Kentville

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small town located in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia, Canada, known as a regional centre for the surrounding farming community
2. A place name referring to a town in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, situated in the Annapolis Valley of the Maritime region
3. The name of a Nova Scotian town in the Annapolis Valley, a community in eastern Canada's Maritime provinces

Etymology: Kentville is a town in Nova Scotia, and its name is a straightforward compound: "Kent," for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), joined to "-ville," the common English suffix borrowed from French "ville" meaning "town" or "settlement." Nova Scotia is full of such names, a pattern of towns christened in honour of royalty and colonial figures. The prince visited the area in 1794, while serving in the British forces stationed in Nova Scotia, and the settlement was named in his honour. The place name thus preserves a moment when a royal visitor to a remote colonial outpost was commemorated with a town name that followed the familiar French-derived pattern.