Harrogate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A spa town in North Yorkshire in northern England, historically known for its mineral springs and Victorian architecture
2. A town located in the county of North Yorkshire in England, famous as a Victorian spa resort with natural saline and iron-rich waters
3. A municipality in North Yorkshire, England, developed in the 19th century as a fashionable spa destination around its natural springs

Etymology: Most of the name is plain: "-gate" comes from Old Norse "gata," meaning "road" or "street," a common element in northern English place names. The first part is less certain. It is probably a Norse-derived word, but the exact source is debated, so it is safest to say the name describes a road, and leave the rest unresolved. The town became famous for its mineral springs, which contain sulphur and were drunk and bathed in for their supposed healing properties. Visitors took the waters in grand Victorian buildings, and the most celebrated of these was the Royal Pump Room, where the sulphurous water was dispensed from a fountain. The place's reputation as a spa is older than its fashionable heyday, and its name is what travellers came to associate with the cure.