Link Centre Dictionary

Thames

tha·mes

UK/tɛmz/ US/θeɪmz/ uncommon

noun

1.

Origin

From Middle English Temse, Temese, from Old English Temes, Temese (compare Welsh Tafwys), from Latin Tamesis, Tamesas. Variant spellings with h arose in Middle English due to the mistaken assumption of a Greek etymology. The modern spelling with a stems from either the East Saxon dialects of Middle English and Old English or the influence of Tamesis. The Latin name is from Proto-Brythonic *Tamesis, from Proto-Celtic *tamesās (“river, waters”, literally “darkness”), a masculine ā-stem of *tames, Proto-Indo-European *tm̥Hes-, zero-grade of *témHes-, *témHos- (“darkness”), an s-stem from the root *temH- (“dark”). Related to Proto-Celtic *temeslos (“darkness”), *temos (“dark”). A parallel in Proto-Celtic of "dark, darkness" taking on the figurative meaning of "water" can also be found in Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water, dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubrós (“dark”), yielding Welsh dŵr (“water”), Irish dobhar (“water, sea, dark, gloomy”). Hydronyms with their origin in this term also occur elsewhere in Europe, for example Portugal's Douro. Alternatively from Proto-Celtic *tā-, *tāyo- (“to melt, flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt”), or from unknown non-Indo-European r...

Phrases

  • cross the Thames
  • Kingston upon Thames
  • Purley on Thames
  • Richmond upon Thames
  • set the Thames on fire
  • Thames barge
  • Thames Centre
  • Thames Ditton

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.