Thame
/teɪm/noun
Thame is a town and river name in Oxfordshire, England.
Did you know?Thame belongs to the same ancient river-name family as the Thames, whose Roman form was recorded as Tamesis, although the original Celtic meaning remains disputed.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Roman period
Brittonic
*Tames- / *Tam-
“A reconstructed Celtic river-name element; its exact meaning is uncertain, with proposed interpretations including “dark” or “still.””
1st Century
Latin
Tamesis
“The Roman form recorded for the River Thames, preserving an ancient Brittonic river name.”
8th–11th Centuries
Old English
Tamesa / Tame
“English forms used for major rivers and local waterways descended from earlier Brittonic names.”
1086
Middle English record
Tame
“The settlement and river appear in medieval records under forms related to Tame and Thame.”
13th–15th Centuries
Middle English
Thame
“The modern spelling becomes established for the Oxfordshire town and its river.”
Modern English
English
Thame
“A town and river in Oxfordshire, pronounced “tame.””