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Caunterbury. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Caunterbury, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Caunterbury in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Caunterbury you have here. The definition of the word
Caunterbury will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
Caunterbury, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English Cantwarbyriġ, late form of Cantwara byriġ, dative and genitive of Cantwara burg.
The pronunciation with /au̯/ could just be analogy with variation between /au̯/ and /a/ in other words, but the influence of the lost /w/ in Old English Cantwara byriġ is also possible. Such a development is also seen in aunswere, variant of answere (“answer”); this is not a mere backspelling, as orthoepists commonly give pronunciations of answer with reflexes of /au̯/ in the Early Modern English period.[1][2]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkau̯ntərburiː/, /ˈkantərburiː/
Proper noun
Caunterbury
- Canterbury (a cathedral city in modern Kent, England)
- late 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 15-16.
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,- And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury went,
Descendants
References
- ^ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9), volumes I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 3.97, page 109.
- ^ Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700, second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 62, page 557.