Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Newtown” come from?

Newtown comes from Middle English newe and Old English tūn, from Proto-Germanic niwjaz meaning "new" and Gaulish dunum meaning "fortress," tracing to Proto-Indo-European new-.

Ancestry of “Newtown”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNew—
2EnglishMANInitialism of Metropolitan Area Network
3Middle EnglishmanTypically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you;...
4Old Englishmānbad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;...
5Sanskritमहादेव—
6Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
7Sanskritमहायान—
8Sanskritयानcarriage, vehicle, mode of transport; moving,...
9Proto-Indo-AryanyáHnam—
10Proto-Indo-IranianyáHnam—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyéh₂-nom—
12Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →