Osnabrück

name

Etymology: From German Osnabrück, from Old Saxon Osnabrugga (literally “bridge of the Osna”), an old name for the river Hase. This name goes back to an earlier *Ausana, an older Pre-Germanic name for the river, said to be an Old European hydronym, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *av- (“watercourse”), extended with -s. However, compare Proto-Germanic *ausaną (“to scoop up”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-. Doublet of osnaburg.

1. An independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany.
2. A rural district of Lower Saxony, Germany, partially surrounding but not including the city of Osnabrück, which nevertheless serves as its administrative seat.