Wessex

name

name ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    One of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, existing between the 6th and 9th centuries, and comprising most of England south of the Thames. historical

    "Grey-stoned and dun-roofed, it stood within hail of the Wessex border, and almost with the tip of one small toe within it, at the northernmost point of the crinkled line along which the leisurely Thames strokes the fields of that ancient kingdom."

  2. 2
    The West Country, a geographic area in the south west of England.

    "And I said I’d couch-surfed around Wessex and Wales and had a good time, and the train ride from Devon to Scotland was long and smoky […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
west country

Example

More examples

"There was but one problem before the public which could challenge his powers of analysis, and that was the singular disappearance of the favourite for the Wessex Cup, and the tragic murder of its trainer."

Etymology

From Middle English Westsex, from Old English Westseaxan (literally “West Saxons”), which stood for both Wessex and its people. The use of Wessex in a modern context for the West Country was popularised by Thomas Hardy, who used the term for his semi-fictional setting based on the region.

Related phrases

Wessex Saddlebackanglo saxon

More for "wessex"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.