adelaide

adelaide — noun

1. Adelaide is the main city and government centre of South Australia, sitting on t

1.noun
Definition

Adelaide is the main city and government centre of South Australia, sitting on the southern coast between rolling hills and the sea, and is known for its parks, wine regions, and arts festivals.

Example

Jin flew from Tokyo to Adelaide to visit his grandmother last winter.

place name used after 'to' for destination

The train from Melbourne to Adelaide takes about eleven hours through dry farmland.

city name as endpoint of a journey

Common collocations
  • live in Adelaide
  • fly to Adelaide
  • north of Adelaide
  • downtown Adelaide
  • the city of Adelaide

Grammar Patterns

used as a place name without 'the'

Usage Note

Always capitalised and used without an article. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense names a place, so it usually appears after prepositions like 'in', 'to', 'from', 'near'.

Common Mistakes

I live in the Adelaide.
I live in Adelaide.
city names take no article in English.
adelaide is hot in summer.
Adelaide is hot in summer.
proper nouns must always be capitalised.

2. Adelaide is a female first name with German roots that means roughly "of noble k

2.noun
Definition

Adelaide is a female first name with German roots that means roughly "of noble kind," and was popular among European royalty in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Example

Adelaide laughed when her little brother spilled juice all over the picnic blanket.

first name as the subject of a sentence

My great-grandmother Adelaide grew up on a small farm in the south of France.

first name in apposition after a family role

Common collocations
  • named Adelaide
  • Aunt Adelaide
  • Lady Adelaide
  • young Adelaide
Synonyms
  • Adela

    older Germanic form of the same root

  • Adeline

    French diminutive often used as an alternative spelling

Grammar Patterns

used as a personal first name

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: a person's name will appear with verbs of speech, action, or feeling (laugh, ask, tell), while the city name appears mainly with prepositions of place. Common nicknames include Addie, Della, and Heidi.

Common Mistakes

I met an Adelaide last week.
I met someone called Adelaide last week.
first names usually do not take 'an' unless you mean 'a person named X'.
adelaide brought the cake.
Adelaide brought the cake.
personal names must be capitalised.

Word family

  • Adelaidean
    adjective
  • Adelaidean
    noun

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the city of Adelaide
  • the port of Adelaide
  • the suburbs of Adelaide

Phrases

  • born in Adelaide
  • based in Adelaide
  • named after Queen Adelaide

Prepositions

  • in Adelaide
  • to Adelaide
  • from Adelaide
  • near Adelaide

Etymology

Old High GermanOld FrenchEnglish

The name comes from the Old Germanic words 'adal' meaning noble and 'heid' meaning kind or sort, joined to mean roughly 'of noble kind'. It travelled through medieval French as 'Adelais' before settling into English as Adelaide. The Australian city was founded in 1836 and named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the German-born wife of the British king William IV.