Kensington

See also: kensington

English

Etymology

From the Old English personal name Cynesige + -ing- + -ton (“Estate associated with Cynesige”).

The town in Prince Edward Island is named after the borough in London.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kɛn.zɪŋ.tən/
• Hyphenation: Ken‧sing‧ton
• Rhymes: -ɛnzɪŋtən

Proper noun

Kensington

1. An affluent area of west London, in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London; South Kensington contains several major museums.
2. A suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England (OS grid ref SJ3690).
3. A town in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. [From 1886]

   Synonym: Barretts Cross (historical)

4. A number of places in the United States:
   1. A census-designated place in San Diego County, California.
   2. A census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California.
   3. A neighbourhood of Chicago, Illinois.
   4. A city in Kansas.
   5. A town in Maryland.
   6. A city in Minnesota.
   7. A town in New Hampshire.
   8. A village in Long Island, New York.
   9. An unincorporated community in Ohio.
   10. A neighbourhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
5. A suburb of Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand.
6. A suburb of Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand.
7. A suburb of Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Derived terms

• Kensington and Chelsea (London Borough)
• North Kensington
• South Kensington
• West Kensington

Noun

Kensington (plural Kensingtons)

1. (dated) Alternative letter-case form of kensington (“sewing circle”).
   • 1910 May, Josephine Spencer, “To Keep.”, in Young Woman's Journal, volume 21, number 5, Salt Lake City: Organ of Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations, →OCLC, page 251:

     She wished Kate had not told her of the weekly sewing club, of the matinee-parties, the afternoon Kensingtons, the times down town when they had met, and Elsie had been, according to Kate's glowing account, "the life of the crowd."

   • 1915 February, “Delta Zeta”, in The Key — Kappa Kappa Gamma, volume 32, number 1, Menasha: George Banta Pub. Co., page 97:

     Besides the usual social affairs given in the usual ways, Iota chapter is giving a series of Pre-Holiday Kensingtons and teas entertaining forty different girls, the majority of whom are to be non-sorority girls, each afternoon. The guests are invited to bring their Holiday sewing and the affairs are to be very informal.

   • 1917 December 1, Goodwin's Weekly, Salt Lake City, →OCLC, page 9:

     The second in a series of delightful knitting Kensingtons was given Wednesday afternoon by Mrs. E. A. Wall at her handsome home.

   • 1922 November, “Loyal Star Department: Cedar Rapids, Iowa”, in Railway Carmen's Journal, volume 27, number 11, Kansas City: Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, →OCLC, page 706:

     We have all-day Kensingtons, then we serve dinner and supper to the carmen. We also sew and do fancy work, which we sell for the benefit of the lodge.

References

• 2003, A. D. Mills, A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press, →ISBN