Germantown

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A neighborhood located in the northwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, historically known as a center of colonial settlement and craftsmanship
2. A district in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was established as an early colonial community and became a significant cultural and commercial area
3. A section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania situated to the northwest that developed as an important colonial settlement with a rich historical heritage

Etymology: Germantown is a compound of "German" and "town," and it is a place name before it is anything else. The name points to the settlement's founders: the community was established by German immigrants, so the name simply records who lived there. Compounds of this kind, pairing an ethnic or national adjective with "town," were a common way of naming settlements founded by a particular group of newcomers. The word has since been applied to many places across the English-speaking world, including a well-known district of Philadelphia that grew out of a settlement of German-speaking families. Because the name is transparent, its meaning has changed little: a German town, named for the people who founded it.