Hampshire

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A county located in southern England known for its rural landscapes, historic cities including Winchester, and a renowned breed of pig named after it
2. A geographic area in the UK characterized by a mixture of coastal scenery and countryside, notable for agriculture and a distinct breed of pig developed locally
3. An English county famous for its blend of verdant farmland and urban centers, which has lent its name to a specific pig breed recognized for farming purposes

Etymology: Hampshire takes its name from a town, not from a hill or a people. Its Old English form, "Hāmtūnsċīr", combined "Hāmtūn", the old name for Southampton, with "sċīr", meaning shire, or administrative district. The county was thus, quite literally, "the shire of Southampton," and the town's name survives in the county's name even though the two are now separate places. The name's spelling drifted over the centuries. Middle English writers wrote "Hampteschire", and the modern form arrived by dropping syllables from that version. The "p" in the middle is an extra sound that crept in while the word was being spoken, a common pattern in English. The same thing happened in "Thompson," which was once spelled "Thomson" and gained its "p" in the same way. The county has also left its name far from England. A community on Prince Edward Island in Canada bears the name, inspired by the nearby Wiltshire, another English county name, so the English shire names travelled overseas together.

Synonyms: county, region, area, district, shire