Why are highways called highways?

Question

my class was asking the quieston to the teacher and the teacher told us to look it at ask.com or yahoo answers so.....

Answer 1

Its short for interstate highway when they were being built.

Answer 2

Originally the main road through an area was elevated, so that people traveling on it could see ahead and behind them and notice if anyone was approaching them, perhaps to rob them, for instance.  Such robbers were called "highwaymen", in fact.  Not entirely sure of this, but believe it dates to at least the middle ages.

From there, highway came to mean any "main road" going through an area, as opposed to little paths or local roads of no consequence.

Answer 3

As I understand it, it comes from the early creation of paved roads (starting with the Romans).  They were built up by laying down a road bed of gravel, small rocks, dirt and paved with stones.  This would make them "higher" than other roads or paths.  I've also read that it has to do with "high" meaning something better or important- so it would be a main or highly significant road.

Answer 4

Why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?

Answer 5

Because you drive at 'high speeds' on the 'high'way.

High = High Speed

Way = Path or Road

Answer 6

High-Speeds?

Answer 7

HIGH speeds. and they are a WAY of getting somewhere.

Answer 8

several hundred years ago roads that a government built were physically higher than other roads (as not to be wash out every time it rained) . the were normally dome shaped so the water could run off. other roads were flat or dipped and were mostly impassable in wet conditions

Answer 9

Jim Morrison came up with the name...

Answer 10

i can't answer that but it makes me think hmmm.... why

Answer 11

They are high-speed ways.

Answer 12

highways are called highways because if they were called lowways....... hmmmmm well, you got me on that one. im starring this to find out though.

Answer 13

The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System (or simply, the Interstate System), is a network of highways (also called freeways or expressways) in the United States that is named for the president who was in office and championed its creation.

Answer 14

Freeways=Highways

Answer 15

roads in acnient time were built to be higher than the surrounding land in order to keep it drier when it rained so wagons and carts wouldn't get stuck in the mud. the ancient romans built their highways out of paving stones  with the center of the road higher than the edged to drain off rain water.