On Jun 12, 2011, at 11:00 PM, Michael Smith wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:42:18 -0400
> Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
>>> Scarsdale, or Scarysdale as we used to call it
>>
>> Someone I used to know long ago called it the Dale
>> of Scars. Which is apparently the origin of the name.
>
> Naah, that's gotta be a folk etymology. Can't
> possibly be right. Sounds like it must have been
> named after someplace back in the Mother Country.
> No obvious etymology leaps to mind, but the -s-
> in the middle must be an old Anglo-Saxon
> genitive ending, and the 'scar' part the residue
> of a personal or family name. Maybe Norse.
Who ya gonna believe? You or some real estate broker?
http://sheridanresidential.com/neighborhood_details.php?nID=4574
> In 1701 Caleb, who had become influential in the government of the province, had these lands elevated into a royal manor. He named the area Scarsdale after his ancestral home. Since the English name meant "dale of scars or rocks," it was appropriate here as it was there.