Editing Zonhoven (section)

==Toponymy==
The place name 'Zonhoven' means 'water-rich, low-lying (marsh) land close to or along the watercourse the Son'<ref>{{aut|J. Mertens}} and {{aut|[[Jos Molemans|J. Molemans]]}}, ''Toponymie van Zonhoven. Historisch-naamkundige studie'', Zonhoven,published by the city council, 1982, 208 en 279-282</ref>
The current name came about partly through folk etymology. At a certain point in history, language users were no longer aware of the original meaning of the old name Sonuwe. They then freely interpreted the name based on its word form (son- sounds like zon- and -uwe sounds somewhat like -hoven), resulting in Zonhoven. To understand the place name, one must listen to the local pronunciation /sōnəvə/ rather than looking at the written form Zonhoven.<ref>P. Daniëls in “Het Daghet in den Oosten” 1885-1986, 1, 4-6.</ref><ref>J. Molemans, "De nederzettingsnamen in het land van Vogelzang" in Naamkunde 1982, afl. 1-2, 17-45.</ref>

The word element 'zon-' refers to the Son. This is an old name for the Zonderikbeek, a stream that flows through Zonhoven and partially shapes the landscape of the municipality, but which is known to Zonhoven residents as the Roosterbeek. Contrary to common belief, the first part of the place name Zonhoven does not refer to the sun as a star. As a result of this misunderstanding, several businesses, schools, and sports clubs have incorporated the prefixes 'zon-' or 'sun-' into their names and depicted the sun or a sundial in their logos. Examples include the primary school De Zonnewijzer, the beer Zonderik, café 't Zonnehof, and the baseball club Sunville Tigers. The sun is also incorporated into the coat of arms and flag of Zonhoven.
The element '-hoven' traces back to '-ouwe', which means 'alluvial land'. It refers to the valley of the Zonderikbeek. In the past, it was suspected that '-hoven' referred to 'hof', meaning 'estate' or 'farm'. Consequently, 'the farm of the Zon family' was a possible explanation for the name Zonhoven,<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160304123829/http://www.rotary-houthalen.be/ned/zonhoven.html</ref> but this explanation has since been rejected