English
Cambridge
Cambridge comes from Old English Grantanbryċġ ‘Granta bridge’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150Grantanbryċġas Grante bryċġ‘Granta bridge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Cambrigge
- Englishearliest quotation 2019Cambridge
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150Grantanbryċġas Grante bryċġ‘Granta bridge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Cambrigge
- Englishearliest quotation 2019Cambridge
Earliest quotation: 2019, Susan Scutti, Climate change will affect gender ratio among newborns, scie: “Scientists believe that the sex ratio is equal at…”
The story
The river name Granta is probably of Celtic origin. By Middle English when the name of the settlement had changed to "Cantebrigge" and eventually "Cambridge", the lower stretches of the River Granta were renamed Cam by back-formation from Cambridge.
Every English word from Old English Grantanbryċġ
Today it means
name A city and local government district with borough status in Cambridgeshire, England, famous for its university.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English Grantanbryċġ / Cambridge