First suggested by William Somner in the 17th century, it seems that the derivation of the word from the Old English (rope) has been made practically certain. The suggestion that ropes were used to mark out territory, was well countered by J. H. Round, asking "do those who advance such views realize the size of the districts they have to deal with?" However, Heinrich Brunner explained the application of 'rope' to an administrative district by the old German custom of defining the limits of the 'peace' of popular open-air courts by stakes and ropes, the ropes then giving a name first to the court and then afterwards to the area of its jurisdiction, and produced a case where "reep", the Dutch cognate of , is applied to such a judicial area. The parish of Rope, in Cheshire is one place name in England derived from the word "rāp".