Where does “Elizabethtown” come from?
Elizabethtown combines the Hebrew name Ἐλισάβετ from Ancient Greek אֱלִישֶׁבַע with the Proto-Germanic tūną, Gaulish dunum, Proto-Celtic dūnom, and Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- meaning enclosure.
Ancestry of “Elizabethtown”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | town | A settlement; an area with residential districts,... |
| 2 | English | Freetown | — |
| 3 | English | free | Unconstrained; Obtainable without any payment;... |
| 4 | Middle English | free | — |
| 5 | Old English | frēo | free, joyful |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *frī | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | frijaz | free |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | priHós | dear, beloved; happy, free |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | preyH- | to love, to please |