leicestershire
/ˈlɛs.tə(ɹ).ʃə(ɹ)/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
An inland county of England bordered by Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire.
Example Sentences
- "Rutland (and some of the bordering ‘Notswolds’ counties of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire) have the same mellow, creamy limestone as the Cotswolds and boast beguiling market towns and villages that are every bit as attractive, but without the tourists or hefty prices."
Etymology
From Old English Lægreċeastresċīr. The middle and last element are ceaster (“town, city”) and scir (“district”), common in placenames. The first element is probably from the former name of the river Soar, *Ligora, *Ligera, of Celtic/Brythonic origin, from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“sediment”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”), similar to the French river Loire. By surface analysis, Leicester + -shire.
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
- Root: Lægreċeastresċīr, -, *legyā, *legʰ-
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈlɛs.tə(ɹ).ʃə(ɹ)/