Where does “Middlesex” come from?
Middlesex derives from Old English Seaxe, Old English Seaxa, and Proto-Germanic midlą meaning "middle," traced to Proto-Indo-European médʰyos with the same sense.
Middlesex (English): partly absorbed into the erstwhile County of London in 1889; finally abolished in 1965 and absorbed mainly into Greater London, the south-west corner of the county becoming Spelthorne Borough and included in Surrey. The whole county, in whatever form, had the Thames as its southern boundary
Definitions
- partly absorbed into the erstwhile County of London in 1889; finally abolished in 1965 and absorbed mainly into Greater London, the south-west corner of the county becoming Spelthorne Borough and included in Surrey. The whole county, in whatever form, had the Thames as its southern boundary
Ancestry of “Middlesex”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | Middelseaxan | the Middle Saxons |
| 2 | Old English | middel | middle |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *midl | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | midlą | middle |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | midjō | middle, midst |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | médʰyos | middle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | medʰi- | with, among; with, along |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | me | in the middle of, near, by, around, with |