English
Peckham
Peckham comes from Old English hām ‘homestead’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hām‘homestead’
- EnglishtodayPeckham
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hām‘homestead’
- EnglishtodayPeckham
Equivalent to Peck + -ham
Proto-Germanic *pikkōną ‘to pick, peck, prick’
Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn ‘to peck, strike’
Old English *piccian
Middle English piken ‘to pick, use a pointed implement’
Middle English pecken
English Peck
The story
By surface analysis, Peck + -ham, referring to the River Peck in south London, though the river was likely named after the settlement.
Linked words
through Old English hām ‘homestead’
Today it means
name A suburb of the borough of Southwark, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ3476).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English hām / Peckham