Durham
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Durham
- /ˈdʌ.ɹəm/ UK
- /ˈdʊ.ɹəm/ Northern England
- /ˈdɝəm/ US
Sounds like durum
Where it comes from
From Old English Dūnholm, which is from dun (“hill”) + Old Norse holm (“islet, island”). In order to get from Dunholm to Durham, two major processes had to take place. Firstly, the n at the coda of the first syllable, dun, underwent dissimilation. Specifically, by influence of the m in the coda of the following syllable (holm), said n denasalised and lenited to the oral r, thus dur. Secondly, after a weakening of the vowel quality in the more weakly-stressed syllable holm, this ending was misanalysed as the similar-sounding toponymic suffix, -ham, meaning home or farm.
Doublet of Duresm and Dunelm.
proper noun
- A county in the Northeast of England; in full, County Durham.
- A city, the county town of County Durham, England.
- A unitary authority of County Durham, which replaced the county council in 2009 in all of County Durham except Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees; in full, Durham County Council.
- An English habitational surname from Old English from the city in England.
- An outback town in Queensland, Australia.
- A community in New Brunswick; named for Lord Durham, Governor General of Canada.
- A community in West Grey, Grey County, Ontario.
- A regional municipality east of Toronto Ontario; in full, Regional Municipality of Durham.
- A township and unincorporated community in Washington County, Arkansas.
- A census-designated place in Butte County, California; named for California politician W. W. Durham.
- A town and census-designated place therein, in Middlesex County, Connecticut; named for the city in England.
- An unincorporated community in Walker County, Georgia; named for Durham Coal and Coke Company.
- A township in Hancock County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Gibson County, Indiana.
- A minor city in Marion County, Kansas; named for the breed of cattle.
- A town in Androscoggin County, Maine; named for County Durham, England.
- An unincorporated community in Lewis County, Missouri; named for a railroad employee.
- A town and census-designated place therein, in Strafford County, New Hampshire.
- A town in Greene County, New York; named for the town in Connecticut.
- A city, the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina; named for landowner Bartlett S. Durham.
- A township in Durham County, North Carolina, most of which is in the city.
- An unincorporated community in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma; named for postmaster Doris Durham Morris.
- A city in Washington County, Oregon; named for pioneer and Oregon Territory legislator Alberto Alonzo Durham.
- A township and unincorporated community therein, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
noun Durhams
- One of a breed of short-horned cattle, originating in the county of Durham, England, and noted for their beef-producing quality.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: shorthorn, raleigh, northumberland, humphrey, cuthbert, tubingen, durham county, county durham, dunelm, county palatine, durham university, darlington, north end, eldon, north east, crook
Translations
Talk about this word "Durham." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/durham. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Durham. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/durham "Durham." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/durham.Cite this
@misc{durham_2026,
title = {Durham},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/durham},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
