Editing Caer (section)

{{other uses}}
{{short description|Placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel".}}
[[File:Cardiff Castle North Gate - geograph.org.uk - 558526.jpg|thumb|right|The north gate of [[Cardiff Castle]], following the old Roman fortifications and rebuilt along Roman lines.]]
'''Caer''' ({{IPA|cy|kɑːɨr}}; {{langx|owl|cair}} or ''{{lang|owl|kair}}'') is a [[Welsh placenames|placename element]] in [[Welsh language|Welsh]] meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel",<ref>Carlisle, Nicholas. [https://archive.org/stream/walestopographic00carluoft#page/xxx/mode/2up ''Topographical Dictionary of the Dominion of Wales'', "Glossary", p.&nbsp;xxx.] W.&nbsp;Bulmer &&nbsp;Co. (London), 1811.</ref> roughly equivalent to an [[Old English]] [[suffix]] (''-ceaster'') now variously written as [[Chester (placename element)|{{nowrap|''-caster''}}, {{nowrap|''-cester''}}, and {{nowrap|''-chester''}}]].<ref name=chessie>Allen, Grant.<!--sic--> [https://books.google.com/books?id=2mgJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA419 "Casters and Chesters" in ''The Cornhill Magazine'', Vol.&nbsp;XLV, pp.&nbsp;419&nbsp;ff.] Smith, Elder, &&nbsp;Co. (London), 1882.</ref>{{refn|More precisely, these English placename elements derive from [[Latin]] ''castrum'' ("fortified post") and its plural form ''castra'' ("[[military camp]]"), making them the more precise equivalent of the Welsh ''castell''.}}

In [[Welsh orthography|modern Welsh orthography]], caer is usually written as a [[prefix]], although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The [[Breton language|Breton]] equivalent is ''kêr'', which is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix ''Ker-''.