Shocklach

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small rural village in the civil parish of Cheshire, England, lying near the market town of Malpas
2. A tiny English village in the county of Cheshire, set in the countryside close to the town of Malpas
3. A rural settlement in northwest England, in Cheshire, located a short distance from the town of Malpas

Etymology: Shocklach is a village in Cheshire, England, and its name is a place name rather than a common word, so its origin lies in Old English settlement vocabulary. The first element is generally thought to be "scocc", an Old English word meaning a shock or a heap of sheaves, and the second element is probably "lacu", meaning a stream or pool, or possibly a related word for a boggy or wet ground. Together the name would describe a place by a stream or wet spot where such heaps or sheaves stood, though the exact sense of the first element is uncertain. The name is recorded in medieval documents, and like many Cheshire place names it reflects the Anglo-Saxon and Norse-influenced landscape of the region, where settlements were often named for natural features or farming activity. Because the village is small, its name has few other attestations to help confirm the reading, so the explanation rests mainly on comparison with similar English place names.