Editing Clapper bridge (section)

==History==
Although often credited with prehistoric origin, most were erected in [[medieval]] times, and some in later centuries.<ref>{{Cite book
  |url=http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-arch.pdf
  |title=A Guide to the Archaeology of Dartmoor
  |publisher=Dartmoor National Park Authority
  |year=2003
  |isbn=1-84114-226-3
  |ref={{harvid|Archaeology of Dartmoor|2003}}
  |page=27
  |url-status=dead
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006185810/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-arch.pdf
  |archive-date=6 October 2008
  |df=dmy-all
  }}</ref> They are often situated close to a [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] where carts could cross. According to the Dartmoor [[National parks of England and Wales|National Park]], the word 'clapper' derives ultimately from an [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] word, {{lang|ang|cleaca}}, meaning 'bridging the stepping stones';{{sfnp|Archaeology of Dartmoor|2003|p=59}} the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' gives the intermediate Medieval Latin form  {{lang|la|clapus}}, {{lang|la|claperius}}, "of Gaulish origin", with an initial meaning of "a pile of stones".<ref group="note" >French and Provençal ''clapier'' developed the additional significance of a rabbit warren. (''OED'', ''s.v.'' "clapper".)</ref>