Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

English edit

Etymology edit

A compound of Chargoggagoggmanchauggagogg, alternative spelling of Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg, a fanciful name appearing on early maps[1] that adds meaningless syllables to the name of the nearby Manchaug Pond + Chaubunagungamaug, the lake's original name (see that entry for its history). Invented along with a fanciful translation of "I'll fish on my side [of the lake], you fish on your side, and nobody fishes in the middle" in 1921 by Laurence J. Daly, the editor of The Webster Times.[2][3][4]

Pronunciation edit

  • (US) IPA(key): /leɪk tʃɑɹ.ɡɑɡˌəˌɡɑɡˌmæn.tʃɑˈɡæ.ɡɑɡ.tʃɑ.buˌnæ.ɡuŋ.ɡə.mɑɡ/
  • (file)
  • (UK) IPA(key): /leɪk tʃɑː.ɡɒɡˌəˌɡɒɡˌman.ˈtʃaʊ̯.ɡə.ɡɒɡ.tʃaʊ̯.bʊˌnə.ɡʊŋ.ɡə.mɔːɡ/

Proper noun edit

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

  1. Synonym of Lake Chaubunagungamaug in Massachusetts, USA.
    • 1938 June 12, “LAKE WITH A LONG NAME; Chaubungungamaug for Short Is One of Massachusett's Beautiful Resorts”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 November 2023, RESORTS, page 170[2]:
      LAKE CHARGOGGAGOGGMANCHAUGGAGOGGCHAUBUNAGUNGAMAUGG is the name of the largest and one of the most beautiful Summer resorts in Massachusetts and is located in the industrial town of Webster close to the Connecticut and Rhode Island borders. Its name is pronounced with ease only by natives of Webster and the Nipmuck Indians.
    • 1978 July, Water Quality and Research Station, Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control, “The French and Quinebaug River Basins”, in Commonwealth of Massachusetts Summary of Water Quality, 1978[3], →OCLC, page 98:
      The French River flows generally south throughout its length from Leicester (beginning with Town Meadow Brook from Leicester to Greenville Pond) through Oxford, Dudley, and Webster to Thompson, Connecticut. Probably the best known feature along the French River is Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (also known as Webster Lake) which drains into the river in Webster via Mill Brook.
    • 1985 [1985 December 6], Robert C. Rusack, “The Address of the Right Reverend the Bishop of Los Angeles Robert C. Rusack, S.T.D., D.D. to the Annual Meeting of the Ninetieth Convention December 6, 1985”, in The Journal of the Ninetieth Convention of the Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles[4], volume I, →OCLC, pages 62-63:
      In fact, I can remember sitting with my grandfather Rusack and his good friend, last of the Nipmuck Indians, on the shore of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Massachusetts and listening to the ancient brave's stories.
    • 2009, Larry B. Pletcher, “Massachusetts Facts and Trivia”, in It Happened In Massachusetts (It Happened In Series)‎[5], 2nd edition, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 120:
      Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is located in the town of Webster, Massachusetts. The name is the longest for any lake in the United States.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.

Usage notes edit

  • Although it is not the official name of the place, this is claimed by some references to be the longest place name in the USA.[5]

See also edit

long English-language placenames

References edit

  1. ^ Osgood Carleton, An accurate map of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts exclusive of the district of Maine (c. 1795)
  2. ^ Ives Goddard, Untitled review of Trumbull (1974), in International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 43, no. 2 (April, 1977), pp. 157–159
  3. ^ Ives Goddard, "Time to Retire an Indian Place-Name Hoax", The New York Times (September 29, 1990)
  4. ^ Pam Belluck, What's the Name of That Lake? It's Hard to Say (November 30, 2004)
  5. ^ Language Hat

Further reading edit