The high street is the main shopping road of a town. On the high street.
The high in it means chief rather than elevated, which is the older sense of the word. The high street is also used to mean ordinary retail, as against luxury or online.
1nounhigh streetThe main shopping road of a town.
“The high street lost eleven shops in two years.”
high street is a road.
Old English heahstraet means the chief road, where high meant principal rather than elevated.
Old English
hēahstrǣt — high road
Middle English
high strete
English, today
high street
From Middle English high strete, highestrete, haye-strete, hye strete, heiȝe strete, from Old English hēahstrǣt (“high road”), equivalent to high + street.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in In the City