Orwell

English

Etymology

From Middle English Orewelle (attested in Chaucer). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɔːwɛl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈoɹwɛl/

Proper noun

Orwell

  1. A village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL3650). [1]
  2. A tidal river in Suffolk, England.
  3. A settlement in Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
  4. A place in the United States:
    1. A township in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
    2. A town in Oswego County, New York, named after Orwell, Vermont.
    3. A village in Ashtabula County, Ohio, named after Orwell, Vermont.
    4. A township and unincorporated community in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
    5. A town in Addison County, Vermont.
  5. An English surname (George Orwell took his name from the River Orwell).

Usage notes

In addition to the construction Orwellian, it is very common to use the author's pseudo-surname as a stand-in for "totalitarian" and to make coinages based on it, e.g. "Orwellabama" (Orwell + Alabama)[2] or "Orwellesque".[3]

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