Armagh

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A county in the north of Northern Ireland, known for its historic cathedral city and rolling countryside ; a city in the same region that serves as its seat of religious authority ; the administrative town that serves as the county's central hub
2. A historic region of Northern Ireland containing rolling farmland and old ecclesiastical sites ; a small cathedral city that is the ecclesiastical capital of the Church of Ireland and Catholic Primate ; the principal settlement that gives its name to the surrounding county
3. An area of northern Ireland noted for its farmland and heritage landmarks ; an ancient city known as a seat of church authority ; the main town of the county bearing its name

Etymology: Armagh is a city in Northern Ireland, and its name is a compressed version of the Irish "Ard Mhacha," meaning "height of Macha." Macha was a figure in Irish mythology, and the name points to a royal and sacred site associated with her. The "ard" element comes from Old Irish "ard," meaning "height" or "high place," a word that traces back to Proto-Celtic and ultimately to an ancient Indo-European root meaning "high." The English form "Armagh" is simply the anglicised spelling of the Irish name. The "Ard Macha" of Old Irish became "Ard Mhacha" in later Irish, where the "mh" marks a softened "m" sound, and English speakers rendered that sound as the "gh" ending. The place name thus preserves the Irish grammar of "ard" plus a genitive form of Macha, with the sense of a high ground belonging to her.