Kempston

K5E1M3P3S1T1O1N1

proper noun

A suburban town and civil parish with a town council in Bedford borough, Bedfordshire, England (OS grid ref TL0347).

OriginProto-Brythonic *kam ← Proto-Celtic *kambos ← Old English tūn →
UncommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

proper nounKempston (countable and uncountable, plural Kempstons)

plural Kempstons

  1. countableuncountableA suburban town and civil parish with a town council in Bedford borough, Bedfordshire, England (OS grid ref TL0347).
  2. countableuncountableA habitational surname from Old English.

Origin

  1. Old Englishtūn“enclosure; settlement, town”
  2. Proto-Celtic*kambos
  3. Proto-Brythonic*kam“crooked, bent”
  4. EnglishKempston

Probably from Proto-Brythonic *kam (“crooked, bent”) (from Proto-Celtic *kambos), in reference to a sharp bend of the River Ouse, + -s- + Old English tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

More words from Proto-Brythonic, Proto-Celtic, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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