Denbighshire

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A administrative county in north-east Wales, bordering the Irish Sea and the English county of Cheshire
2. Local government area in the north-east of Wales, known for its coastline, hills and market towns such as Ruthin
3. Welsh county lying on the Irish Sea coast in the north-east, with the historic castle town of Denbigh among its settlements

Etymology: Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales, and its name is a simple compound: "Denbigh", the name of the county town, joined to "-shire", the English word for a county (from Old English "scīr", meaning a share or administrative division). The pattern is the same as in many English county names such as Hampshire or Yorkshire, where the town or region gives the first element and "-shire" marks the county. Denbigh itself takes its name from the Welsh "Dinbych", usually explained as "little fort" or "little fortress", referring to the hilltop castle that the town grew around. The English form "Denbigh" is an anglicised version of that Welsh name, so the county's name combines a Welsh place name with an English administrative suffix, a reflection of the border region's mixed linguistic history.