How Do You Spell KINSTON?

Pronunciation: [kˈɪnstən] (IPA)

The spelling of the word "Kinston", a city in North Carolina, can be explained by using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonetic transcription. In IPA, the word is spelled as /ˈkɪns.tən/, where the symbol "ˈ" denotes primary stress on the first syllable "kin", "ɪ" represents the short "i" sound in "bid" and "sit", "n" is pronounced as in "no" and "tən" is pronounced with a schwa vowel sound, similar to the "a" in "sofa". Thus, the correct pronunciation of "Kinston" is "KIN-stən".

Etymology of KINSTON

The word "Kinston" is believed to have originated from the combination of the surnames of two prominent landowners in the area during the early settlement of North Carolina. In the early 1700s, two men named King and Kinsey acquired land near the Neuse River in what is now Lenoir County, North Carolina. Over time, their landholdings merged, and a small village developed in the area. Eventually, the village was named Kingston, likely as a blend of the two surnames. However, in 1784, during the process of incorporating the town, an administrative error led to the dropping of the second "g" in the name. Since then, the town has been officially known as Kinston.