Egremont

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small market town in west Cumbria in northwest England ; a family name carried by various people over the centuries
2. A market town in the county of Cumbria in northern England ; a surname shared by people with a common heritage
3. A small English town in the northwestern county of Cumbria ; a hereditary family name found in several parts of the English-speaking world

Etymology: Egremont is a place name, most famously the market town in West Cumberland in northwest England, where a castle stands above the River Ehen. The name comes from Norman French "aigre mont," meaning "sharp hill," a description of the rising ground the castle was built on. Such names were often given by Norman newcomers who brought French vocabulary with them, so the English name is a French one in origin. The same name turns up elsewhere, usually as a family name or a place name transferred by settlers. It is also the name of the Egremont Russet, a golden-brown apple with a rough, russeted skin. The apple takes its name from the Cumbrian town, though the link is a matter of naming rather than any shared history of the fruit's development.