ETYMOLOGY 

-   /ĕt″ə-mŏl′ə-jē/    (n.)

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     The derivation of particular word's origin and development. The history & study of the origins of words (broadly) their meanings/ spellings & pronunciations.*​

  When the word is a  PLACE NAME  the specific branch of study is Toponymy / Toponymics.

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 Many place names share common suffixes that denote a settlement type like a fort or town 🔍 

&/or have descriptive roots that refer to natural land features 🔍  that distinguish the place.

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      Discovering the literally meaning of a TOPONYM often sheds an interesting light on the place's history and sometimes even the values of it's culture.

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* FOLK  ETYMOLOGY is an assumed etymology commonly believed due to circumstantial similarities, usually of sounds/ pronunciation, between unrelated words/ roots, or on folk histories.