English
Hamilton
Hamilton comes from Old English *Hameldūne.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*Hameldūnereconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2000Hamilton
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*Hameldūnereconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2000Hamilton
Earliest quotation: 2000, "time4funwithu": “I think the girls all work for $200 p/hr,…”
A compound of hamel ‘blunt, flat-topped’ + dūne ‘hill’
Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-olo-s
Proto-Germanic *hamalaz ‘mutilated’
Proto-West Germanic *hamal
Old English hamel ‘blunt, flat-topped’
Old English adūn ‘adown, down, downward’
Old English dūne ‘hill’
The story
The Scottish surname is from the place in Leicestershire. The dollar-bill sense is from the portrait of Alexander Hamilton featured on it.
Every English word from Old English *Hameldūne
Today it means
name A Scottish surname from Old English.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English *Hameldūne / Hamilton