Wichita Falls

4 3.6

A city in north central Texas near the Oklahoma border

proper noun
/ˈwɪtʃɪtɔː fɔːlz/

: Wichita Falls

My family and I visited Wichita Falls to explore its beautiful parks and local attractions.

Examples

The annual hot air balloon festival in Wichita Falls attracts visitors from all over Texas.
I visited Wichita Falls last summer.
A strong storm caused flooding in Wichita Falls last summer.
She grew up in Wichita Falls before moving to Dallas for college.
Have you ever been to Wichita Falls?
The annual rodeo in Wichita Falls, Texas, attracts thousands of visitors every summer.
When driving through north Texas, you can't miss the signs for Wichita Falls, a vibrant city near the Oklahoma border.

Surface Forms

Wichita Falls main

Morphology

Wichita + falls

The form 'Wichita Falls' transparently combines a place-name element with 'falls', so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it refers to a locality (likely associated with waterfalls). However, the specific identification as a city in north central Texas (and its exact location) is world-knowledge beyond the literal parts: proper nouns are referential and do not fully reveal the precise referent, making the expression only partially predictable.

Etymology

Wichita Falls may come from the name of the local Wichita people and a small waterfall, the falls, on the Wichita River. The town grew by that waterfall, so the name now points to the city by the 'falls' of the Wichita people.