holm

Meaning

1. Small island, islet.
2. An island in a lake, river or estuary; an eyot.
3. Any small island, but especially one near a larger island or the mainland, sometimes with holly bushes; an islet. Often the word is used in Norse-influenced place-names.
4. Rich flat land near a river, prone to being completely flooded; a river-meadow; bottomland.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/həʊm/

Etymology

From Middle English holm, holme, from Old English holm (“wave, ocean, water, sea, islet”) and Old Norse holmr, holmi (“islet”), both from the Proto-Germanic *hulmaz (“rising ground, hill, island”), from Proto-Indo-European root *kelH- (“to rise, be elevated, be prominent; hill”). Cognate with Old Saxon holm, Middle Low German holm, German Holm, Middle Dutch holm, Danish holm, Swedish holme, Norwegian Bokmål holme, Icelandic hólmur.