Hegge

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of hedge, referring to a boundary formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
2. An old form of the word for a fence made from closely growing shrubs, bushes or small trees that marks a border
3. A obsolete variant of hedge meaning a line of thick, interwoven bushes planted to enclose or divide a piece of land

Etymology: A surname with two separate beginnings. In Norway, Hegge was a topographic name, given to people who lived by a bird cherry tree, from the Norwegian "hegg", the name of that tree. Such surnames were often taken from features of the landscape, so a family might be known by the tree that stood near their farm. In the Netherlands, the same spelling arose by a different route. There, Hegge is a shortened form of a Germanic personal name, one of many given names trimmed into short familiar forms that were later passed on as family names. The two origins look identical on the page, so the spelling alone does not show which family a bearer descends from.