avon

IPA/ˈeɪvɒn/
KK[ˈevɑn]IPA/ˈeɪvɑːn/

avon — noun

1. a former local-government region in the southwest of England, set up in 1974 aro

1.noun
Definition

a former local-government region in the southwest of England, set up in 1974 around Bristol and Bath and abolished in 1996 when its land was split among neighbouring authorities.

Example

My mother was born in Bath when the area was still part of Avon.

historical reference: 'when ... was part of Avon'

The old road signs around Bristol still show the name Avon in places.

proper noun used as a place label

Common collocations
  • former county of Avon
  • Avon County Council
  • abolished in 1996

Usage Note

Often referred to as 'the former county of Avon' in modern writing, since the unit no longer exists. Distinguish from senses 2-4, which are rivers, and sense 5, which is a person's title.

Common Mistakes

I live in Avon, England.
I live in Bristol, in the area that used to be called Avon.
Avon stopped being a county in 1996, so people no longer give it as a current address.

2. a river of about 154 km in the middle of England, starting in Northamptonshire,

2.noun
Definition

a river of about 154 km in the middle of England, starting in Northamptonshire, passing through the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and joining the River Severn near Tewkesbury. It is famous for its link to William Shakespeare.

Example

Tourists feed the swans on the Avon at Stratford every summer afternoon.

the Avon at [town] — locating phrase

Shakespeare is sometimes called 'the Bard of Avon' because he was born beside this river.

fixed phrase: the Bard of Avon

Common collocations
  • the Bard of Avon
  • Stratford-upon-Avon
  • rowing on the Avon
Synonyms
  • Warwickshire Avon

    more precise label used to separate this Avon from the Bristol and Wiltshire rivers

Grammar Patterns

the Avon

Usage Note

Almost always used with the definite article ('the Avon'). When the context isn't clear, English speakers add the location to avoid confusion with the other Avon rivers — for example, 'the Warwickshire Avon' or 'the Avon at Stratford'.

Common Mistakes

We sailed on Avon last weekend.
We sailed on the Avon last weekend.
English river names take 'the' before them.

3. a river of about 121 km in the southwest of England, beginning in Gloucestershir

3.noun
Definition

a river of about 121 km in the southwest of England, beginning in Gloucestershire, running through the city of Bristol, and emptying into the Bristol Channel at the small port of Avonmouth.

Example

From Clifton Suspension Bridge you can look straight down at the Avon flowing through its deep gorge.

the Avon as a sight from a landmark

Cargo ships still travel up the Avon to reach the docks at Bristol.

up the Avon — directional collocation

Common collocations
  • the Avon at Bristol
  • Avonmouth
  • Bristol Channel
Synonyms
  • Bristol Avon

    the usual name when speakers need to be clear which Avon they mean

Grammar Patterns

the Avon

Usage Note

Often called 'the Bristol Avon' in maps and guidebooks, to set it apart from the Avon at Stratford (sense 2) and the Avon in Wiltshire (sense 4). Always takes 'the'.

Common Mistakes

The Avon River goes through Stratford and Bristol.
There are different rivers called the Avon
one goes through Stratford, another through Bristol.' — three separate rivers in England share the name; they are not the same waterway.

4. a river of about 105 km in the south of England, beginning in Wiltshire and runn

4.noun
Definition

a river of about 105 km in the south of England, beginning in Wiltshire and running south past Salisbury before it reaches the English Channel at the seaside town of Christchurch.

Example

Anglers come from across the country to fish for trout in the Avon near Salisbury.

fish in the Avon — typical activity

The cathedral at Salisbury rises right beside the gentle waters of the Avon.

beside the Avon — locative

Common collocations
  • the Hampshire Avon
  • fishing on the Avon
  • Salisbury and the Avon
Synonyms
  • Hampshire Avon

    common alternative name, especially in fishing contexts

  • Salisbury Avon

    used when the speaker wants to anchor the river to its best-known city

Grammar Patterns

the Avon

Usage Note

Often labelled 'the Hampshire Avon' or 'the Salisbury Avon' in writing about fishing or geography, since three English rivers share the name Avon and learners can easily mix them up.

Common Mistakes

Salisbury sits on the same Avon as Stratford.
Salisbury and Stratford each sit on a river called the Avon, but they are not the same river.
the name Avon is shared by separate rivers in different parts of England.

5. the noble title given to Anthony Eden, the British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1

5.noun
Definition

the noble title given to Anthony Eden, the British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957, who became the first Earl of Avon after he stepped down from office.

Example

Anthony Eden was made the first Earl of Avon shortly after he resigned as Prime Minister in 1957.

be made the Earl of Avon — title-granting frame

The library at school keeps a thin grey biography of the Earl of Avon on the top shelf.

the Earl of Avon — definite-article noun phrase

Common collocations
  • the Earl of Avon
  • first Earl of Avon
  • Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

Earl of Avon

Usage Note

Always written as 'the Earl of Avon', with 'the' and capital E. Used mainly in historical or political writing about Britain in the 1950s; in everyday speech, people simply say 'Anthony Eden'.

Common Mistakes

Earl of Avon won the election in 1955.
Anthony Eden, later the Earl of Avon, won the election in 1955.
the Avon title was granted after he left office, not before.

Word family

  • Avonian
    adjective
  • Stratford-upon-Avon
    noun
  • Avonmouth
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All four are well-known rivers of England, but each has its own identity. The Avon is actually three separate rivers that share a name, the most famous being the one that flows through Stratford and is linked with Shakespeare. The Severn is the longest river in Britain and is the larger waterway that the Stratford Avon flows into. The Thames is the river of London and the south-east, much wider and far more associated with politics and trade than the Avon. The Trent crosses the middle and north of England and is mainly known for industry and power stations. So a sentence like 'We rowed down the Avon at Stratford' fits sense 2 here, but 'We sailed up the Thames into central London' or 'A coal barge moved slowly along the Trent' would call for the other names instead.

Avon ↗SevernThames ↗Trent ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Avon County Council
  • Stratford-upon-Avon
  • the Bard of Avon
  • Earl of Avon
  • Avonmouth

Phrases

  • the former county of Avon
  • the Bristol Avon
  • the Hampshire Avon
  • the Warwickshire Avon

Prepositions

  • on the Avon
  • along the Avon
  • down the Avon
  • up the Avon
  • beside the Avon

Etymology

Common Brittonic (Celtic)Old EnglishModern English

The name Avon comes from an old British (Celtic) word 'abona', simply meaning 'river'. When later peoples settled in Britain and asked the local Britons what a stream was called, the answer they heard was the Celtic word for 'river' itself, and that word was then adopted as a proper name. This is why several different rivers across Britain ended up with the same name: each was once just 'the river' to the people who lived nearby. The same root also lies behind the modern Welsh word 'afon', which still means 'river' today.