Finmere's Place Name

From: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names Ed Eilbert Ekwall, Oxford 1960

Fennymere, Sa [Finemer DB] Second el. OE mere 'lake'. The first is OE Fynig 'mouldy, musty' from fyne 'mould.'

Finmere O [Finemere, DB, 1207 CW, 11230P, Vinemere 1237 C1] 'Mere frequented by woodpeckers (c.f. FINBOROUGH] or identical with FENNYMERE.

OE fin {i has line not dot} "heap (of wood)" is found in some names and is difficult to distinguish from OE fina {i has line not dot} 'woodpecker.' See FINBOROUGH, FINMERE, FINSTOCK.

See also the discussion in The Millennium History of Finmere, p8.