Noun: Haligonian
| Singular | Haligonian |
| Plural | Haligonians |
Sample Sentences
-
The Haligonian is "not known to Halifax Regional Police in any significant way," she said. [2007 May 17, “Suspect arrested in Nova Scotia gay murders”, in National Post, retrieved 30 May 2007:]
Nouns inflected like Haligonian
soldier's woundwort,
Nicosian,
whopper,
greypate,
tactile sign language,
chronotrope,
Rosie Lee,
dissentient,
photoinactivator,
sulphonediimine,
coastal waterfall,
residuary devise,
bituminization,
nitrosonaphthol,
smṛiti,
geosphere,
backscreen,
mensuralist,
flocculate,
flocculant, etc. (List truncated at 20 nouns)
Etymology
Likely from a false folk etymology deriving Halifax from Old English hāliġ feax ("holy hair"), although it probably actually came from halh + ġefeaxe ("grassy corner"). To this root halig- was added the -onian suffix, probably with analogy to other British demonyms following a similar pattern such as Oxonian, Cantabrigian, Mancunian, Glaswegian, etc. The original demonym was Halifaxian from the Nova Scotian city's founding in 1749 until the early 19th century (around the third generation of residents), when Haligonian became preferred. The reason for the change may be in part due to a negative association with the original demonym.