Dordrecht

• Dort

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɔɹdɹɛkt/, /-dɹɛxt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɔːdɹɛkt/, /-dɹɛxt/

Dordrecht

1. A city in South Holland, Netherlands.
2. A municipality of South Holland, Netherlands.

From Middle Dutch Thuredrecht. There is some uncertainty as to the origin, mainly that of the suffix -drecht.

Van Berkel and Samplonius (2006) derive the name from the Germanic elements *þurhw (“through”) + *driftiz (“creek, waterway”), as the name initially would have been applied to a waterway connecting the Dubbel to the Merwede.
Van Osta (1996), in an essay attempting to trace the origins of the toponymic suffix -drecht, gives an overview of proposed etymologies for the second element -drecht. He considers the derivation from *drifti- unlikely for various reasons (the ft to cht change being one of them). In his conclusion he follows Pottmeyer (1929) in his view that the element likely is to be reconstructed as a noun derived from *draganą (“to pull, draw, carry”), but unlike Pottmeyer (who interprets it as a portage), Van Osta believes it refers to a waterway with a towpath. He also briefly mentions Dordrecht, accepting the view that the first element means through.
The old explanation, that the second element -drecht is derived from Latin traiectum (which is the case for the toponymic element -trecht in Utrecht for example), has been rejected by many scholars (due to the unexplained change of tr to dr, among other reasons), though the claim is still repeated by some authors. Van Osta treats this at length.

• Audio

  (file)

Dordrecht n

1. Dordrecht (a city in South Holland, Netherlands)
2. Dordrecht (a municipality of South Holland, Netherlands)

• Dordt

• Van Osta, W., 'Drecht en drecht-namen', Naamkunde 28 (issue 1-2) (1996) pp 51-77