Folkestone

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A coastal town on the English Channel in the county of Kent in southeast England, known for its harbour and cliffs
2. A seaside resort and port located in the English county of Kent along the south-eastern coast of England
3. An English coastal settlement in Kent facing the Channel, noted for its historic harbour and chalk cliff scenery

Etymology: Folkestone is a seaside town on the Kent coast, and its name began as a personal name followed by a word for stone. The first element comes from the Old English personal name Folca, whose genitive form was Folcan, so the name originally meant something like "Folca's stone." The second element, stān, is the ordinary Old English word for "stone," which survives in modern English as "stone" itself. The name did not stay put in its original shape. Over time it shifted to "folces stan," which is the form that points to a surprising twist: the "folces" part sounds like folc, the Old English word for "people." That resemblance is probably why the name was reshaped, since speakers likely heard it as "people's stone" even though its real starting point was a man's name.