Aber and Inver are common elements in place-names of Celtic origin. Both mean "confluence of waters" or "river mouth". Their distribution reflects the geographical influence of the Brittonic and Goidelic language groups, respectively. Aber Aber goes back to Common Brittonic. In Old Welsh it has the form oper (later aper) and is derived from an assumed *od-ber, meaning 'pouring away'. This is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bher-, 'carry' (English bear, Latin fero) with the prefix ad-, 'to'. It is found in Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Place names with aber are very common in Wales. They are also common on the east coast of Scotland, where they are assumed to be of Pictish origin. They are found to a lesser extent in Cornwall and other parts of England and Brittany. It may be that the relative dearth in Cornwall is simply a result of there being fewer rivers on a peninsula. In Anglicised forms, aber is often contracted: Arbroath (formerly "Aberbrothick") for Aber Brothaig, Abriachan for Aber Briachan. In the case of Applecross (first attested as Aporcrosan), it has been transformed by a folk etymology. (Its Scottish Gaelic name, a' Chomraich, has lost the "Aber-" element altogether) "Aber" is rendered into Scottish Gaelic as Oba(i)r, e.g. Obar Dheadhain "Aberdeen", Obar Pheallaidh "Aberfeldy", and Obar Phuill "Aberfoyle." The Welsh names Abergwaun (Fishguard), Aberhonddu (Brecon), Aberteifi (Cardigan), Aberdaugleddau (Milford Haven), Aberpennar (Mountain Ash) and Abertawe (Swansea) all contain Aber- in their Welsh language equivalent. Inver Inver is the Goidelic or q-Celtic form, an Anglicised spelling of Scottish Gaelic (originally pronounced with /v/, though in modern Gaelic it has shifted to /j/), which occurs in Irish as or , going back to Old Irish . This is derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root *bher-, but with the prefix in-, 'into'. The word also occurs in Manx in the form Inver Place-names with inver are very common throughout Scotland, where they outnumber aber-names by about 3:1. They are most common throughout the Western Highlands and the Grampians, the largest town containing the element being Inverness. Place-names with inver are, however, oddly seldom in Ireland, given that the form is originally Irish; Ireland tends instead to have names with béal ('mouth') in such locations, as Béal Átha na Sluaighe (Ballinasloe, Co. Galway), Béal an Átha an Fheá (Ballina, Co. Mayo) or Béal Feirste (Belfast). The difference in usage may be explained by the fact that