Where does “Essex” come from?
Essex derives from Old English Seaxe, from Proto-Germanic sahsą and austrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sek- and aus-.
Essex (English): bordered by the North Sea, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London, and separated from Kent by the Thames estuary
Definitions
- bordered by the North Sea, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London, and separated from Kent by the Thames estuary
Ancestry of “Essex”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | Eastseaxan | the East Saxons |
| 2 | Old English | ēast | east; eastern |
| 3 | Old Norse | austr | east |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | austrą | east; east, eastward |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | austraz | east, eastern |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *h₂éwsteros | in the direction of dawn, east |