Dunkirk
/dʌnˈkɜːrk/noun
A seaport in northern France, or the famous 1940 military evacuation from it.
Did you know?Dunkirk comes from Flemish elements meaning “church in the dunes,” not from a war term, but the city’s name became permanently charged after the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops.
Etymological Timeline
Early Medieval
Flemish
Duin-kerke
““Church in the dunes” or “dune church””
Middle Dutch
Dutch
Dunekerke / Duinkerke
“A church or settlement by the dunes”
Old French
French
Dunkerque
“The coastal town in Flanders”
16th–17th Century
English
Dunkirk
“The French/Flemish seaport name adopted into English”
Modern English
English
Dunkirk
“The city name, and by extension the 1940 evacuation from it”