Caunterbury

Middle English

Alternative forms

Canterbiri, Canterburi, Canterbury, Caunterbery, Caunterbiri, Caunterbiry, Caunterburi, Cawnterbery, Kaunterburi

Etymology

From Old English Cantwarbyriġ, late form of Cantwara byriġ, dative and genitive of Cantwara burg.

The pronunciation with /au̯/ could just be analogy with variation between /au̯/ and /a/ in other words, but the influence of the lost /w/ in Old English Cantwara byriġ is also possible. Such a development is also seen in aunswere, variant of answere (“answer”); this is not a mere backspelling, as orthoepists commonly give pronunciations of answer with reflexes of /au̯/ in the Early Modern English period.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈkau̯ntərburiː/, /ˈkantərburiː/

Proper noun

Caunterbury

Canterbury (a cathedral city in modern Kent, England)
- late 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 15-16.
  And specially from every shires ende
  Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
  And specially from every shire's end
  Of England they to Canterbury went,

Descendants

English: Canterbury
→ Old French: Canterbiri, Cantorebiri
- French: Cantorbéry

References

^ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎^[1], volumes I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 3.97, page 109.
^ Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700‎^[2], second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 62, page 557.

[1] Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎^[1], volumes I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 3.97, page 109.

[2] Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700‎^[2], second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 62, page 557.

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