Chester-Le-Street
/ˌtʃɛs.tər lə ˈstriːt/noun
A town in County Durham, England.
Did you know?Chester-le-Street preserves three layers of history in one name: the Celtic-Roman fort (castra), the Latin road (strata), and the Old English word for a paved road, making it a rare place-name fossil of conquest and empire.
Etymological Timeline
Roman Britain
Latin
castra
“military camp, fort”
Late Latin
Latin
strata
“paved road, layered way”
Old English
Old English
strǣt
“paved road, street”
Medieval English
English
Cæster-on-Strete
“the fort on the street”
Modern English
English
Chester-le-Street
“the town name, referring to the old fort by the road”