Kensington
/ˈkɛn.zɪŋ.tən/noun
A district in west London, or a place name used elsewhere.
Did you know?Kensington is a place-name built from an Old English personal name plus the suffix -ingas (“people of”) and -tūn (“settlement”), so it originally meant something like “the settlement of Cēna’s people.”
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
Cēna + -ingas + tūn
““Cēna’s people’s settlement” or “settlement associated with Cēna.””
Early Middle English
English
Kynesington / Kenesinton
“A recorded medieval place-name form for the settlement.”
13th Century
English
Kensyngton
“A later medieval spelling of the London place-name.”
Modern English
English
Kensington
“The established modern form of the London district name.”
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