. 912) and Gra.ntanbrycge (A.D. 921). Further evidence can be found in McClure's "British Place Names." Attempts to derive the words otherwise seem unnecessary and fantastic.
—I am, Sir, ite., L. J. ROBERTS. [We cannot print any more letters on this subject.—En. Spectator.]
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