thwaite
/θweɪt
/noun [in place names]
A piece of wild land cleared or reclaimed for cultivation: Bassenthwaite...
- The lesser topographical names like thorpe, and in Norwegian-dominated areas thwaite, were marginal settlements and clearings.
- It is full of fells and pikes, dales and thwaites, all old Viking words which are preserved here but not used widely elsewhere.
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse thveit, thveiti 'paddock', literally 'cut piece'.