Etymograph

English

Winchester

Winchester comes from Middle English Wynchester, and goes back to Latin Venta Belgārum.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEVenta Belgārumliterally ‘Venta of the Belgae’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150Wintanċeaster
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Wynchester
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1984Winchester

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEVenta Belgārumliterally ‘Venta of the Belgae’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150Wintanċeaster
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Wynchester
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1984Winchester

Earliest quotation: 1984, PC Mag: “And besides, Winchesters of the nonremovable sort work fine—why…”

A compound of *wentā ‘town, place’ + ċeaster ‘fortress, fort’

Proto-Indo-European *h₁wen- ‘place, location (?)’

Proto-Celtic *wentā ‘town, place’

Latin *ḱes- ‘to cut, cut off, separate’

Proto-Italic *kastrom ‘part, share of something’

Latin castrum ‘fort, castle’

Latin castra ‘camp’

Old English ċeaster ‘fortress, fort’

The story

The bottle is named for the former customary units of the English city. The rifle is named after American businessman Oliver Winchester (1810–1880). The computer disk is named for the rifle.

Every English word from Latin Venta Belgārum

Today it means

name A local government district with borough status in Hampshire; in full, the City of Winchester.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin Venta Belgārum / Winchester

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