Beneden-Leeuwen

Dutch

Etymology

First attested as Beneden-Leeuwen in 1986. Compound of beneden (“lower, downstream”) and the dative plural form of Old Dutch lēo (“burial mound”) (cognate to Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍅 (hlaiw, “tomb, grave”), Old Saxon hlêo (“mound, burial mound”), Old High German hlêo (“mound, burial mound”)). The element beneden was added fairly recently to distinguish the settlement from Boven-Leeuwen. Compare Leeuwen, Leeuwte, Heiligerlee, Westerlee, Denderleeuw, Gors-Opleeuw, Lauw, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and Zoutleeuw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈneː.dən ˈleːu̯.ən/
• Hyphenation: Be‧ne‧den-‧Leeuw‧en
• Rhymes: -eːu̯ən

Proper noun

Beneden-Leeuwen n

1. A village in West Maas en Waal, Gelderland, Netherlands.

   Synonym: Braoiersrijk (Carnival nickname)

References

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN