"Oxford dictionary of English place-names" by A.D.Mills (ISBN 0-19-280074-4)
persistently says that in Anglo-Saxon '-inga-' means "of the family or
followers of', but '-ing-' means "associated with", e.g. Washington (Tyne
and Wear) is first recorded as 1183 Wassyngtona (from AS Wassingtu_n)
"estate associated with a man called Wassa", but Washington (West Sussex) is
first recorded as Wessingatun 946–55, Wasingetune 1086 (DB) (from AS
Wassingatu_n) "estate of the family or followers of a man called Wassa". Is
that distinction valid? Are there any examples of '-ing-' = "associated
with" rather than "son of" in Anglo-Saxon literature?
What sort of name is Wassa likely to be a hypocoristic version of?
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P.S. I am sorry to likely go off topic, but do any of you, on seeing a
fictional English-type placename in a fiction story, find yourself thinking
of a possible Anglo-Saxon origin for it?
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