Re: the river Ise
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In reply to:
Easum and its variants
2/20/98
According to Eilert Ekwall, in *English River-Names* (1928), the form "ysan" attested in the Cartularium Saxonicum (c. 1200?) may be original: the vowel shift from OU through Y to I is plausible. The form "Use" given for c. 1540 by Leland is close to Ouse. Ouse is derived from the same root as such words as "water", "otter", and "whiskey". Though its precise meaning is as yet unknown, it seems to have to do with water.