-hou
-hou is a suffix (part added to the end of a word) found in many Channel Islands and Norman names. It is the Norman language version of the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small island, and often found anglicised elsewhere as "holm". It can still be found in modern Scandinavian languages, e.g. Stockholm.
The Norman hommet/houmet also comes from this suffix.
In Parisian French, the equivalent is îlot, which is the same as the English "islet".
Bailiwick of Guernsey
Bailiwick of Jersey
- Les Écréhous
- Le Plat Hommeit
- Le Hommet du Ouaisné
- Les Hommets
- La Rocco (from rocque-hou)
- Icho (from ic-hou)
Normandy
-hou Media
References
- Lepelley, Rene (1999). Noms de lieux de Normandie et des iles anglo-normandes. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-2-86253-247-9.
- Jersiaise, Societe (1986). Jersey Place Names: A Corpus of Jersey Toponymy. ISBN 978-0-901897-17-6.