English Explanatory Dictionary

Risley

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A placename:
  2. A suburban area in Warrington borough, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ6592).
  3. A village and civil parish (served by Risley with Hopwell Parish Council) in Erewash borough, Derbyshire, England (OS grid ref SK4635).
  4. A habitational surname from Old English.
noun
  1. A circus performer who performs antipodism, lying on the back while carrying burdens on the feet.

Word forms

Risley Risleys Wrisley

Etymology

From Old English hrīs (“twig, branch; brushwood”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to rice + -ley (“lea”). The circus term comes from the name of Richard Risley Carlisle (1814–1874), who developed this kind of act in the United States.

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