Frome

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A town in Somerset, England, known for its historic buildings and the River Frome flowing through it
2. A settlement located in southwestern England distinguished by its medieval architecture and river sharing its name
3. A community in the county of Somerset that features heritage sites and is named after the waterway passing nearby

Etymology: The town takes its name from the River Frome, which flows through Somerset. The river's name predates English, most likely coming from a Celtic language spoken in the area before the Anglo-Saxons arrived. It has been linked to a root meaning something like "brisk" or "bold," though the exact sense is uncertain. Newcomers often kept the names of rivers they found, which is why such names survive from the earliest inhabitants. The town's name is only a look-alike of an older English spelling. Old English "fram" meant "forward" or "away from," and it descends from a Proto-Germanic form with the same sense, shared with German and Scandinavian relatives. Spelled "frome" in older English, it stood for the ordinary preposition "from," a word unrelated to the river despite the identical letters.