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Halifax

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Halifax

  • /ˈhæl.ɪˌfæks/

Rhymes with -ælɪfæks

Where it comes from

From Old English halh-ġefeaxe (literally “grassy corner”), compounded from halh + ġefeaxe. Folk etymology suggests Old English hāliġfeax (literally “holy hair”), as compounded from hāliġ + feax, from a local legend that the town is said to have received the name from the fact that the hair of a murdered virgin was hung up on a tree in the neighborhood, which became a resort of pilgrims. Compare also Fairfax.

The capital city of Nova Scotia is named after statesman George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716–1771).

The civil parish is also named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax. Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.

proper noun

  1. An industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, 20km south-west of Leeds (OS grid ref SE0925).
  2. A civil parish of Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
  3. A regional municipality, the capital city of Nova Scotia, Canada. A Halifax school bus carrying 21 children was rear-ended Monday morning by another vehicle in Hammonds Plains, N.S. […] The Jeep had been travelling behind the bus, did not stop in time in time and hit the back of the bus.
  4. A town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.
  5. A small town, the county seat of Halifax County, North Carolina, United States.
  6. A town, the county seat of Halifax County, Virginia, United States.
  7. An earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: yarmouth, glasgow, dartmouth, sydney, moncton, calgary, edmonton, charlottetown, fredericton, toronto, ottawa, athabaskan, hmcs, hia, chamberlain, regina

Translations

Every language

name city in West Yorkshire, England

EspañolHalifax
한국어핼리팩스 haellipaekseu
日本語ハリファックス Harifakkusu
中文哈利法克斯 Hālìfǎkésī
हिन्दीहैलिफ़ैक्स hailifaiks
DeutschHalifax
ΕλληνικάΧάλιφαξ Chálifax
РусскийГа́лифакс Gálifaks, Галифа́кс Galifáks

name city in Nova Scotia, Canada

EspañolHalifax
한국어핼리팩스 Haellipaekseu
日本語ハリファックス Harifakkusu
中文哈利法克斯 Hālìfǎkésī
हिन्दीहैलिफ़ैक्स hailifaiks
FrançaisHalifax
DeutschHalifax
ΕλληνικάΧάλιφαξ Chálifax
РусскийГа́лифакс Gálifaks, Галифа́кс Galifáks

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Cite this
MLA

"Halifax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/halifax. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Halifax. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/halifax

Chicago

"Halifax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/halifax.

BibTeX
@misc{halifax_2026,
  title = {Halifax},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/halifax},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}