Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
clearwater
English answer:
a popular place name having little contemporary environmental significance
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Dec 3, 2003 11:36
20 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term
United States
Search HKLNA!
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Japanese to English, French to English, and 3 more.
clearwater
English
Other
Linguistics
linguistics/etymology
Although Clearwater is a popular city name in the North America (I have found it on the maps of several states of the United States), I am wondering if could have another meaning.
Certainly, we have all heard of clear water, and clean water. Surely the phrase "clear the water" is also in the vocabulary of many a native English speaker. What about "clearwater", though? When I performed a Sherlock dictionary search, I could find only a list of more city names.
Does anyone have a good source on the origin of the term "clearwater"?
Certainly, we have all heard of clear water, and clean water. Surely the phrase "clear the water" is also in the vocabulary of many a native English speaker. What about "clearwater", though? When I performed a Sherlock dictionary search, I could find only a list of more city names.
Does anyone have a good source on the origin of the term "clearwater"?
Responses
| 4 +6 | the name is self-explanatory |
Özden Arıkan
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| 5 +2 | Yes, it does |
Michael Powers (PhD)
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| 3 | could it be organization? |
RHELLER
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| 3 -1 | limpid water |
Clauwolf
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| 2 | placename suffix? |
chica nueva
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Change log
Apr 18, 2005 05:08: Özden Arıkan changed "Field (specific)" from "(none)" to "Linguistics"
Responses
+6
22 mins
Özden Arıkan
Germany
Germany
Works in field
Germany
I talk Turkey... and so will you!
Native in: Turkish 
Works in: English to Turkish, Turkish to English, German to Turkish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
the name is self-explanatory
in fact all human settlements were founded by the water, and all bodies of water were clear once upon a time...
when you enter the websites of these cities, and click on history links, there usually are explanations about the origin of the name. below are 2 examples:
1. www.clearwater-fl.com
from the "area history" link: "When this area was known only to the Native Americans (mostly Timucuan, Calusa and Apalachee tribes) clear springs gurgled from the banks into the bay. The springs, long since gone, were located along the high bluffs upon which City Hall and downtown Clearwater are now situated."
2. www.co.clearwater.mn.us
"Clearwater County, The 83rd of Minnesota’s 87 counties, was established by the proclamation of Governor Samuel Van Sant on December 20, 1902. It is 60 miles in its length and 18 miles in width, lying north and south. Its name was taken from the Ojibway word “gawakomitgweia,” which means “clear water”."
when you enter the websites of these cities, and click on history links, there usually are explanations about the origin of the name. below are 2 examples:
1. www.clearwater-fl.com
from the "area history" link: "When this area was known only to the Native Americans (mostly Timucuan, Calusa and Apalachee tribes) clear springs gurgled from the banks into the bay. The springs, long since gone, were located along the high bluffs upon which City Hall and downtown Clearwater are now situated."
2. www.co.clearwater.mn.us
"Clearwater County, The 83rd of Minnesota’s 87 counties, was established by the proclamation of Governor Samuel Van Sant on December 20, 1902. It is 60 miles in its length and 18 miles in width, lying north and south. Its name was taken from the Ojibway word “gawakomitgweia,” which means “clear water”."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christopher Crockett
: We, who can just turn on a tap to get (supposedly) safe, clean, "clear" water anytime we wish it, have to remember that for the first 3 million years of our species' existence that was not the case. A site which had "clear water" was worth settling.
3 hrs
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ur right, of course, what i say above must be due to a momentary confusion, huh? as if unclear would necessarily mean polluted in all cases :-)
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| agree |
Pnina
: According to The Oxford Paperback Dictionary the expression "clear water" means not muddy or cloudy.
4 hrs
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what i have from my tap can hardly qualify, then, with its clouds of chlorine ;-)
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| agree |
Refugio
5 hrs
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thanks
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| agree |
Ali Beikian
12 hrs
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thanks, Ali
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| agree |
Kim Metzger
: Yes, I believe there's no deep meaning behind clearwater.
13 hrs
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in fact many settlements, especially those founded in pre-modern times, have names inspired by their immediate geography
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| agree |
Anita M. A. Mazzoli
3 days 12 hrs
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thanks, Anita
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "As I found all of the answers useful in helping me to identify the origin of the term "clearwater", I would like to give points to everyone. Unfortunately, I cannot, so I will award my points to the most -- XOLA, plus the long list of confirmatory contributors."
-1
19 mins
limpid water
:)
Stretched out on the bed, Pavese, with life on your back, suddenly your hand scratching
your knee, your neck, a cigarette, the limpid water in your eyes, in ...
www.gci275.com/writing/pavese.shtml - 15k - Em cache - Páginas Semelhantes
<html> <head> </head><body><pre><html> <head> </ ... - [ Traduzir esta página ]
... the patient, if tiring, ear of the girl. That shade of green. Like
limpid water. He knows that limpid means clear, he rambles on ...
cscott.net/Fuze/25Feb2000-brackish.txt - 6k - Em cache - Páginas Semelhantes
Stretched out on the bed, Pavese, with life on your back, suddenly your hand scratching
your knee, your neck, a cigarette, the limpid water in your eyes, in ...
www.gci275.com/writing/pavese.shtml - 15k - Em cache - Páginas Semelhantes
<html> <head> </head><body><pre><html> <head> </ ... - [ Traduzir esta página ]
... the patient, if tiring, ear of the girl. That shade of green. Like
limpid water. He knows that limpid means clear, he rambles on ...
cscott.net/Fuze/25Feb2000-brackish.txt - 6k - Em cache - Páginas Semelhantes
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Dorene Cornwell
: not a good symnonym. "Limpid" is used in more limited situations than clearwater
1 day 14 hrs
|
+2
23 mins
Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
136
Yes, it does
Note there are links with reference to water:
Peru 2000 an Amazon Adventure (part 2)
... We at last stopped at the clearwater stream but it was quite disappointing, as
we didn't catch too many fish here, another small Pike Cichlid being my only ...
www.scotcat.com/articles/article41.htm - 12k - Cached - Similar pages
Both the Maués and the Arapiuns are blackwater rivers, contrasting with their recipients, the whitewater Amazonas and the clearwater Tapajós. Little information is available on particular collecting sites. However, two specimens were collected 13 September 1995 on a sandy beach of the Arapiuns with tree litter and some small rocks. The water was clear, tea coloured, with an underwater sight about 2-2.5 m; temperature 31.5 °C, pH 4.65, conductivity 30 µScm-1.
Mike :)
Peru 2000 an Amazon Adventure (part 2)
... We at last stopped at the clearwater stream but it was quite disappointing, as
we didn't catch too many fish here, another small Pike Cichlid being my only ...
www.scotcat.com/articles/article41.htm - 12k - Cached - Similar pages
Both the Maués and the Arapiuns are blackwater rivers, contrasting with their recipients, the whitewater Amazonas and the clearwater Tapajós. Little information is available on particular collecting sites. However, two specimens were collected 13 September 1995 on a sandy beach of the Arapiuns with tree litter and some small rocks. The water was clear, tea coloured, with an underwater sight about 2-2.5 m; temperature 31.5 °C, pH 4.65, conductivity 30 µScm-1.
Mike :)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christopher Crockett
: We, who can just turn on a tap to get (supposedly) safe, clean, "clear" water anytime we wish it, have to remember that for the first 3 million years of our species' existence that was not the case. A site which had "clear water" was worth settling.
3 hrs
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| agree |
RHELLER
: you and Chris are right - clear water was the main reason cities sprang up near rivers
9 hrs
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10 hrs
could it be organization?
also name of non-profit organization
re: origin
it might be a translation of a place name in one of the American Indian Languages. I lived in Wisconsin and most of the names there have to do with river, lake, waters, etc.
re: origin
it might be a translation of a place name in one of the American Indian Languages. I lived in Wisconsin and most of the names there have to do with river, lake, waters, etc.
Reference:
18 hrs
chica nueva
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
http://youtube/iraVWQu3Zf8
Native in: English (Variants: New Zealand, British)
Works in: Chinese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
placename suffix?
There are certain word endings used in placenames. Perhaps this is one of them:
land eg Scotland, Maryland
vale ( = valley) eg Merivale, Bowenvale
mere ( = lake or pond) eg Windermere, Flaxmere
ton (= town) eg Ashburton
ville (= town) eg Helensville
cester/chester (= city) eg Manchester, Cirencester
...
water (maybe = body of water eg a lake)
(We have a Lake Clearwater here, named by the British settlers 150 years ago, no doubt). To me it sounds like a tautology...
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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 2 mins (2003-12-05 03:38:36 GMT)
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Examples: Brightwater, Stillwater, Linkwater - all placenames. Associated with inlets and estuaries here.
I have seen Bayswater as a streetname...
land eg Scotland, Maryland
vale ( = valley) eg Merivale, Bowenvale
mere ( = lake or pond) eg Windermere, Flaxmere
ton (= town) eg Ashburton
ville (= town) eg Helensville
cester/chester (= city) eg Manchester, Cirencester
...
water (maybe = body of water eg a lake)
(We have a Lake Clearwater here, named by the British settlers 150 years ago, no doubt). To me it sounds like a tautology...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 2 mins (2003-12-05 03:38:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Examples: Brightwater, Stillwater, Linkwater - all placenames. Associated with inlets and estuaries here.
I have seen Bayswater as a streetname...
Discussion