Houtdijken
Dutch
Etymology
First attested as hofdijc and in den hofdijc in 1307. Initially a compound of Middle Dutch hof (“homestead, farmstead”) or hovet (“head”) and dijc (“levee”). The toponym was gradually reinterpreted to a compound of hout (“wood”) and dijk (“levee”), referring here to a levee constructed with wooden stakes, poles or screens. The plural form of the toponym refers to the two sections of the hamlet.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: Hout‧dij‧ken
Proper noun
Houtdijken n
- a hamlet in Woerden, Utrecht, Netherlands
Derived terms
References
- van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) “houtdijken”, in Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard[1] (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN