Galway

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A county and city located on the west coast of Ireland, known for its harbor and cultural heritage
2. A region in western Ireland comprising both an urban center and its surrounding county, situated on Galway Bay
3. A city and county in Ireland's west, positioned on the Atlantic coast and recognized as a major cultural and commercial hub

Etymology: Galway is a city on the west coast of Ireland, and its name is an English rendering of the Irish "Gaillimh." The Irish name is of uncertain meaning, but it is traditionally said to mean "stony," a reference to the River Corrib, which flows through the city. That gloss has not been firmly established, so it is best read as a tradition rather than a settled fact. If the traditional meaning is right, the name probably goes back to the Old Irish "calad," meaning "hard." That word has a surprising relative elsewhere: French "caillou," meaning "pebble," which comes from Gaulish, the Celtic language once spoken across what is now France. The two words sit side by side as a possible match, linking a city in Ireland with a common French word for a small stone.