Boven-Leeuwen

Dutch

Etymology

First attested as Boven-Leeuwen in 1986. Compound of boven (“upper, upstream”) and the dative plural form of Old Dutch lēo (“burial mound”) (cognate to Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍅 (hlaiw, “tomb, grave”), Old Saxon hlêo (“mound, burial mound”), Old High German hlêo (“mound, burial mound”)). The element boven was added fairly recently to distinguish the settlement from Beneden-Leeuwen. Compare Leeuwen, Leeuwte, Heiligerlee, Westerlee, Denderleeuw, Gors-Opleeuw, Lauw, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and Zoutleeuw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboː.vən ˈleːu̯.ən/
• Hyphenation: Bo‧ven-‧Leeuw‧en
• Rhymes: -eːu̯ən

Proper noun

Boven-Leeuwen n

1. A village in West Maas en Waal, Gelderland, Netherlands.

   Synonym: Roefelrijk (Carnival nickname)

References

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN