Washington
Major Settlement in the Parish of Washington
Historical Forms
- Wessingatun 946–55 BCS819 12th
- æt Wassingatune, Wasingatun 947 BCS834 12th
- æt Wasingatune 963 BCS1125 12th
- Wassengatun in Sudsexon 973 BCS1297
- Wassingetone 1073 France
- Wassingatune a.1080 France
- Wassingeton 1235 FF 1281 Ch
- Wasingetune 1086 DB
- Wassington 1261 Ass 1439 Cicestr
- Wessyngton, Wyssyngton 1279 Ass
- Wassyndon 1324 ADv
- Wessyngton, Wessyndon 1378 Pat
- Washington 1397 IpmR
- Wasshington 1641 SRS5
- Wassington in 1520, 1547, 1560 (Wills)
Etymology
Washington lies on a spur of the downs, well out of the valley below. The soil of the valley is largely sand, so that neither from the site of Washington itself nor from the neighbourhood are we justified in looking for any word wæsc, wæse (v. Washingham supra 151) or wase denoting marshy land as part of the name. This place, like Washbourne (PN Wo 176) probably contains a pers. name Wassa . Confusion with the common words (ge )wæsc and wæscan , ME wasshe , wesshe , readily arose and explains the occasional variant vowel in the early forms and led to the replacing of ss by sh . Forms with ss survived however to the 16th cent. We have Wassington in 1520, 1547, 1560 (Wills). Hence, 'farm of the people of Wassa ,' v. ing , tun .