Nantwich

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historic market town in Cheshire, England, known for its salt production and medieval architecture
2. A settlement in northwest England famous for its ancient salt mines and traditional buildings
3. A Cheshire town distinguished by its heritage in salt extraction and preserved historic sites

Etymology: Nantwich is a market town in Cheshire, England, and its name is a compound of two Old English elements. "Nant" is an old word for a stream or valley, borrowed from Welsh and related to the same root found in place names across the Welsh border, while "wich" comes from Old English "wic", a word for a salt-producing settlement. The name therefore records a stream beside a salt works. The "wich" element is the more interesting part. Across Cheshire, towns such as Droitwich, Middlewich, Northwich and Nantwich all carry this suffix, reflecting the county's brine springs, which were worked for salt from Roman times and probably earlier. Salt was valuable enough that these settlements took their identities from it, so the place name is essentially a description of an industry.