Stretford

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A suburban district of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England, near Old Trafford ; an English family name borne by various people
2. A residential area within the borough of Trafford in the northwest of England ; a surname of English origin carried by many families
3. A locality in Trafford, Greater Manchester, in northwest England ; a English-origin family name shared by people of different backgrounds

Etymology: "Stretford" is a place name, and its origins lie in two plain Old English words. "Strǽt" meant "road," in the sense of a paved Roman-style highway, and "ford" was a shallow crossing where people could wade over a river. Put together, the name describes a road that led to a crossing, the kind of landmark that gave many English settlements their names. The same pair of words also produced "Stratford," which makes "Stretford" a doublet: two forms of one name that split apart over time through different spellings and pronunciations. Both trace back to the same road-and-ford combination, so the two names are closely related even though they now look and sound different.