872: manchester Apr 28, 2017

It may sound pretty silly that The Grand Teton mountain, part of the Trois Tetons in Wyoming are French for 'big tit' and 'three tits' respectively, but naming places after breasts is more than may seem at first glance on a map. Generally, this is because place-names change over time and gradually shift from whatever the original pronunciations were. The city of Manchester in England was 'Mamucium' in Latin. Many names for English cities were either Latinized from Celtic, or were invented when Romans made settlements in a given area for the first time, such as the city of York which was erected as a fort by the Romans under the name 'Eboracum' (more on this at a later date). Manchester, however, was renamed by the Romans in the first century AD as 'Mamucium' from Celtic meaning 'breast-shaped hill'. Many other places in the U.K. have this 'mam' beginning, including 'Mam Barisdale' in Scotland as well as others. Some breast-shaped hills are called 'paps' now, from the Latin for 'nipple'.
For more on words that aren't obviously related to breasts but indeed are, click this.
Previous
Previous

873: Retronym Apr 29, 2017

Next
Next

871: yacht Apr 27, 2017