Etymology

Saint Louis

Today it means: A city in eastern Missouri, United States, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and formerly important in the westward expansion of the United States. Full definition →

French Saint-Louis ← German Sankt Ludwig bei Basel
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The story

  1. German · derived fromSankt Ludwig bei Basel
  2. French · borrowed fromSaint-Louis
  3. English todaySaint Louis

From French Saint-Louis, usually after King Louis IX of France (sometimes with oblique reference to later French kings named Louis). Sometimes after other places named for him. In the case of the Alsace commune, originally from German Sankt Ludwig bei Basel. In the case of the Minnesota river, thought to reference its French discoverer's recent Cross of Saint Louis, named for the French king. Doublet of São Luís.

Words from the same roots

FrenchSaint-Louis all →

Saint-Louis

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.