leicestershire

From Old English Lægreċeastresċīr. The middle and last element are ceaster (“town, city”) and scir (“district”), common in placenames. The first element is probably from the former name of the river Soar, Ligora, Ligera, of Celtic/Brythonic origin, from Proto-Celtic legyā (“sediment”), from Proto-Indo-European legʰ- (“to lie”), similar to the French river Loire. By surface analysis, Leicester + -shire.