Greenwich

G2R1E1E1N1W4I1C3H4
/ˈɡɹɛnɪt͡ʃ/also/ˈɡɹɪn-//-ɪd͡ʒ/US/ˈɡɹinwɪt͡ʃ/

proper noun

A town on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east Greater London, England, through which the prime meridian passes (OS grid ref TQ3877).

OriginMiddle English Greenwich ← Old English Grēnawīċ →
CommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A place in England:
    1. A town on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east Greater London, England, through which the prime meridian passes (OS grid ref TQ3877).
    2. A royal borough in Greater London, which includes the town.
    3. A southern suburb of Ipswich, Suffolk (OS grid ref TM1742).
    4. A hamlet in Fonthill Gifford parish, Wiltshire (OS grid ref ST9232).
  2. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A town and census-designated place therein, in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
    2. An unincorporated community in Limestone Township, Kankakee County, Illinois.
    3. A census-designated place in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
    4. A former town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, now largely submerged.
    5. A township and census-designated place therein, in Cumberland County, New Jersey.
    6. A township in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
    7. A township and census-designated place therein, in Warren County, New Jersey.
    8. A neighborhood of New York City, New York, properly Greenwich Village.

      [I]t was the old New Netherland hamlet of Groenwijck—its erratic country roads absorbed into the expanding city and renamed “Greenwich Village”—that became the federation’s first and foremost bohemian district.

      2011, Colin Woodard, chapter 24, in American nations, New York: Penguin, →ISBN
    9. A town in Washington County, New York.
    10. A village in Washington County, New York, mostly within the town.
    11. A village and township in Huron County, Ohio.
    12. A township in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
    13. An unincorporated community in Piute County, Utah.
    14. An unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia.
  3. A civil parish of Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada.
  4. A community in Nova Scotia.
  5. A suburb of Sydney, New South Wales.
  6. metonymicallyThe Greenwich meridian; the prime meridian.

    Are we east or west of Greenwich?

Origin

  1. Old EnglishGrēnawīċ
  2. Middle EnglishGreenwich
  3. EnglishGreenwich

From Middle English Greenwich, from Old English Grēnawīċ, Grēnewīċ (literally “green harbour, green settlement”). Equivalent to green + -wich. The civil parish in New Brunswick may have been named after Greenwich near London, after Greenwich Village, or after Greenwich Street in Hampstead, New York.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic غْرِينِيتْش
  • غْرِينِيتْش (ḡrīnitš)east London town
Chinese Cantonese 格林威治, 格林尼治
  • 格林威治 (gaak³ lam⁴ wai¹ zi⁶)east London town
  • 格林尼治 (gaak³ lam⁴ nei⁴ zi⁶)east London town
Chinese Mandarin 格林尼治, 格林威治
  • 格林尼治 (Gélínnízhì)east London town
  • 格林威治 (Gélínwēizhì)east London town
Dutch Groenewijk
  • Groenewijkeast London town
French Greenwich
  • Greenwicheast London town
Greek Γκρίνουιτς
  • Γκρίνουιτς (Gkrínouits)east London town
Italian Greenwich
  • Greenwicheast London town
Japanese グリニッジ
  • グリニッジ (Gurinijji)east London town
Korean 그리니치
  • 그리니치 (Geurinichi)east London town
Latvian Griniča
  • Griničaeast London town
Russian Гри́нвич
  • Гри́нвич (Grínvič)east London town
Spanish Greenwich
  • Greenwicheast London town
Tamil கிரீன்விச்
  • கிரீன்விச் (kirīṉvic)east London town
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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