woodstock
woodstock Lexical Profile
• noun
American A landmark music and art festival held in August 1969 on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, which became a defining cultural event of the 1960s hippie counterculture.
"Hundreds of thousands of young people traveled to upstate New York to attend Woodstock in the summer of 1969."
American A town in Ulster County, New York, United States, historically famous as an active artists' colony and serving as the namesake for the iconic 1969 music festival.
"Many musicians and artists moved to Woodstock in the late 1960s seeking a creative and bohemian community."
British A market town in Oxfordshire, England, located northwest of Oxford, renowned historically as a royal residence and the site of Blenheim Palace.
"We spent the afternoon exploring the antique shops in Woodstock before touring the grounds of Blenheim Palace."
Word Nuance & Usage
Though officially the name of a town in New York, 'Woodstock' is most famously used as a synecdoche for the 1969 music festival, which was actually held roughly 40 miles away in Bethel, New York.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'wudu' (wood) and 'stoc' (place or settlement). It was historically used as a place name in England before being adopted for locations in North America.