Durham

D2U1R1H4A1M3
UK/ˈdʌ.ɹəm/Northern England/ˈdʊ.ɹəm/US/ˈdɝəm/

proper noun

A county in the Northeast of England; in full, County Durham.

Similar
CommonScrabble 12

Meanings

proper noun
  1. A county in the Northeast of England; in full, County Durham.
  2. A unitary authority of County Durham, which replaced the county council in 2009 in all of County Durham except Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees; in full, Durham County Council.
  3. An English habitational surname from Old English from the city in England.
  4. A locale in Canada.
    1. A community in New Brunswick; named for Lord Durham, Governor General of Canada.
    2. A regional municipality east of Toronto Ontario; in full, Regional Municipality of Durham.
  5. A locale in the United States.
    1. A census-designated place in Butte County, California; named for California politician W. W. Durham.
    2. A town and census-designated place therein, in Middlesex County, Connecticut; named for the city in England.
    3. An unincorporated community in Walker County, Georgia; named for Durham Coal and Coke Company.
    4. A minor city in Marion County, Kansas; named for the breed of cattle.
    5. A town in Androscoggin County, Maine; named for County Durham, England.
    6. An unincorporated community in Lewis County, Missouri; named for a railroad employee.
    7. A town in Greene County, New York; named for the town in Connecticut.
    8. A city, the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina; named for landowner Bartlett S. Durham.
    9. A township in Durham County, North Carolina, most of which is in the city.
    10. An unincorporated community in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma; named for postmaster Doris Durham Morris.
    11. A city in Washington County, Oregon; named for pioneer and Oregon Territory legislator Alberto Alonzo Durham.
nounDurham (plural Durhams)

plural Durhams

  1. One of a breed of short-horned cattle, originating in the county of Durham, England, and noted for their beef-producing quality.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounEnglish breed of short-horned cattle

Similar
Broader
beefbeef cattle
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Norseholm“islet, island”
  2. Old EnglishDūnholm
  3. EnglishDurham

From Old English Dūnholm, which is from dun (“hill”) + Old Norse holm (“islet, island”). In order to get from Dunholm to Durham, two major processes had to take place. Firstly, the n at the coda of the first syllable, dun, underwent dissimilation. Specifically, by influence of the m in the coda of the following syllable (holm), said n denasalised and lenited to the oral r, thus dur. Secondly, after a weakening of the vowel quality in the more weakly-stressed syllable holm, this ending was misanalysed as the similar-sounding toponymic suffix, -ham, meaning home or farm. Doublet of Duresm and Dunelm.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian Дърам, Дърам
  • Дърам (Dăram)city and county in England
  • Дърам (Dăram)city in North Carolina
Czech Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Dutch Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Estonian Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Finnish Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
French Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Italian Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Latin Dūnelmum
  • Dūnelmumcity and county in England
Latvian Darema, Darema
  • Daremacity and county in England
  • Daremacity in North Carolina
Lithuanian Daramas, Daramas
  • Daramascity and county in England
  • Daramascity in North Carolina
Polish Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Portuguese Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Romanian Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Russian Да́рем, Да́рем
  • Да́рем (Dárem)city and county in England
  • Да́рем (Dárem)city in North Carolina
Slovak Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Spanish Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Swedish Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Turkish Durham, Durham
  • Durhamcity and county in England
  • Durhamcity in North Carolina
Ukrainian Да́рем, Да́рем
  • Да́рем (Dárem)city and county in England
  • Да́рем (Dárem)city in North Carolina

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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