Chatham

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historic naval town on the River Medway in Kent, southeastern England ; a family name borne by various people
2. A town in the county of Kent in southeast England, situated on the Medway ; a surname shared by a number of individuals
3. A market and naval port on the River Medway in southeastern England ; a common surname of English origin

Etymology: Chatham, the town in Kent on the River Medway, takes its name from two very old building blocks: an Old Welsh word "cēd", meaning "wood", and the Old English "hām", meaning "home" or "village". The combined sense is roughly "homestead by the woodland," a description that suits a place once surrounded by trees. The "cēd" element is notable because it survives from a language spoken in Britain long before the English arrived. Its presence in an English place name hints that the Old Welsh-speaking population of the area was still around, or had only recently been replaced, when Anglo-Saxon settlers gave the settlement its name. Place names with this sort of mixed ancestry are relatively rare in southeastern England, which makes Chatham a useful reminder that the English landscape was layered with languages before the arrival of Old English.