Parkersburg

4 5.8

A city in northwest West Virginia on the Ohio River

proper noun
/ˈpɑrkərzbɜrg/

: Parkersburg

I began attending the First Congregational Church (Ed's former church) of Parkersburg shortly after moving here and have recently accepted Christ into my life.
Parkersburg, W.Va
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Parkersburg, WV

And it wasn't just Parkersburg or West Virginia.

Examples

President Bush made that point himself on April 5, 2005, when he paid a visit to the offices of the Bureau of the Public Debt in Parkersburg, W.Va.

Blog text (8)
On our map, Parkersburg is located right along the Ohio River, making it a scenic spot.
I... I had to go to Parkersburg.

Dark Waters (2019)
The firm sent me over from Parkersburg.

Laughing Sinners (1931)
Moving to Parkersburg has been a blessing beyond description for our family.

Blog text (3)
They come over from Parkersburg every other Saturday night.

Laughing Sinners (1931)
Well, my mom's from West Virginia, uh, from a town, Parkersburg.

Dark Waters (2019)
We had never even considered Parkersburg until this happened, but for some reason, I began to feel my heart pointing us towards Parkersburg at that time.

Blog text (3)
My grandmother's from Parkersburg.

Dark Waters (2019)
She said when she was in high school in 1987, she and her boyfriend were driving to the top of Quincy Hill, which is the highest location in Parkersburg.

The Mothman Legacy (2020)

Surface Forms

Parkersburg main

Morphology

Parkersburg = Parker + burg (semi-transparent) = parker + burg

Formed from the surname 'Parker' + '-burg' meaning 'town'; the structure signals a place named after Parker, but '-burg' as 'town' may not be familiar or fully productive for all learners.

Etymology

Parkersburg comes from the family name Parker plus the ending -burg, which means 'town'. So Parkersburg simply means 'Parker's town', which is why it is the name of a city on the Ohio River.