Where does “Penzance” come from?
Penzance is an English place name derived from Cornish Pennsans, a toponym of unknown etymology.
Ancestry of “Penzance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Cornish | Pennsans | — |
| 2 | Cornish | penn | head; top; end |
| 3 | Middle Cornish | pen | — |
| 4 | Old Cornish | pen | — |
| 5 | Proto-Brythonic | penn | head |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | kʷennom | head |