Poil Explained

Poil
Commune Status:Commune
Coordinates:46.8678°N 4.0744°W
Insee:58211
Postal Code:58170
Arrondissement:Château-Chinon
Canton:Luzy
Intercommunality:Bazois Loire Morvan
Mayor:Christian Courault[1]
Term:2020 - 2026
Elevation Min M:297
Elevation Max M:522
Area Km2:27.02

Poil (pronounced as /fr/) is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.[2]

History

The name of the locality was first recorded as Picti in the 10th century, then Poiz in 1281, Poys in the 14th century, Poy in 1414, and finally Poil in 1592. This development reflects a regular change from the root Picti- to Poi(z)-, similar to other Celtic place names. The root "Pict-" probably relates to the Picts, a people from Scotland, possibly in theme with foreign Roman legions stationed there (compare e.g. Mortagne and Sermaise, from Mauretania and Sarmatia respectively). The final "-l" was added later, influenced by the common noun "poil", a homophone (common in French) with Pois.

Geography

The commune is part of the parc naturel régional du Morvan. The river Alène has its source in the south-western part of the commune.

Demographics

On 1 January 2019, the estimated population was 147.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022. fr.
  2. https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/58211-poil INSEE commune file