Redford

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A market town in Greater Manchester in northwestern England, historically known for its textile industry
2. A town located in the county of Greater Manchester in England, situated in the northwest of the country
3. An English town in Greater Manchester notable for its historical significance in the textile manufacturing region of the northwest

Etymology: Redford is a surname and place name, not a common English word, and its most likely origin is a compound of two Old English elements. The first is a reconstructed "hrotiġ", meaning "dirty", and the second is "ford", a shallow place where a river or stream could be crossed on foot. Put together, the name would describe a crossing where the water ran dark and muddy with peat. The peat is the detail that gives the name its picture. Streams flowing through boggy ground pick up brownish, stained water, and a ford on such a stream would be a natural landmark to name for its colour rather than for anything about the people who used it. Many English place names were coined this way, recording the look of the land as travellers saw it. This explanation is considered possible rather than certain, since the Old English first element is reconstructed from later forms and the link to the surname is not fully documented.