Word
hastings
Phoneticshast·ings
/ˈheɪstɪŋz/
Definitions
01town in England
n. a seaside town in East Sussex, England, famous for the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
n. a coastal town and borough in East Sussex, England, historically significant as the namesake of the 1066 Norman conquest battle.
“We spent the weekend in Hastings and visited the ruins of the old castle.”
“The Battle of Hastings is perhaps the most pivotal event in English history, marking the beginning of the Norman conquest under William the Conqueror.”
02a surname
n. a common English family name.
n. a habitational surname of Old English origin, or occasionally a patronymic surname.
“Mr. Hastings was the manager of the local bank for thirty years.”
“The Hastings family has held significant land in this county since the seventeenth century, according to the parish records.”
03early vegetables
n. an old word for fruits or vegetables that grow early in the season, especially peas.
n. early-ripening fruit or vegetables, particularly peas; typically used in the plural.
“The gardener was proud of his green hastings, which were ready to eat before June.”
“In historical agricultural texts, 'hastings' refers specifically to those varieties of peas bred for early harvest to command a higher market price.”
Archaic · British English
Usage
Usually appears in the plural form 'hastings'.
Teaching tip
This sense is extremely rare in modern English; learners will likely only encounter it in historical literature or specialized gardening history.
Synonyms
Etymology
The placename in England is derived from the Old English tribal name Hæstingas (“Hæsta's people, the family/followers of Hæsta”), which was later transferred to their settlement. The family name has two possible sources: * from the place name * a patronymic surname derived from the Anglo-Norman personal name Hasten(c), Hastang The later place names in other countries are named either after people with that family name, or after the town of Hastings in England.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/hastings