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Water is abundant here; reason alone for its green hues in summer and long, grey winters. There are hundreds of bodies of water in the Lake District, ranging in size from the largest lakes to the smallest pools, many more than most people would ever care to visit. The popular destinations are what brings the masses here to break away from everyday routine. From hardcore hikers and cyclists to the casual, fair-weather day trippers, visitors to the area who explore this great outdoors, do so because its appeal draws them in, time and time again. The lakes are just one, albeit predominantly so, reason for this influx of people every year.
By name alone, the Lake district has only one ''[[Origin of the word "lake"|lake]]'' out of the 17 main lakes inthroughout the National Park. That lake is– [[Bassenthwaite Lake]], which is nestled in the north-westnorthern region of the park's periphery. There is a general misconception that [[Windermere]], the largest of the lakes, is prefixed with the word ''Lake'' to differentiate it from the small town of the same name. This''Lake grammaticalWindermere'' constructor typifies''Windermere theLake'' redundancyare ofnot theofficial wordtitles, whichbut isare notused neededextensively dueas toa ''mere''means alreadyof being present. Althoughidentifying the Lakelake Districtinstead hasof onlythe onetown. bodyThis ofgrammatical waterconstruct with({{w2|Tautology ''lake''(language)|tautology}}) intypifies the title, the remaining 16redundancy of the big "lakes" are named withword ''[[Whatlake'', which is anot mere?|mere]]''needed ordue to ''[[water]]mere''. Thesealready wordsbeing arepresent. synonymousAlso, with''Windermere theTown'' lakesjust bornsounds in thisa widelittle open landodd, eitherwith by''town'' glacialbeing withdrawal orsuperfluous. by human intervention.
Although the Lake District has only one body of water with ''lake'' in the title, the remaining 16 of the big lakes are named with ''[[Origin of the word "mere"|mere]]'' or ''[[Origin of the word "water"|water]]''. These words are synonymous with the lakes born in this wide open land, either by glacial withdrawal or by human intervention.
==Etymology==
Before we move on, let'sit haveis ainteresting quickto looklearn atfrom where these words are derived. Lake District place names take a lot of influence from {{w1|Old Norse}} as well as {{w1|Old English}}. WordsSome prefixedwords withfollow a *natural areprogression [[Wiktionary:Reconstructedthrough terms|time, others reconstructeddo words]]not and can change dramatically with entirely different meanings. ThisWords meanscan theyalso havebe notcognate beenwith, directlyand attestedinfluenced by, butother insteadlanguages. areA hypothesizedsimple toappreciation haveof existedthese basedcan provide a broader understanding of the words onwe comparativeuse evidencetoday.
The three words lake, mere, and water all come from a Proto-Germanic background, however, ''lake'' is a little more complicated as it is a merger of two different words from French and English. The French lineage ascends back to Proto-Italic, which spawned the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish etc.) What is interesting, all three of these words ultimately refer to a "body of water" of some sort, with subtle variations depending on size and usage. Cognates are also strikingly similar as to be expected, which show how these words developed and changed through time to mean something similar to, or even the same as, their ancestor equivalent.
===Origin of the word "lake"=== ▼The word ''lake'' has a complicated and, in part, an uncertain history due to a merging of inherited Middle English ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23362984 lake]'', ("small stream of running water, pool, lake"), with Middle English ''lac'' ("lake"), which comes from Old French ''[[wiktionary:lac#Old_French|lac]]'' ("lake") or Latin ''[[wiktionary:lacus#Latin|lacus]]'' ("lake, pond, basin, reservoir").
Rather than discuss this in length here, it is best if these are broken down into more detail separately.
The Middle English ''lake'' ("stream, pool, lake") is related to Dutch ''[[wiktionary:laak#Dutch|laak]]'' ("stream, drainage ditch, pond"), Low German ''[[wiktionary:Lake#German_Low_German|Lake, Laak]]'' ("drainage, marshland"), German ''[[wiktionary:Lache#German|Lache]]'' ("puddle, pool"), Icelandic ''[[wiktionary:lækur#Icelandic|lækur]]'' ("stream"), and comes from the original reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leg-|*leg-]]'', which means ("to leak"). The descendants of this word follow more than one lineage. However, below shows the progression through the Germanic/English lineage. Words in '''bold''' shows the merging period:
*Proto-Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lakō|*lakō]]'' → leak, drain, puddle, pool, lake (+ others)
**Proto-West Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/laku|*laku]]'' → stream, pool or lake
***Old English: ''[[wiktionary:lacu#Old English|lacu]]'' → pool, pond, expanse of water, or lake
****Middle English: '''''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23368488 lāke, lac]''''' → expanse of water, lake, pond, pool, reservoir (+ others)
*****English: ''[[wiktionary:lake#English|lake]]'' → a large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid
▲===*[[Origin of the word "lake" ===]]
From the original reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lókus|lókus]]'', which means ("pond, pool"), the descendants of this word follow the progression through the Italic/French lineage:
===*[[Origin of the word "mere" ===]]▼*Proto-Italic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/lakus|lakus]]'' → lake
*[[Origin of the word "water"]]
**Latin ''[[wiktionary:lacus#Latin|lacus]]'' → lake, pond, basin, reservoir
***Old French ''[[wiktionary:lai#Old_French|lai]]'' → pond, lake (displaced)
***Old French ''[[wiktionary:lac#Old French|lac]]''<sup>?</sup> → lake
****Middle French '''''lac''''' → lake
*****French ''[[wiktionary:lacFrench|lac]]'' → lake
*****Norman ''[[wiktionary:lac#Norman|lac]]'' → lake (from {{w1|Jersey}})
Words prefixed with a * are [[Wiktionary:Reconstructed terms| reconstructed words]]. This means they have not been directly attested, but instead are hypothesised to have existed based on comparative evidence.
The displacement of Old French ''lai'' could have been assisted by influence from the early Middle English words ''lac, lace'', and the Old English word ''lacu'' (“pool, pond, lake”), as a result of ''lac's'' sudden spread in Old French. This was brought about following the annexation of English controlled Normandy into the kingdom of France in 1204. A full-out borrowing of the term from Middle English rather than from the Latin is also not an impossibility, as the earliest attestations of Old French ''lac'' are in the {{w1|Eadwine Psalter}} (written by Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman scribes in England) and {{w1|Erec and Enide}} (an Arthurian romance, whose author was heavily influenced by English, Anglo-Norman, and Celtic writings).<ref>''[[Wiktionary:lac#Old_French|Lac]]''. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page Wiktionary] Accessed 27 April, 2023.</ref>
''Lake'' in the present instance is simply a large body of water that is completely surrounded by land, which easily describes all of the big lakes in the Lake District regardless of location.
▲===Origin of the word "mere"===
The word ''mere'' comes from Old English ''[https://bosworthtoller.com/22650 mere]'', meaning a ("lake") or ("pool"). In compound words it could also mean "sea". It is interesting to note how the word, from its earliest root through to present day, has very similar meanings, not only through time but also across a broad spectrum of European countries.
From the original reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/móri|*móri]]'', which means ("sea") or ("standing water"), the descendants of this word follow the English lineage:
*Proto-Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mari|*mari]]'' → sea, ocean, lake, body of water
**Proto-West-Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/mari|*mari]]'' → sea or lake
***Old English ''[[wiktionary:mere#Old_English|mere]]'' → lake, pool or (compound) sea
****Middle English ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED27421/track?counter=1&search_id=23362984 mere]'' → lake, pond, pool; also, a sea or an ocean
*****English ''[[wiktionary:mere#Etymology_3|mere]]'' → A body of standing water, such as a lake or a pond. More specifically, it can refer to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth.
It should be noted that Old English ''mere'' also corresponds with Old Frisian ''mere'', Old Saxon ''meri'', Old Dutch ''*meri'' and Old High German ''meri''. It is cognate with West Frisian ''[[wiktionary:mar#Etymology_2_6|mar]]'', Dutch ''[[wiktionary:meer#Dutch|meer]]'', and German ''[[wiktionary:Meer#German|Meer]]''. Like the English lineage above, they also derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic ''*mari''.
The Proto-Indo-European root ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/móri|*móri]]'' spawned similar words in other European languages too:
*From Latin ''[[wiktionary:mare#Latin|mare]]'': Italian ''[[wiktionary:mare#Italian|mare]]'', Spanish ''[[wiktionary:mar#Spanish|mar]]'', French ''[[wiktionary:mer#French|mer]]'', Portuguese ''[[wiktionary:mar#Portuguese|mar]]'';
*From Old Celtic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/mori|*mori]]'': Irish ''[[wiktionary:muir|muir]]'', Welsh ''[[wiktionary:môr#Welsh|môr]]'', Breton ''[[wiktionary:mor#Breton|mor]]'', Cornish ''[[wiktionary:mor#Cornish|mor]]'', Manx ''[[wiktionary:mooir|mooir]]'' and Scottish Gaelic ''[[wiktionary:muir#Scottish_Gaelic|muir]]'', all of which mean "sea" in various forms. However, in the English lineage, the larger sense of "sea" has been obsolete since Middle English.<ref>{{oed|title1=mere|title2=Mere|day=22|month=January|year=2022}}</ref>
''Mere'' in the present instance refers to the names [[Buttermere]], [[Grasmere]], [[Kentmere]], [[Thirlmere]] and [[Windermere]], which are recorded from the late 12th or 13th century and would generally mean lake. The term "water" is used more often for the larger of the lakes<ref>Whaley, p.411</ref> although this is not strictly so as [[Blea Water]] is a tarn and smaller than all of the big lakes, with the exception of Elter Water.
===The origin of "water"===
The word ''water'' comes from ...
==Glacial origins==
===Human interference===
The once ebb and flow of ice and, in much more recent times, people, continue to have an effect on the natural backdrop of the second oldest national park in England.<ref group="lower-alpha">The Lake District National Park was formed on 9 May, 1951, second after that of the Peak District, which was formed on 17 April, 1951.</ref> The reservoirs of [[Haweswater]] and [[Thirlmere]] were once natural lakes. They were dammed to raise the water level in a bid to supply fresh water for the people of Manchester, at a price that flooded the valleys, damaging the flora and fauna within them.
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==List of the main lakes==
The lakes have been immortalised in text and image by the very people, past and present, with a passion for this rugged landscape. The big lakes are the quintessence of Lakeland, and listed below are 17 bodies of water that give this National Park its name. How these are classified, one could rightly surmise, is by size. Whilst the humble [[tarn]] is usually reserved for the smaller bodies of water, size alone is not the only trait for the lakes. Some tarns are bigger than the smallest of the big lakes, for example, [[Burnmoor Tarn]] near [[Wast Water]], and [[Seathwaite Tarn]] near the [[Old Man of Coniston]], both of which are bigger than [[Elter Water]] and [[Brothers Water]].<ref>Smith (2014), p.8.</ref>
Not only the ice, but people too, are responsible for changing the landscape. [[Haweswater]] and [[Thirlmere]] are reservoirs, although the former was once a natural lake. It was dammed to raise the water level in a bid to supply fresh water for the people of Manchester, at a price that flooded two Cumbrian villages, now lost to the murky darkness. The once ebb and flow of ice and, in much more recent times, people, continue to have an effect on the natural backdrop of the second oldest national park in England after the Peak District.<ref group="lower-alpha">The Lake District National Park was formed on 9 May, 1951, second after that of the Peak District, which was formed on 17 April, 1951.</ref>
The lakes have been immortalised in text and image by the very people, past and present, with a passion for this rugged landscape. The big lakes are the quintessence of Lakeland, and listed below are 17 bodies of water that give this National Park its name. How these are classified, one could rightly surmise, is by size. Whilst the humble [[tarn]] is usually reserved for the smaller bodies of water, size alone is not the only trait for the lakes. Some tarns bigger than the smallest of the big lakes, for example, [[Burnmoor Tarn]] near [[Wast Water]], and [[Seathwaite Tarn]] near the [[Old Man of Coniston]], both of which are bigger than [[Elter Water]] and [[Brothers Water]].<ref>Smith (2014), p.8.</ref> One could easily say that each of the lakes have their own distinctive character, companioned by the landscape in which they sit. Size, depth, inflows, outflows, location, and human intervention all play a vital role in our understanding of these expanses of water, which, seen from above, appear to radiate outwards from a central point near the fell of [[High Raise (Langdale)|High Raise]] in Langdale.
Each lake below is the subject of a compendiousbrief listingoverview, with a link to the lake's main article (when these have been written).
===Bassenthwaite Lake===
==References==
{{reflist|20em}}
[[Category:Lakes of the Lake District]]
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