When a place is called " Heights", what does "heights" mean/refer to? - eviltoast

For example, in Washington Heights and Golan Heights, what does “heights” mean? What does it tell us about the place?

  • Square Singer@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    High Street, same as Highway, come from Old English, where high denoted not only elevation, but also status/rank/quality.

    You can see this in a lot of other Modern English words. For example, a high sheriff, a high priest or high society aren’t called high because they are very tall.

    • Nougat@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      … aren’t called high because they are very tall.

      Maybe it’s because they smoke a lot of weed.