Hempstead

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A city on Long Island in Nassau County, New York, located on the western side of the island
2. A town in New York State situated on Long Island between New York City and the Atlantic Ocean
3. A municipality in Nassau County, New York, positioned on western Long Island as part of the greater New York metropolitan area

Etymology: Hempstead is a place name rather than a common word, and it is built from two Old English elements. "Hām" meant "homestead" or home, and "stede" meant "place," so the name roughly means "home place," a settlement where a household stood. The same pair of words lies behind many English place names ending in "-stead" or "-stede," which marked a farm or dwelling site. The name is a doublet of Hampstead, meaning the two spellings descend from the same Old English source and went their separate ways over time. Their shared origin means that the two names, found in different parts of England and beyond, are essentially the same name that developed along different paths.