Northumbrians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Denoting the inhabitants of Northumbria, located in historical northeastern England
2. Referring to the people originating from the former kingdom of Northumbria, significant in early British history
3. Identifying the residents of a region once influential in the development of early medieval Britain

Etymology: The Northumbrians take their name from the kingdom of Northumbria, and that name is literally a geographical description: it meant the land lying north of the Humber, the great estuary that separated the Anglian kingdoms of the north from those to the south. "Humber" is the older name of the estuary, and "Northumbria" was formed by placing "north" in front of it. The kingdom was one of the most powerful in early England, stretching from the Humber to the Firth of Forth at its height. The people's name is built more simply still. "Northumbrian" is formed from "Northumbria" with the suffix "-an", a common English ending for denoting a person from a place, as in "Victorian" or "Lancastrian." The ending arrived in English through Old French and Latin, which is why it sounds so familiar, and it is attached here to a name that is already a compound of directional and geographical elements. The plural "Northumbrians" simply adds an "-s" to the singular form.

Synonyms: northerners, locals