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Rockford

Rockford

19 3.6
A city in northern Illinois on the Rock River
  • proper noun
  • /ˈrɒkfərd/
: Rockford
  • For the reunion in Rockford, there would be only one.
  • Rockford, Illinois
  • Rockford, IL, USA
  • Rockford area

And then two more talks, both of them out at Rockford University towards the end of the month.

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Examples

  • The identification of cases was enhanced by intense media coverage in the Rockford area.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Common food items, restaurants, and other recreational parks in Rockford were not risk factors.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And there are two things that came out of Rockford that are famous.

  • And then two more talks, both of them out at Rockford University towards the end of the month.

  • I'm taking you to Rockford, where my cousin's the sheriff.

  • Four of the children were from Rockford, Illinois, and one child was a resident of Wisconsin.

    Academic text (1998)
  • They'd bought a little house not too far from her parents in Rockford and were very happy.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • You know, I'm from Rockford, IL, you know, my parents are from Ghana and West Africa.

  • Chorus Mentor Paul Laprade is the director of Choral Activities at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL.

    Academic text (2004)
  • I'm originally from Rockford, Illinois.

Surface Forms

Rockford main

Morphology

Rockford = rock + ford (semi-transparent) = rock + ford

The components 'rock' + 'ford' are clear, but as a proper place name the word refers to a city and does not denote a generic 'rocky river crossing', so learners cannot fully derive the sense 'city' from the parts alone.

Etymology

Rockford comes from the two simple English words rock and ford, because the town began at a rocky 'ford', a 'shallow place to cross a river' on the Rock River, which is why the city is named Rockford.