English
Flanders
Flanders comes from Proto-West Germanic *flaumdr ‘waterlogged land’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flaumdr‘waterlogged land’reconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500Vlâendren
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400Flaundre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Flaundres
- Englishearliest quotation 1613Flanders
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flaumdr‘waterlogged land’reconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500Vlâendren
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400Flaundre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Flaundres
- Englishearliest quotation 1613Flanders
Earliest quotation: 1613, William Shakespeare, The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight: “When you went / Ambassador to the Emperor, you…”
The story
"Waterlogged" refers to the mudflats and salt marshes common to coastal Flanders.
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *flaumdr
Today it means
name A cultural region in the north of Belgium.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *flaumdr / Flanders