Editing Pictish language (section)

=== Place names ===
Pictish toponyms occur in Scotland north of the [[River Forth]].<ref name="pp">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Mark A |last2=Driscoll |first2=Stephen T |last3=Geddess |first3=Jane |title=Pictish Progress: New Studies on Northern Britain in the Early Middle Ages |date=11 November 2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004188013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6d55DwAAQBAJ |access-date=30 June 2019}}</ref> Distributed from [[Fife]] to the [[Isle of Skye]], they are relatively abundant south of the [[Dornoch Firth]] but rare in the extreme north.<ref name="UGlas"/>{{sfn|Koch|2006|p=1444}}

Many principal settlements and geographical features of the region bear names of Pictish origin, including:
*'''[[Aberdeen]]''', Aberdeenshire. Meaning "mouth of the River Don" (cf. [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|aber}}, "estuary, confluence").<ref name="cpns"/>
*'''[[Cupar]]''', Fife. Meaning "confluence" (cf. Welsh {{lang|cy|cymer}}).<ref name="pp" /><ref name="UGlas" />
*'''[[Keith, Moray|Keith]]''', Banffshire. Meaning "forest" (cf. Welsh {{lang|cy|coed}}).<ref name="cpns" />
*'''[[Kirkcaldy]]''', Fife. Meaning "place of the hard fort" from ''caer'', "fort" and ''caled'', "hard".<ref name="PNF">{{cite book |last1=Simon |first1=Taylor |last2=Markus |first2=Gilbert |title=The Place-names of Fife |date=2006 |publisher=Shaun Tyas |isbn=9781900289771 |edition=Illustrated}}</ref>
*'''[[Perth, Scotland|Perth]]''', Perthshire. Meaning "wood, grove" (cf. Welsh {{lang|cy|perth}}).<ref name="pp" />
*'''[[Yell, Shetland|Yell]]''', Shetland. Meaning "unfruitful land" (cf. Welsh ''iâl'').<ref name="forsyth2020" />

Several Pictish elements occur multiple times in the region.<ref name="pp" /> This table lists selected instances according to the Welsh equivalent.<ref name="cpns" /><ref name="pp" />{{sfn|Koch|2006|p=1444}}<ref name="PNF" />

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Element (Welsh) !! Meaning !! Place names
|-
| '''bryn''' || hill || Burnbane, Burnturk, Cameron (Markinch), Cameron (St Andrews), Newburn, Strathburn
|-
| '''[[caer]]''' || fort, stronghold; wall, rampart || Cardean, Carey, Cargill, Carmurie, Carpow, Carpoway, Crail, Kair, Keir, Kercock, Kirkbuddo, Kirkcaldy, Caerlaverock Castle
|-
| '''coed''' || trees, forest, wood || Catochil, Inchkeith, Keith, Keith Lundie, Keithack, Keithick, Keithmore, Keithny, Keithney, Keithock, Kitattie, Rothket
|-
| '''dôl''' || field, meadow || Dalfouper, Dallas, Dallasbraughty, Doll, Dollar, Dull
|-
| '''llannerch''' || clearing, glade || Landrick, Lanrick, Lendrick
|-
| '''mig(n)''' || swamp, quagmire || Dalmigavie, Meckphen, Meigle, Megen, Megevie, Meggen, Meggernie, Midmar, Midstrath, Migdale, Migger, Migvie, Strathmiglo
|-
| '''pant''' || hollow || Panbride, Panholes, Panlathy, Panmure, ?Pannanich
|-
| '''pen''' || head; top, summit; source of stream; headland; chief, principal || Pandewen, Pennan, Pinderachy, Pinnel
|-
| '''tref''' || town, homestead, estate, township || Cantray, Cantress, Menstrie, Montrave, Rattray (Blairgowrie), Rattray (Buchan), Tramaud, Trefor, Trefynie, Trostrie, Troustrie
|}

Some Pictish names have been succeeded by Gaelic forms, and in certain instances the earlier forms appear on historical record.
*[[Inverbervie]], Kincardineshire. ''Haberberui'' in 1290, demonstrates that a Pictish ''aber'', "estuary, confluence" has been supplanted by Gaelic ''inbhir'', with identical meaning.<ref name="cpns" />
*[[Inverie]], Fife. A possible early form, ''Auerin'' (1141), may be for ''*Aberin'', thus attesting the same ''inbhir'' for ''aber'' substitution as above.<ref name="PNF" />
*[[Braemar|Kindrochit Alian]], Aberdeenshire. ''Doldauha'' before c. 850 AD, in which the first element is ''dôl'' ("meadow").<ref name="Ross">{{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Alasdair |chapter=Medieval European land assessment, Fortriu, and the ''dabhach'' |title=Scotland in Early Medieval Europe |year=2019 |editor-last=Blackwell |editor-first=Alice E. |location=Leiden |publisher=Sidestone Press |pages=135–148 |isbn=978-90-8890-753-1 |url=https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/23390/1/ROSS%20Medieval%20European%20land%20assessment%20Fortriu%20and%20the%20dabhach%20COPY%20EDIT.pdf |hdl=1893/23390 |via=Dspace}}</ref>
*[[Strathtyrum]], Fife. ''Trestirum'' in 1190, suggestive of assimilation of a Pictish ''tref'', "estate", to (unconnected) Gaelic ''srath'', "a valley".<ref name="PNF" />