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Ville

October 20, 2023

This article is about the French word and associated English suffix. For other uses, see Ville (disambiguation).

Ville is a French word meaning "city" or "town", but its meaning in the Middle Ages was "farm" (from Gallo-Romance VILLA < Latin villa rustica) and then "village". The derivative suffix -ville is commonly used in names of cities, towns and villages, particularly throughout France, Canada and the United States.

Usage in France Edit

 
Communes of France ending with -ville

In France, after the 6th Century, especially in the North, first of all Normandy (20% of the communes end with -ville), Beauce and French speaking part of Lorraine. In the Southeast, they are exceptional and modern. In the Southwest, -ville is very often a translation of the Occitan -viala (Gascon -viela), sometimes ill gallicized in -vielle (variant -fielle). There are almost all combined with the landowner's name. f. e : Colleville, Normandy, with Colle- that represents the Old Norse personal name Koli. The oldest recorded example of a -ville place-name in Normandy is Bourville as Bodardi villa in 715. Other rates indicate that there are only 1 068 -ville communes out of 36 591 communes in France (if we exclude the -viale, -viel[l]e, -fielle variant forms of the Southwest), but 460 out of 1 068 are located in Normandy (more than 1/3) for a total number of 3 332 communes in Normandy (36 591 in France).[1]

In England, after the Norman Conquest in 1066, some names of individuals gained -ville endings, but not many place names did, Bournville in Birmingham that came to use in the late 19th century was more for standing out than historic. These names are however still a reference to places, either in Normandy or elsewhere in France, such as Carville found as a last name in Yorkshire or Dunstanville found as a last name in Kent (cf. the placename Dénestanville, spelled Dunestanvilla in the 11th century).

Usage in Canada Edit

Although a ville in the predominantly francophone Canadian province of Quebec may be informally referred to as a "city" or a "town" in English, no distinction exists under provincial law between those two types of settlements. The "city" of Montreal, with a population of 1,854,442 in the Canada 2006 Census, and the "town" of Barkmere, with a population of just 81, are both legally villes.

Quebec does have several other types of municipal status, including municipalities, townships and villages, but any distinction between cities and towns in English has no basis in law and no objective criteria to differentiate between the two. However, in villes with a large anglophone population, there may be an established—albeit informal—preference. For instance, Mount Royal is nearly always referred to as a town—as opposed to a city—by its anglophone populace, while places such as Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Saguenay and Gatineau are virtually always referred to as cities.

Cité is a defunct title that currently is used only officially by Dorval, which is nevertheless legally a ville.[2]

In all other Canadian provinces, although ville is still used as the French translation for both "city" and "town", cities and towns there do have distinct legal status from each other.

In New Brunswick, Canada's only constitutionally bilingual province, ville is commonly used to refer to both cities and towns; however, the official translation of city in provincial law is cité.[3][4]

As in the United States, -ville may also be a suffix that is part of a city's or a town's actual name. This usage exists in both English and French; examples include Oakville, Brockville and Belleville in Ontario, Blainville, Drummondville, Victoriaville and Louiseville in Quebec, Wolfville in Nova Scotia and Parksville in British Columbia. In Quebec, it may also be used as a prefix, as in Ville-Marie or Villeroy.

Ville, as a suffix or prefix within a geographic name, may also sometimes denote an unincorporated neighbourhood within a larger city, such as Ville-Émard, Davisville, Unionville, or Africville.

There are also places named after people, such as Villeray.

Usage in the United States Edit

According to toponymist George R. Stewart, the use of the suffix -ville for settlements in the United States did not begin until after the American Revolution. Previously, town-names did not usually use suffixes unless named after European towns in which case the name was borrowed wholly. When a suffix was needed, -town (or the separate word Town) was typically added (as in Charleston, South Carolina, originally Charles Town). In the middle of the 18th century the suffixes -borough (-boro) and -burgh (-burg) came into style. The use of -town (-ton) also increased, in part due to the increasing use of personal names for new settlements. Thus the settlement founded by William Trent became known as Trenton. These three suffixes, -town/-ton, -borough/-boro, and -burgh/-burg became popular before the Revolution, while -ville was almost completely unused until afterward. Its post-revolutionary popularity, along with the decline in the use of -town, was due in part to the pro-French sentiments which spread through the country after the war. The founding of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1780, for example, used not only the French suffix but the name of the French king, Louis XVI. The popularity of -ville was most popular in the southern and western (Appalachian) regions of the new country, and less popular in New England.

A few -ville names pre-date the revolution, but most of them are named after persons whose name refers to European settlements or dukedoms. For example, Granville, Massachusetts was named for the Earl of Granville (he was named himself after Granville, Manche (Normandy)). After the revolution and the decline in the use of -borough and -town, the two suffixes -ville and -burgh/-burg became by far the most popular for many decades. A difference between the usage of the two is that -burgh/-burg was almost always appended to personal names while -ville was added to a variety of words.

By the middle of the 19th century the -ville suffix began to lose its popularity, with newly popular suffixes with -wood, -hurst, -mere, -dale, and others taking over.[5] However, the -ville suffix is still associated with the name of settlements in language use and popular culture.

Notable -ville cities in the United States Edit

-ville in popular culture Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Site Linuxfr.org : communes of France ending with -ville
  2. ^ Ville de Dorval - Bienvenue à la Cité de Dorval (accessed August 26, 2008): "Bulletin de la Cité", "© 2008 Cité de Dorval", "La Cité de Dorval est divisée en six districts électoraux", etc. The term Cité de Dorval is also visible on numerous signs locally, as of 2008.
  3. ^ "Local Governance Act". New Brunswick Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General. May 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Cities of New Brunswick Association / l'Association des Cités du Nouveau-Brunswick".
  5. ^ This section on the history of -ville from Stewart, George R. (1967) Names on the Land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company; pages 193–197, 272.

External links Edit

 
Look up ville in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

October 20, 2023
ville, this, article, about, french, word, associated, english, suffix, other, uses, disambiguation, french, word, meaning, city, town, meaning, middle, ages, farm, from, gallo, romance, villa, latin, villa, rustica, then, village, derivative, suffix, ville, c. This article is about the French word and associated English suffix For other uses see Ville disambiguation Ville is a French word meaning city or town but its meaning in the Middle Ages was farm from Gallo Romance VILLA lt Latin villa rustica and then village The derivative suffix ville is commonly used in names of cities towns and villages particularly throughout France Canada and the United States Contents 1 Usage in France 2 Usage in Canada 3 Usage in the United States 3 1 Notable ville cities in the United States 3 2 ville in popular culture 4 References 5 External linksUsage in France Edit nbsp Communes of France ending with villeIn France after the 6th Century especially in the North first of all Normandy 20 of the communes end with ville Beauce and French speaking part of Lorraine In the Southeast they are exceptional and modern In the Southwest ville is very often a translation of the Occitan viala Gascon viela sometimes ill gallicized in vielle variant fielle There are almost all combined with the landowner s name f e Colleville Normandy with Colle that represents the Old Norse personal name Koli The oldest recorded example of a ville place name in Normandy is Bourville as Bodardi villa in 715 Other rates indicate that there are only 1 068 ville communes out of 36 591 communes in France if we exclude the viale viel l e fielle variant forms of the Southwest but 460 out of 1 068 are located in Normandy more than 1 3 for a total number of 3 332 communes in Normandy 36 591 in France 1 In England after the Norman Conquest in 1066 some names of individuals gained ville endings but not many place names did Bournville in Birmingham that came to use in the late 19th century was more for standing out than historic These names are however still a reference to places either in Normandy or elsewhere in France such as Carville found as a last name in Yorkshire or Dunstanville found as a last name in Kent cf the placename Denestanville spelled Dunestanvilla in the 11th century Usage in Canada EditAlthough a ville in the predominantly francophone Canadian province of Quebec may be informally referred to as a city or a town in English no distinction exists under provincial law between those two types of settlements The city of Montreal with a population of 1 854 442 in the Canada 2006 Census and the town of Barkmere with a population of just 81 are both legally villes Quebec does have several other types of municipal status including municipalities townships and villages but any distinction between cities and towns in English has no basis in law and no objective criteria to differentiate between the two However in villes with a large anglophone population there may be an established albeit informal preference For instance Mount Royal is nearly always referred to as a town as opposed to a city by its anglophone populace while places such as Montreal Quebec City Trois Rivieres Sherbrooke Saguenay and Gatineau are virtually always referred to as cities Cite is a defunct title that currently is used only officially by Dorval which is nevertheless legally a ville 2 In all other Canadian provinces although ville is still used as the French translation for both city and town cities and towns there do have distinct legal status from each other In New Brunswick Canada s only constitutionally bilingual province ville is commonly used to refer to both cities and towns however the official translation of city in provincial law is cite 3 4 As in the United States ville may also be a suffix that is part of a city s or a town s actual name This usage exists in both English and French examples include Oakville Brockville and Belleville in Ontario Blainville Drummondville Victoriaville and Louiseville in Quebec Wolfville in Nova Scotia and Parksville in British Columbia In Quebec it may also be used as a prefix as in Ville Marie or Villeroy Ville as a suffix or prefix within a geographic name may also sometimes denote an unincorporated neighbourhood within a larger city such as Ville Emard Davisville Unionville or Africville There are also places named after people such as Villeray Usage in the United States EditAccording to toponymist George R Stewart the use of the suffix ville for settlements in the United States did not begin until after the American Revolution Previously town names did not usually use suffixes unless named after European towns in which case the name was borrowed wholly When a suffix was needed town or the separate word Town was typically added as in Charleston South Carolina originally Charles Town In the middle of the 18th century the suffixes borough boro and burgh burg came into style The use of town ton also increased in part due to the increasing use of personal names for new settlements Thus the settlement founded by William Trent became known as Trenton These three suffixes town ton borough boro and burgh burg became popular before the Revolution while ville was almost completely unused until afterward Its post revolutionary popularity along with the decline in the use of town was due in part to the pro French sentiments which spread through the country after the war The founding of Louisville Kentucky in 1780 for example used not only the French suffix but the name of the French king Louis XVI The popularity of ville was most popular in the southern and western Appalachian regions of the new country and less popular in New England A few ville names pre date the revolution but most of them are named after persons whose name refers to European settlements or dukedoms For example Granville Massachusetts was named for the Earl of Granville he was named himself after Granville Manche Normandy After the revolution and the decline in the use of borough and town the two suffixes ville and burgh burg became by far the most popular for many decades A difference between the usage of the two is that burgh burg was almost always appended to personal names while ville was added to a variety of words By the middle of the 19th century the ville suffix began to lose its popularity with newly popular suffixes with wood hurst mere dale and others taking over 5 However the ville suffix is still associated with the name of settlements in language use and popular culture Notable ville cities in the United States Edit Abbeville Louisiana Amityville New York Argusville North Dakota Asheville North Carolina Barbourville Kentucky Barhamsville Virginia Beattyville Kentucky Belleville Illinois Bennettsville South Carolina Bentonville Arkansas Bronxville New York Brownsville Texas Campbellsville Kentucky Centerville Utah Centreville Virginia Charlottesville Virginia Clarksville Tennessee Collierville Tennessee Connersville Indiana Crawfordsville Indiana Danville California Danville Virginia Dawsonville Georgia Eddyville Kentucky Evansville Indiana Fayetteville Arkansas Fayetteville Georgia Fayetteville North Carolina Fortville Indiana Gainesville Florida Gainesville Georgia Gainesville Virginia Grantsville Utah Greeneville Tennessee Greenville Alabama Greenville Mississippi Greenville North Carolina Greenville South Carolina Hendersonville North Carolina Hendersonville Tennessee Hodgenville Kentucky Hopkinsville Kentucky Huntersville North Carolina Huntsville Alabama Huntsville Texas Jacksonville Florida Jacksonville North Carolina Jeffersonville Indiana Jordanville New York Kendallville Indiana Knoxville Tennessee Lewisville Texas Louisville Kentucky Louisville Mississippi Mayville North Dakota McCordsville Indiana McMinnville Oregon Naperville Illinois Nashville Tennessee Nicholasville Kentucky Noblesville Indiana Paintsville Kentucky Pflugerville Texas Pikeville Kentucky Plainville Massachusetts Porterville California Reidsville North Carolina Rockville Maryland Roseville California Rushville Indiana Salyersville Kentucky Shelbyville Tennessee Shepherdsville Kentucky Snellville Georgia Somerville Massachusetts Springville Utah Statesville North Carolina Starkville Mississippi Steubenville Ohio Swoyersville Pennsylvania Thomasville Georgia Thomasville North Carolina Vacaville California Victorville California Waterville Maine Whiteville North Carolina Wilsonville Oregon Zanesville Ohio ville in popular culture Edit Thneedville the setting of the movie The Lorax Antville an underground city in the animation Anthony Ant Coolsville the setting of the Scooby Doo cartoon franchise Danville the setting of the American animated TV series Phineas and Ferb Dogville a 2003 drama film FarmVille a 2009 farming video game Hooterville the setting of the American TV series Petticoat Junction and Green Acres Hooverville an area where homeless people generally lived during the Great Depression Pleasantville a 1998 American feature film Psychoville a British television series Retroville the setting of the American animated TV series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius Smallville an American television series Smallville a town in the Superman comics Shelbyville a fictional city in the American animated TV series The Simpsons Stylesville the setting of the American animated TV series Bratz Townsville the setting of the American animated TV series The Powerpuff Girls Whoville a fictional town created by author Theodor Seuss Geisel under the name Dr Seuss Whyville an educational website targeted at childrenReferences Edit Site Linuxfr org communes of France ending with ville Ville de Dorval Bienvenue a la Cite de Dorval accessed August 26 2008 Bulletin de la Cite c 2008 Cite de Dorval La Cite de Dorval est divisee en six districts electoraux etc The term Cite de Dorval is also visible on numerous signs locally as of 2008 Local Governance Act New Brunswick Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General May 5 2017 Cities of New Brunswick Association l Association des Cites du Nouveau Brunswick This section on the history of ville from Stewart George R 1967 Names on the Land Boston Houghton Mifflin Company pages 193 197 272 External links Edit nbsp Look up ville in Wiktionary the free dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ville amp oldid 1174685570, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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