The dialect used in the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, and the Furness district of Lancashire, which today form much of Cumbria, is the product of many influences over the centuries. The oldest surviving words are Cumbric – similar to Celtic – and include words such as britches (trousers), brat (coarse apron), clout (cloth), darn (to mend), and place names such as Torpenhow, which is made up of three words meaning hill: tor, pen and how.

The best-known