Bedford

English

Etymology

From Middle English Bedforde, Bedeford, from Old English Bedaford, Bedanford, equivalent to Bede's +‎ ford.

The civil parish is named after John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford (1710 - 1771). Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛdfə(ɹ)d/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Bed‧ford

Proper noun

Bedford

1. Place names:
   1. A town, the county town of Bedfordshire, England.
   2. A unitary authority with borough status in Bedfordshire, England.
   3. A suburb of Leigh, Wigan borough, Greater Manchester, England (OS grid ref SJ6799).
   4. A number of places in the United States:
      1. A city, the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana.
      2. A small city, the county seat of Taylor County, Iowa.
      3. A small city, the county seat of Trimble County, Kentucky.
      4. A town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
      5. A town in New Hampshire.
      6. A town in Westchester County, New York
      7. A city in Ohio.
      8. A borough, the county seat of Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
      9. A city in Texas.
      10. A town, the county seat of Bedford County, Virginia.
      11. A census-designated place in Wyoming.
      12. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Bedford Township.
   5. A community of Nova Scotia, Canada.
   6. A civil parish of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. [From 1765]
   7. A city and township in Quebec, Canada.
   8. A town in Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
   9. A suburb of Perth, in the City of Bayswater, Western Australia, named after Frederick Bedford.
2. (countable) A truck, van, and bus and coach chassis formerly manufactured by the Bedford company, a subsidiary company of Vauxhall Motors.

   New Zealand Railways Road Services used to operate a large fleet of Bedfords.

3. An English dukedom.
4. A surname.

Derived terms

• Bedford County
• Bedford cord
• Bedfordshire