Cowley

C3O1W4L1E1Y4
UK/ˈkaʊli/

proper noun

A hamlet in Holmesfield parish, North East Derbyshire district, Derbyshire (OS grid ref SK338770).

OriginOld English cū →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

proper nounCowley (countable and uncountable, plural Cowleys)

plural Cowleys

  1. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA hamlet in Holmesfield parish, North East Derbyshire district, Derbyshire (OS grid ref SK338770).
    2. countableuncountableA hamlet in Upton Pyne parish, East Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SX9095).
    3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Cotswold district, Gloucestershire (OS grid ref SO9614).
    4. countableuncountableA suburb in the borough of Hillingdon, Greater London (OS grid ref TQ055825).
    5. countableuncountableA suburb and industrial area in City of Oxford district, Oxfordshire (OS grid ref SP5504).
    6. countableuncountableA village in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek, No. 9, Alberta, Canada.
    7. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Collin County, Texas, United States.
    8. countableuncountableA town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States.
    9. countableuncountableA rural locality in Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.
  2. countableuncountableA habitational surname from Old English.

Origin

  1. Old Englishcol“coal”
  2. Old Englishcū“cow”
  3. EnglishCowley

Various origins: * The village in Gloucestershire is from Old English cū (“cow”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to cow + -ley (“lea”). * The hamlet in Derbyshire is from Old English col (“coal”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to coal + -ley (“lea”). * The other places in England are from the Old English personal name Cufa + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Cowley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cowley

MLA

“Cowley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cowley. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Cowley,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cowley.

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