Chorley

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A town located in the county of Lancashire in northwestern England, historically known for its textile industry
2. A municipal borough in Lancashire, England, situated between Preston and Bolton in the North West region
3. A town in Lancashire, northwestern England, notable as an administrative center and residential community in the historic county

Etymology: Chorley is a town in Lancashire, northwest England, so its name is a place name rather than a common word. It most likely comes from Old English "ceorla lēah", meaning "clearing of the churls." A churl was an ordinary free peasant, a sense that had not yet turned into the insult it later became, so the name probably records a settlement cleared from woodland by such men. The second element, "lēah", meant a clearing or meadow, and it is the source of the "-ley" ending in many English place names. The surname Chorley most likely came from the town, as surnames often did when people took their names from where they lived or came from.