Albion
UK /ˈælbɪən/ · US /ˈælbi.ən/ proper noun
- proper noun (now poetic) Great Britain (or sometimes just England or the British Isles).
- proper noun A census-designated place in Mendocino County, California.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Edwards County, Illinois.
- proper noun A town, the county seat of Noble County, Indiana, also located in Albion Township and Jefferson Township. Named after Albion, New York.
- proper noun A town in Kennebec County, Maine.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Boone County, Nebraska.
- proper noun A village, the county seat of Orleans County, New York.
- proper noun A village in the town of Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Etymology
From Middle English Albion, from Latin Albiōn, an Ancient Gallo-Latin name for Britain (Middle Welsh Albbu, Old Irish Albu), from Proto-Celtic *Albiū, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”), whence also Latin albus (“white”) and Ancient Greek ἀλφός (alphós, “whiteness, white leprosy”). The primary meaning of the Common Celtic word is "upper world" (as opposed to underworld), with semasiological development similar to e.g. Russian свет (svet, “world; light”).
It is often hypothesised that the Romans took it as connected with albus (“white”), in reference to the white cliffs of Dover.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Prob. from the same root as Gael. alp a height or hill. "It may have been bestowed on the land lying behind the white cliffs visible from the coast of Gaul. Albany, the old name of Scotland, means probably the "hilly land." I. Taylor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Albion”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details