Yeovil

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A market town in the English county of Somerset, known for its manufacturing history and its position in the South West of England
2. A town located in Somerset in southwest England, long associated with glove making and engineering industries
3. An English town in the county of Somerset, situated in the South West region and noted for its local industrial heritage

Etymology: The town's name is a river name. Yeovil stands on the River Yeo, and the town's name records that river in an older form, so Yeovil means something like "the settlement on the Yeo." The river's own name is likely older than English, probably from a pre-English British language, and its exact meaning is uncertain. The "yeo" part may be linked to the Old English "ēa," meaning river or stream, which is also the root of many English water names. The final "-vil" is a later spelling of an older ending, and the whole name was shaped by centuries of local speech before it reached its modern form.