2 words pinned here
Pontefract
53.6910°N -1.3120°W · Q1009235
2 English words in this atlas trace back to Pontefract. It sits in United Kingdom.
Pontefract cakenoun · 19th century
Well attestedThe liquorice sweet is named for a Yorkshire town.
Liquorice was grown around Pontefract, and the discs were stamped with the town's castle.
Named for a product of the placeRead →
pomfret cakenoun · 18th century
Well attestedPomfret is the old English name for Pontefract; Shakespeare used it too.
Licorice was grown around Pontefract and pressed into stamped discs bearing the town's castle, sold as Pontefract or pomfret cakes. The older spelling records how the Norman name was actually pronounced in English, and it survives in Shakespeare's history plays.
Named through a historical place-nameRead →