By Tre, Pol, and Pen,

You shall know the Cornish men.

These three words, says Fuller, are the Dictionary of such surnames as are originally Cornish; and, though nouns in sense, I may fitly term them prepositions.

1 Tre signifieth a town
{ Hence Tre-fry, Tre-lawny,
Tre-vannion, &c,.
2 Pol an head
Hence Pol-wheel.
3 Pen a top
{ Hence Pen-tire, Pen-rose,
Pen-kevil, &c.

Some add to these a fourth inchoation, viz, Car, which signifies a rock, as Car-mine, Car-zeu, &c.

Entry taken from Provincial Glossary, edited by Francis Grose.

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Cheshire
In Cheshire there are Lees as plenty as fleas

Cornwall
By Tre, Pol, and Pen
To give one a Cornish hug
Hengston-down, well ywrought

Cumberland
——If Skiddaw hath a cap

Nearby

Cornwall in Nuttal Encyclopædia

Antique pictures from Cornwall