English
Henley
Henley comes from Old English hēan ‘low, mean, abject, humble’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēan‘low, mean, abject, humble’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Henley
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēan‘low, mean, abject, humble’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025Henley
Earliest quotation: 2025, Karen Hao, Empire of AI: “A few years in, he had refined his appearance…”
A compound of hēah ‘high’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing, glade’
Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to elevate’
Proto-Indo-European *kówk-o-s
Proto-Germanic *hauhaz ‘high’
Proto-West Germanic *hauh ‘high’
Old English hēah ‘high’
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
Proto-Indo-European *lówkos ‘clearing’
Proto-Germanic *lauhaz ‘clearing’
Proto-West Germanic *lauh ‘clearing’
Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing, glade’
Every English word from Old English hēan
Today it means
name A place name, including: A town in Oxfordshire; see Henley-on-Thames.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English hēan / Henley