Caer

, following the old Roman fortifications and rebuilt along Roman lines. Caer ( ; or ) is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (-ceaster) now variously written as , , and . In modern Welsh orthography, caer is usually written as a prefix, although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The Breton equivalent is kêr, which is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix Ker-.

, following the old Roman fortifications and rebuilt along Roman lines. Caer ( ; or ) is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (-ceaster) now variously written as , , and . In modern Welsh orthography, caer is usually written as a prefix, although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The Breton equivalent is kêr, which is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix Ker-. ==Etymology== The term is thought to have derived from the Brittonic *kagro- and to be cognate with cae ("field, enclosed piece of land"). Although stone castles were largely introduced to Wales by the invading Normans, "caer" was and remains used to describe the settlements around some of them as well. An example is the Roman fort at Caernarfon, formerly known in Welsh as from its position on the Seiont; the later Edwardian castle and its community were distinguished as ("fort in Arfon", the latter being a district name (Cantref Arfon) from "ar Fôn", "(land) opposite Môn or Anglesey"). However, the modern names of the Roman fort and Edwardian castle themselves are now or , while the communities carry on the name caer. Note that the term is not believed to be related to the Irish cathair ("city"), which is instead derived from Proto-Celtic *katrixs, *catarax ("fortification").

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