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/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: Hal‧i‧fax
  • Rhymes: -ælɪfæks

Proper noun

Halifax

  1. An industrial town in West Yorkshire, England, 20km south-west of Leeds.
  2. A civil parish of Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. [From 1765]
  3. The capital city of Nova Scotia, Canada. [From 1749]
  4. A regional municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada.
  5. A small town, the county seat of Halifax County, North Carolina, United States.
  6. A town, the county seat of Halifax County, Virginia, United States.
  7. An earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. Watts, Victor, The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, 2010

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈxalifaɡs/ [ˈxa.li.faɣ̞s]
  • Rhymes: -alifaɡs

Proper noun

Halifax m

  1. Halifax (a city in England)
  2. Halifax (a city in Canada)
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