Brockley

B3R1O1C3K5L1E1Y4

proper noun

A suburban area in the borough of Lewisham, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ3675).

OriginOld English broc →
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

proper nounBrockley (countable and uncountable, plural Brockleys)

plural Brockleys

  1. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA suburban area in the borough of Lewisham, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ3675).

      ‘Where are you?’ she asks. ‘I am…’ You look outside and latch onto the enormous Sainsbury’s. ‘Pulling into Brockley.’

      2021, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water, Viking, page 42
    2. countableuncountableA small village and civil parish in North Somerset district, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST4767).
    3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in West Suffolk district, Suffolk, England (OS grid ref TL8254).
    4. countableuncountableA locality in the Armidale council area, north-eastern New South Wales, Australia.
  2. countableA habitational surname from Old English

Origin

  1. Old Englishbroc“badger”
  2. EnglishBrockley

From Old English broc (“badger”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to brock + -ley (“lea”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Brockley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brockley

MLA

“Brockley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brockley. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Brockley,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brockley.

Source: Brockley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.