Essex
/ˈɛs.ɪks/noun
A county in southeast England, formerly the territory of the East Saxons.
Did you know?The county name preserves an Anglo-Saxon tribal label: Old English Ēastseaxe meant the “East Saxons,” from whom the kingdom of Essex took its name.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sahsą
“knife, sword”
Old English
OE
Ēastseaxe
“East Saxons”
Early Medieval
OE
Ēastseaxna rīce
“kingdom of the East Saxons”
Middle English
English
Essex
“the county and former kingdom in southeast England”
Modern English
English
Essex
“the modern county in southeast England”