Editing River Dart (section)

==Name==
Most [[hydronym]]s in England derive from the [[Common Brittonic|Brythonic language]] (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive from an original [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] etymology. As the lower stretches of the river are still covered in ancient [[oak]] woodlands, it is accepted that the first element derives from {{lang|cel-x-combrit|dar-}}, meaning 'oak' ({{langx|kw|derow}}, {{langx|cy|derw}}).<ref>{{ISBN|0-19-852758-6}} Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names</ref> However the second element (evident in the hard consonantal termination of ''Dar-t'') is less certain, with postulated etymologies from {{lang|und-Latn|Darwent}} / {{lang|la|Derventio}} ('sacred place of oak') or {{lang|und-Latn|Darnant}} / {{lang|und-Latn|Darant}} ('oak stream').

The [[Ravenna Cosmography]] records a number of [[Latinisation of names|Latinised]] names for the area, {{lang|la|Devionisso Statio}} and {{lang|la|Deventiasteno}} may represent corrupted doublets of a {{lang|la|statio}} ('station') on a river named {{Lang|la|Derventio}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Malcolm |title=The South West to 1000 AD |date=23 June 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317871637 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvPgAwAAQBAJ&q=ravenna+cosmography+river+dart&pg=PT305 |access-date=29 April 2021}}</ref> Although the name {{lang|la|Derventio}} is otherwise unattested for the river, it is an established etymology throughout Britain, found at the [[River Darent]], [[Derwentwater]], and a number of rivers named [[River Derwent (disambiguation)|Derwent]].<ref name="Whaley">{{Cite book |last=Whaley |first=Diana |title=A dictionary of Lake District place-names |publisher=English Place-Name Society |year=2006 |isbn=0904889726 |location=Nottingham |pages=lx,423 p.95}}</ref> [[Anna Eliza Bray]] recorded that a version of the name, ''Darant'' was still in common usage as late as 1832.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpmOIoehptUC&pg=PA16 |title=A Description of the Part of Devonshire Bordering on the Tamar and the Tavy ... |volume=1 |page=16 |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=2013-05-29 |last1=Bray |first1=Mrs Anna Eliza |author-link=Anna Eliza Bray |year=1836 }}</ref>