英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

Canterbury [Canterbury 词源字典]: Old English Cantware-buruh "fortified town of the Kentish people," from Cant-ware "the people of Kent" (see Kent). The Roman name was Duroverno, from Romano-British *duro- "walled town."

Pope Gregory the Great intended to make London, as the largest southern Anglo-Saxon city, the metropolitan see of southern England, but Christianity got a foothold first in the minor kingdom of Kent, whose heathen ruler Ethelbert had married a Frankish Christian princess. London was in the Kingdom of Essex and out of reach of the missionaries at first. Therefore, in part perhaps to flatter Ethelbert, his capital was made the cathedral city. Related: Canterburian.[Canterbury etymology, Canterbury origin, 英语词源]
curtilage (n.): early 14c., from Anglo-French curtilage, from Old French cortil "little court, walled garden, yard," from Medieval Latin cortile "court, yard," from Latin cortis (see court (n.)).
Dorchester: Old English Dorcanceaster, earlier Dornwaraceaster, from Latin Durnovaria, from Romano-British *duro- "walled town."
stonewall (v.): "to obstruct," 1889 in sports; 1914 in politics, from metaphoric use of stone wall (n.) for "act of obstruction" (1876). Related: Stonewalled; stonewalling (defined in Century Dictionary as "parliamentary obstruction by talking against time, raising technical objections, etc.," and identified as originally Australian).
Tyrrhenian (adj.): 1650s, "pertaining to the Etruscans," from Latin Tyrrheni, from Greek Tyrrenoi "Tyrrhenians," from tyrsis "tower, walled city" (cognate with Latin turris "tower"). Earlier Tyrrhene (late 14c.).
urban (adj.): "characteristic of city life, pertaining to cities or towns," 1610s (but rare before 1830s), from Latin urbanus "of or pertaining to a city or city life; in Rome," also "in city fashion, polished, refined, cultivated, courteous," but also sometimes "witty, facetious, bold, impudent;" as a noun, "city dweller," from urbs (genitive urbis) "city, walled town," of unknown origin.

The word gradually emerged in this sense as urbane became restricted to manners and styles of expression. In late 20c. American English gradually acquiring a suggestion of "African-American." Urban renewal, euphemistic for "slum clearance," is attested from 1955, American English. Urban sprawl recorded by 1958. Urban legend attested by 1980.
wall (v.): "to enclose with a wall," late Old English *weallian (implied in geweallod), from the source of wall (n.). Meaning "fill up (a doorway, etc.) with a wall" is from c. 1500. Meaning "shut up in a wall, immure" is from 1520s. Related: Walled; walling.
pelota: "A Basque or Spanish game played in a walled court with a ball and basket-like rackets attached to the hand", Spanish, literally 'ball', augmentative of pella, from Latin pila 'ball'.