Washington
was·hing·ton
noun
a state in northwestern United States on the Pacific
the federal government of the United States
1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799)
Origin
Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of *Hwæssa”), from *Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. *Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia. The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.
Phrases
- Fort Washington
- George Washington
- Kawit-East Washington Drive
- Martha Washington chair
- Mount Washington
- New Washington
- Port Washington
- Washington cherry tree
Related words
Broader terms
Narrower terms
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.