Blackpool

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A famous seaside resort town on the north-west coast of England, known for its piers, amusement attractions and illuminations
2. A coastal holiday destination in Lancashire, England, celebrated for its beach, tower and traditional fairground rides
3. An English seaside town in Lancashire that draws large numbers of holidaymakers to its promenade and entertainment venues

Etymology: The name of this Lancashire seaside town is an English compound of "black," meaning dark, and "pool," meaning a body of still water. Local lore has long pointed to a dark pool or stream near the shore as the source, but the exact pool is not reliably identified. The "pool" element is an old English word that also survives in place names across northern England, often for small, slow-moving or stagnant water rather than a deep lake. The town grew from a small fishing settlement into a resort, so the name describes a feature of the coast before the seaside holidays arrived. Place names like this were usually coined by farmers and fishers who needed to describe the land around them, which is why such plain descriptive words carry so much of the local landscape history.