Wansbeck

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A river in the county of Northumberland in northeastern England that flows eastward into the North Sea near Ashington
2. The watercourse in Northumberland, northeastern England, that runs through the countryside to reach the North Sea
3. A northeastern English river in Northumberland whose valley and lower course lead down to the coast of the North Sea

Etymology: The Wansbeck is a river in Northumberland in northeast England, flowing about 40 miles from the Pennine uplands to the North Sea near Cambois. Its name is a hybrid of English and Scandinavian elements. The second part, "beck," comes from Old Norse "bekkr," meaning a small stream. It is common in northern England, where Norse-speaking settlers arrived in the 9th and 10th centuries and left their vocabulary in place names across Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland. The first element is much less certain. It is probably a personal name or an Old English or Norse word, but no etymologist I can confirm has settled which, so the river's full meaning remains unclear. The name was later borrowed for a local government district, Wansbeck, which took its title from the river.