Halifax
English
Etymology
From Old English halh-ġefeaxe (literally “grassy corner”), compounded from halh + ġefeaxe.[1] Folk etymology suggests Old English hāliġfeax (literally “holy hair”), as compounded from hāliġ + feax, from a local legend that the town is said to have received the name from the fact that the hair of a murdered virgin was hung up on a tree in the neighborhood, which became a resort of pilgrims. Compare also Fairfax.
The capital city of Nova Scotia is named after statesman George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716–1771).
The civil parish is also named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax. Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhæl.ɪˌfæks/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Hyphenation: Hal‧i‧fax
- Rhymes: -ælɪfæks
Proper noun
Halifax
- An industrial town in West Yorkshire, England, 20km south-west of Leeds.
- A civil parish of Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. [From 1765]
- The capital city of Nova Scotia, Canada. [From 1749]
- A regional municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada.
- A small town, the county seat of Halifax County, North Carolina, United States.
- A town, the county seat of Halifax County, Virginia, United States.
- An earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
city in West Yorkshire, England
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city in Nova Scotia, Canada
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References
- Watts, Victor, The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, 2010
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈxalifaɡs/ [ˈxa.li.faɣ̞s]
- Rhymes: -alifaɡs
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