Halifax

Meaning

1. A town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.
2. A civil parish of Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
3. An earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain.
4. An industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, 20km south-west of Leeds (OS grid ref SE0925).
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. A regional municipality, the capital city of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Etymology / origin

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.

Sources

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