Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A river in the eastern United States that flows along the borders of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
  • proper noun An unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
  • proper noun A village in Vermilion County, Illinois, USA.
  • proper noun astronomy The asteroid (1345) Potomac.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun term sometimes used to refer to Washington, D.C.
  • noun a river in the east central United States; rises in West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains and flows eastward, forming the boundary between Maryland and Virginia, to the Chesapeake Bay

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The name Potomac is a European spelling of an Algonquian name which supposedly means "river of swans." Other accounts say the name means "place where people trade" or "the place to which tribute is brought". The natives called the river above the falls Cohongorooton, translated as "river of geese", and that area was renowned in early years for an abundance of both geese and swans. The spelling of the name has been simplified over the years from Patawomeke to Patowmack in the 18th century and now Potomac. The river's name was officially decided upon as Potomac by the Board on Geographic Names in 1931.

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Examples

  • ROLAND S. MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYS.: For those of us not in the Beltway, this is what you guys call the Potomac two-step.

    CNN Transcript Mar 17, 2009 2009

  • For now, we are in Virginia, because of course, Virginia is one of three spots holding either elections -- holding elections, primaries on Tuesday, what we call the Potomac primary: Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. So, also some breaking news we want to tell you about.

    CNN Transcript Feb 10, 2008 2008

  • We have the -- what we call the Potomac primary coming up in Virginia.

    CNN Transcript Feb 6, 2008 2008

  • Regardless, the foundation spent more than $500,000 on architects, environmental and real estate specialists, and even a public relations agency to produce and promote what it calls Potomac River Green.

    NYT > Home Page By EUGENE L. MEYER 2011

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

  • Nick Chaconas, a Maryland real estate agent, said he was one week from completing a foreclosure deal for one client, who was buying a $470,000 fixer-upper in Potomac, when an e-mail arrived putting the deal on the skids.

    Buyers anxiously await foreclosure deals to go through Dina ElBoghdady 2010

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