Egypt
Egypt LEU S NO427240 2 20m
Egypt 1775 Ainslie/Fife [shows Muirhouses # as a separate settlement]
Egypt 1828 SGF [NO427240; shows Muirhouses # as a separate settlement]
Egypt 1829 RHP1292 [NO426244; at site of Muirhouses #]
en Egypt
Possibly a pejorative name with biblical connotations, signifying a place of hardship (slavery and oppression in biblical terms). A more likely origin is a reference to a settlement of people who were, or were thought to be, gypsies (earlier known in Sc as Egyptians, from which the word ‘gypsy’ derives). It gave its name to Egyptmuir (formerly Muirhouses LEU, q.v.) on OS 6 inch 1st revision (1888 × 1914).
RHP1292 (1829) also shows three fields to the south and east of Egypt called Egypt Leas. The road from Five Roads Roundabout FGN (NO418247) to St Michaels LEU is still known locally as Egypt Muir Road (JMH).
This place-name appeared in printed volume 4