referring to the owner of the villa. However, in old French, the P was sometimes replaced by a B, and Perwin would then be Berwin, and Ber means 'bear', which could be referring to the presence of bears in the region when it was covered with forests. Ber means also 'baron', which would be the adviser of the sovereign. Win could originate from the word wez, which means 'pond' in Walloon. The conclusion would then be a pond where bears came for water. A second possibility for the origin of the word is from Latin, when the village was called Villers-le-Perwin, Villers-le-Pewyn,or Villers-le-Perwez. Perwin would be derived from the word pervium coming itself from per viam 'near the road'. Personalities The well-known violinist Arthur Grumiaux was born in Villers-Perwin in one of the houses of the Place Commandant Bultot. References Former municipalities of Hainaut (province)