Salisbury

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UK/ˈsɒlz.bɹi/UK/ˈsɔːlz.bɹi/UK/ˈsɔːz.bɹi/US/ˈsɑlz.bɛɹ.i/

proper noun

A surname.

OriginMiddle English Saresbury ← Old English *Searesbyriġ ← Latin Sorviodūnum →
CommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

proper nounSalisbury (countable and uncountable, plural Salisburys)

plural Salisburys

  1. countableuncountableA surname.
  2. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA cathedral city and civil parish with a city council in Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref SU1430).
    2. countableuncountableA former local government district in Wiltshire, abolished on 1 April 2009 and merged into the Wiltshire unitary authority.
    3. countableuncountableA northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.
    4. countableuncountableA local government area in Adelaide, Australia; in full, the City of Salisbury.
    5. countableuncountableA locality in the Dungog council area, eastern New South Wales, Australia.
    6. countableuncountableA suburb of Brisbane, Queensland.
    7. countableuncountableA place in Canada
    8. countableuncountableA town and civil parish of Westmorland County, New Brunswick.
    9. countableuncountableA town on the west coast of Dominica.
    10. countableuncountableA town in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
    11. countableuncountableA city, the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland.

      Colin McEvers, Chair of the College Republicans, hosted an event at Salisbury University featuring guest speaker Jared Taylor.

      2026 May 1, “Did Salisbury University Professors Offer Students Extra Credit For Protesting Jared Taylor Event?”, in Delmarva Times, archived from the original on 07 May 2026
    12. countableuncountableA coastal town and census-designated place in Essex County, Massachusetts.
    13. countableuncountableA small city in Chariton County, Missouri.
    14. countableuncountableA town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
    15. countableuncountableA town in Herkimer County, New York.
    16. countableuncountableA large hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York; despite being a hamlet, it had 12,093 people in the 2010 census.
    17. countableuncountableA city, the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina.
    18. countableuncountableA small borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
    19. countableuncountableA town in Addison County, Vermont.
    20. countableuncountableA number of townships, listed under Salisbury Township.
    21. countablehistoricaluncountableFormer name of Harare: the capital city of Rhodesia, now called Zimbabwe.

Origin

  1. Proto-Celtic*dūnom“stronghold”
  2. Proto-Celtic*srutom“a stream”
  3. Proto-Indo-European*srew-“to flow”
  4. Celtic
  5. LatinSorviodūnum
  6. Old English*Searesbyriġ
  7. Middle EnglishSaresbury
  8. EnglishSalisbury

From Middle English Saresbury, from Old English *Searesbyriġ, Searobyriġ, Searoburh, from searu (“armor”) via folk etymology + byriġ, burh (“stronghold”), partial translation of British Latin Sorviodūnum, Sorbiodōnum, from *sorwjo-, *sorbjo- of unknown Celtic origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow”) (compare Proto-Celtic *srutom (“a stream”)) + Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold”). Dissimilation of -r- to -l- is the result of influence from Salesbury in Lancashire, from sealh (“willow”) + burh (“stronghold”). The naming of the village in New Brunswick is not entirely certain. It may be named after explorer John Salusbury (1707 - 1762) or after Salisbury in England. The civil parish in New Brunswick is named after the village. The former capital of Rhodesia was named after Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) who served three times as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سالزبوري
  • سالزبوريcity in England
Bengali সল্স্বারি
  • সল্স্বারি (śolsbari)city in England
Bulgarian Солсбъри
  • Солсбъри (Solsbări)city in England
Chinese Cantonese 梳士巴利
  • 梳士巴利city in England
Chinese Mandarin 索爾茲伯里 /索尔兹伯里
  • 索爾茲伯里 /索尔兹伯里 (Suǒ'ěrzībólǐ)city in England
Finnish Salisbury
  • Salisburycity in England
German Salisbury
  • Salisburycity in England
Greek Σόλσμπερι
  • Σόλσμπερι (Sólsmperi)city in England
Hebrew סולסברי
  • סולסבריcity in England
Japanese ソールズベリー
  • ソールズベリーcity in England
Korean 솔즈베리
  • 솔즈베리 (soljeuberi)city in England
Latin Sarisberia, Sarisburgum
  • Sarisberiacity in England
  • Sarisburgumcity in England
  • Sarumcity in England
Latvian Solsberi
  • Solsbericity in England
Lithuanian Solsberis
  • Solsberiscity in England
Persian سالیسبری
  • سالیسبریcity in England
Polish Salisbury
  • Salisburycity in England
Russian Со́лсбери
  • Со́лсбери (Sólsberi)city in England
Thai ซอลส์บรี
  • ซอลส์บรีcity in England
Ukrainian Солсбері
  • Солсбері (Solsberi)city in England
Urdu سالسبری
  • سالسبریcity in England
Welsh Caersallog
  • Caersallogcity in England
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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