Lieu-Dit
/ljø di/noun
A named locality, especially a small rural area or land parcel whose name is not that of an inhabited settlement.
Did you know?In France, lieu-dits often preserve ancient field names, vanished settlements, occupations, or physical features long after the original reason for the name disappeared.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*stel-
“To put or stand in a place; a proposed ancestral root associated with Latin locus.”
Classical Latin
Latin
locus
“A place, position, or location.”
Late Latin
Latin
locum
“The accusative form of locus, meaning “a place”; it contributed to the Romance descendants of the word.”
Old French
Old French
lieu
“A place or locality, developed from Latin locus through regular sound changes.”
Medieval French
French
dit
“Said or named, the past participle of dire, from Latin dictum, “something said.””
Modern French
French
lieu-dit
“Literally “said place”; a named locality or parcel, commonly one without a substantial settlement.”
Modern English
English
lieu-dit
“A French term borrowed into English for a named rural locality or land parcel.”