Etymology
The first character in the city's name (宁 or 寧) means "serene", while its second character (波) translates to "waves". Together, the name literally means "Serene Waves". The city is abbreviated Yǒng (甬), after the Yong Hill (甬山), a prominent coastal hill near the city, like the Yong River (甬江) that flows through Ningbo. The abbreviation Ning is used more commonly for Nanjing.
It was once named "明州" (Míngzhōu). The character Ming (明) was composed by two parts, representing two lakes inside the city wall, i.e., the Sun Lake (日湖) and the Moon Lake (月湖), but only Moon Lake remains.
Read more about this topic: Ningbo
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)