Stansted

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large international airport located in Essex in the east of England, serving London and the surrounding region
2. The principal airport in Essex, England, situated to the north of London and handling many flights
3. An airfield in the county of Essex in southeastern England that serves as a major gateway near the capital

Etymology: Stansted is an English place name rather than a word that grew out of a common root. It comes from the village of Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex, and the name carries the place's own history. The "Mountfitchet" part is a family name: the village was held by the Mountfitchet family, who gave the settlement a second name to distinguish it from other places called Stansted. The first element, "stan," reflects an old English word for stone, and "sted" means a place or site, so the name describes a stony spot. Because the name belongs to a specific village, its meaning in common use has been carried mostly by the place itself. Stansted Airport, which lies near the village, is the best-known bearer of the name today, and most people who meet the word encounter it on signs, tickets and maps rather than in an etymology. Its origin is therefore simply the name of a settlement, shaped by local landholding and a plain description of the ground.