Anne

From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). Occasionally reborrowed from languages who adopted the name from English. Very infrequently from Estonian abbreviation of Anna instead. Doublet of Ann, Ana, Anna, and Hannah. Compare John.

Immortal God, that savedest Susanne / From false blame; and thou merciful maid, / Mary I mean, the daughter to Saint Anne, /Before whose child the angels sing Osanne,

1380s-1390s, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale

"What do you think they are going to name the baby? Anne; after her and her mamma. So very ugly a name!"
"I don't think so," said Mr Carlyle. "It is simple and unpretending. I like it much. Look at the long, pretentious names in our family - Archibald! Cornelia! And yours, too - Barbara! What a mouthful they all are!"

1860, Mrs Henry Wood (Ellen Wood), East Lynne, Kessinger Publishing, published 2004, →ISBN, page 29:

"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an e."
"What difference does it make how it's spelled?" asked Marilla with another rusty smile as she picked up the teapot.
"Oh, it makes such a difference. It looks so much nicer. When you hear a name pronounced can't you always see it in your mind, just as if it was printed out? I can, and A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished."

1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of the Green Gables:


Anne

A shortened form of any of various Germanic masculine names which began with arn (eagle), such as Arnold.

(very rare) A male given name from the Germanic languages, of mainly French and Frisian usage, see Anne Robert Jacques Turgot


Jewish

en-adj

Jewish (comparative more Jewish, superlative most Jewish)

more Jewish (comparative)
most Jewish (superlative)
Juish (alternative)
juish (alternative)

From Jew + -ish. Compare Middle English Judewissh (“Jewish”), Old English Iūdēisċ (“Jewish”), Dutch joodsch, joods (“Jewish”), German jüdisch (“Jewish”), Danish jødisk (“Jewish”), Swedish judisk (“Jewish”), Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (judaiwisks, “Jewish”). See also Yiddish.

cog

The roots of American Jewry are not in the Middle East but in Europe—their Jewish style, their strong Jewish words, their strong nostalgia, their actual, weighable history, all this issues from their European origins. Grandpa did not hail from Haifa—he was a Jewish humanist, a spiritual, believing Jew, who complained not in an antique tongue called Hebrew but in colorful, rich, vernacular Yiddish.

1993, Philip Roth, Operation Shylock, page 47:

Although I did know that my Jewish name was Yiddish, the rabbi who first taught me Hebrew in the 1960s insisted that we all have Hebrew and not Yiddish names

2007, Laura Levitt, American Jewish Loss After the Holocaust, page 69:

2012, Aya Elyada, A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany, Stanford University Press:


Jewish

The Statue of Liberty. A French gift with a poem made by a Jewish.

2022 November 26, ArgieSocDem, Twitter, archived from the original on 2022-12-09:

(non-native speakers' English, proscribed) A Jew.


Jewish

Joods

informal term for Yiddish — see also Yiddish

I can't speak Jewish; I can't even understand it.

quoted in 1947, William Lloyd Warner, Leo Srole, The Social Systems of American Ethnic Groups (page 232)

(informal, proscribed) The Yiddish or Hebrew language.

We believe that although he speaks Jewish, he speaks Russian quite badly and pretentiously.

2005 November 17, John Doyle Klier, Imperial Russia's Jewish Question, 1855-1881, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 57:

After a day servicing commercial refrigeration through the five boroughs, Dad would bring home a story of a Chinese waiter on Second Avenue who “speaks Jewish like a Galitzianer,” or of a Mafioso in a Queens fruit market who “has such yiddisher taam, I call him Rabbi Zino.”

2009, Martin S. Jaffee, The End of Jewish Radar: Snapshots of a Postethnic American Judaism, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 115:

A Jew wearing a cap with a visor and a red scarf around his neck is answering a Jewish woman who has addressed him in Polish: “One speaks Jewish aboard the Jewish tram”. Another butts in: “What about in Hebrew?” “In Hebrew as well”.
[…] The Jews in Wereszczyn spoke Jewish amongst themselves, and Polish with us. They had their own Jewish accent, but they had a pretty good grasp of the Polish language.

2012 August 6, Ewa Kurek, Polish-Jewish Relations 1939-1945: Beyond the Limits of Solidarity, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 215:


Jason

From the Ancient Greek Ἰάσων (Iásōn), from ἰάομαι (iáomai, “I heal”). The Jason mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 17:5-9, Romans 16:21) is probably a Greek rendering of Joshua.

And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 17:6-7:

The new prince left the hospital today. My father is hoping that he will be called George, after him. My mother said that it's time the Royal Family came up to date and called the Prince Brett or Jason.

1984, Sue Townsend, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole, Methuen, published 1985, →ISBN, page 49:


Rodger

/ˈɹɒd͡ʒə(ɹ)/

A male given name from the Germanic languages; a spelling variant of Roger reinforced by the surname.


Johan

An archaic variant of Joan, from Old French Johan, from Latin Johanna.

William, the youthful heir, grew up, married and died, as we have already seen, of the sweating sickness, leaving only a daughter named Johan or Jennett, who was but two months old at his death […]

1893, Frank Peel, Spen Valley, Past and Present, Senior and Co, published 1893, page 64:


Katie

Katies (plural)
Catie (alternative)
Caty (alternative)
Katy (alternative)

There is one Emily, one Charlotte, no Catherine, but two Kates, and innumerable Katies, which seems to be the latest form that Catherine has taken—Catherine, Kate, Katie.

1890 August 8, “Girls’ Names Change. The Decline of Susan, Mary, Jane and All the Old Favorites.”, in Benj[amin] H. Sincell, editor, The Republican, volume 14, number 25, Oakland, Md., →ISSN, →OCLC, page [3], column 3:

And "Mable"'s a name that ever sounds sweetly / And charms and enchants a mortal completely / While "Katie" suggests brown eyes and brown tresses / Created for love and lover's caresses.

1892 Walter Malone, Narcissus: and Other Poems, J.B.Lippincott Company 1892, page 133 ("Mary")

A diminutive of the female given name Catherine or any of its variant spellings.


Shraddha

Borrowed from Sanskrit श्रद्धा (śraddhā, “faith”).

A female given name from Sanskrit used in India and Nepal


Garfield

Also Garfeld, from Old English gār (“spear”) + feld (“field”).

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Ivan

From Russian Ива́н (Iván), and from Ivan in several Slavic languages. Doublet of John and its relatives Evan, Giovanni, Ian, Johann, and Sean, etc.

Amy's husband was called Ivan. Ivan the Terrible, Barry always called him, naturally. 'Ivan? What kind of name is that?' he said to Tracy after Amy's engagement was announced. 'Bloody Russian.'
'Actually, I think it's because he had a Norwegian grandfather', Tracy said.
'Norwegian?' Barry said incredulously, as if she'd just announced that Ivan's family came from the moon.

2010, Kate Atkinson, Started Early, took My Dog, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 66:

A male given name from Russian of English speakers.

Ива́н Иван#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Ива́н (Iván).

A transliteration of the Belarusian male given name Іва́н (Iván).

A transliteration of the Ukrainian male given name Іва́н (Iván)

A transliteration of the Macedonian male given name Иван (Ivan).


Ivan

Rare variant of Evan, from Welsh Ifan, the Welsh equivalent of John.

Dafydd ap Ivan ap Einion, an adherent to the house of Lancaster held out, in Harlech Castle, for nine years after the accession of Edward the Fourth to the throne of England.

1833, George Newenham Wright, Scenes in North Wales, T. T. and J. Tegg, page 137:

A male given name from Welsh of Welsh origin.


empirical formula

en-noun

empirical formula (plural empirical formulas or empirical formulae)

empirical formulas (plural)
empirical formulae (plural)

The molecular formula for ethane is C₂H₆, while the empirical formula is CH₃.

(chemistry) A notation indicating the ratios of the various elements present in a compound, without regard to the actual numbers.

實驗式 /实验式

a notation indicating the ratios of the various elements present in a compound


molecular formula

molecular formula (plural molecular formulas or molecular formulae)

molecular formulas (plural)
molecular formulae (plural)

(chemistry) A notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in one molecule of a substance.

分子式

a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule


Matthew

Matthews (plural)
Mathew (alternative)
Matt. (alternative)
Matth. (alternative)

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.

cog

מַתִּתְיָהוּ

- - - My name is Matthew Bramble, at your service. The truth is, I have a foolish pique at the name of Matthew, because it savours of those canting hypocrites, who in Cromwell's time, christened all their children by names taken from the Scripture."

1771, Tobias George Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Harper&Brothers, published 1836, page 231:

People with incorruptible names like Matthew are always calling people named Charles, Charlie. I wish my folks had named me Matthew. Matt is the worst that can be made of it.

1979 Charles Kuralt, Dateline America, Harcourt Brace Jovanocich, page 184

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Ichabod

From Biblical Hebrew אִיכָבוֹד (ʾīḵāḇōḏ, literally “no honor”), from אִי (ʾī, “not”) + כָּבוֹד (kāḇōḏ, “honor”); alluding to 1 Samuel 4:21, where Eli’s daughter-in-law names her child Ichabod, saying ‘The glory is departed from Israel.’


McCune-Reischauer

Created in 1937 by George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer.

Revised Romanization of Korean
Revised Romanization of Korean

One of the three main systems of Romanization used for Korean (the others being Revised Romanization of Korean and Yale romanization).


Haskell

* The programming language is named after American logician Haskell Curry (1900–1982).
* As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Askell, from Old Norse Áskell. Compare Axtell, Askin, Haskin, Hasty, Astin.
* As a surname in the Isle of Man, a variant of Castell, itself related to the above.
* As a Jewish surname, from Khaskl, a Yiddish form of Yeḥezqel, see Ezekiel.

named-after

Hascall (alternative)
Heiskell (alternative)


Mecca

From Arabic مَكَّة (Makka) of uncertain etymology. In American place names, in reference to the Arabian city.

Macca (alternative)
Makka (alternative)
Makkah (alternative)
Mekka (alternative)
Makkah al-Mukarramah (alternative)

Mrs. Mecca Marie Varney and son are successful lecturers and debaters on various topics of current interest, such as suffrage, etc. Her home is in Paw Paw, Mich. Her lectures are managed by her husband, Charles E. Varney.

1912, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, page 107:

Just then, a young boy—named Mecca, as we learned later—arrived at the scene with the flight attendants who had been escorting him to his parents. In the midst of the frantic feeding of the protein bar, Mecca quietly announced:

2020, Born This Way Foundation reporters, Lady Gaga, Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community, Feiwel & Friends, →ISBN:

(uncommon) A unisex given name, mostly borne by women.


Earthling

Earthlings (plural)
earthling (alternative)

From earth + -ling (suffix indicating a resident); earth is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”). Old English ierþling (“farmer, husbandman, ploughman”, literally “one of the earth”) is formed from the same roots but generally did not outlive Old English; all modern uses are historical: see earthling. Compare also human, which is derived from Latin humus (“ground, soil”).

noncog

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth. [from 20th c.]

أَرْضِيّ

Mercurian · Venusian · Lunarian · Marsling

Jupiterian · Saturnian · Uranian · Neptunian · Plutonian


Slavic

It is a commonly known fact that formal marks of perfective aspect in Slavic are prefixes.

Any of various languages spoken by the Slavic peoples, such as Proto-Slavic, Common Slavic, Old Church Slavic, or the modern Slavic languages.


Ginny

Ginnys (plural)
Ginnies (plural)
Ginni (alternative)
Ginnie (alternative)
Ginney (alternative)

A diminutive of the female given names Virginia or Ginevra.


Jessica

First used by William Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice in the early 17th century, probably from Hebrew יִסְכָּה (yiská, “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe version”), a proper name meaning "he will see/behold/look for", the 3ms imperfect form of a verb ultimately from the root ס־כ־ה (s-k-h), itself an alternative form of the root שׂ־כ־ה (ś-k-h), both of which mean "to see, behold, look for".
* By folk etymology seen as an elaborate form of Jessie, from Jane.

der

Lorenzo: In such a night / Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew, / And with an unthrift love did run from Venice, / As far as Belmont.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

She will be beautiful, of course - how could our child not be beautiful? We will name her...Jessica. Yes, that's a good name, not one of those lighter-than-air names so popular among writers of romances and fairy tales. That's a name a real little girl might have.

1996, Tad Williams, The Writer's Child, The Sandman Book of Dreams, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 154:

Jessica. It was, she later thought, a name well suited to whitehaired ladies with bright blue eyes.

2015, Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:


Sanskrit

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit संस्कृत (saṃskṛtá, “perfected, prepared, constructed, refined”). First use appears c. 1617 in the publications of Samuel Purchas.

lbor

Sanscrit (alternative)
Samskrit (alternative)
Sunscrit (alternative)
Sunskrit (alternative)
Shanscrit (alternative)
Shanskrit (alternative)
Skt. (alternative)

The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps no longer exists...
- Sir William Jones, 2 February, 1786, at the Asiatick Society.

2004, Benjamin W. Fortson IV, “Introduction”, in Indo-European Language and Culture, page 8:

A classical Indo-European language of South Asia, which is the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism.


Earthwoman

One was what had been born in me, what had been inextricably entangled in the structure of the germ cell from which I had been created; the other remembered all the long years on Earth when I, in common with every other Earthman and Earthwoman, had been flexed and shaped by the insistent pounding of the Combine; my brain had been conditioned to believe what it was desired that I should believe, and nothing beyond that.

1934 September, Frank King Kelly, “Famine on Mars”, in Astounding Stories, volume 14, number 1, page 77:

(usually science fiction) A female inhabitant of Earth.


kyūjitai

Transliteration from Japanese 旧(きゅう)字(じ)体(たい) (kyūjitai, literally “old character form”).

ja-r

Coordinate term: shinjitai

Although the kyūjitai kanji were not banned, the obsolete kyūjitai kanji have become unreadable to more and more readers over time, thus making texts including them difficult for modern readers, but at least there is a recognized mapping from new form to old form.

2020, Stewart Arneil, “Encoding Disappearing Characters: The Case of Twentieth-Century Japanese-Canadian Names”, in Journal of the Text Encoding Initiative, number 12, Text Encoding Initiative Consortium, →DOI, →ISSN:

The traditional form of Japanese kanji used before 1947.


Henrietta

en-proper noun

Henrietta (countable and uncountable, plural Henriettas)

Latinate form of French Henriette, derived from the male given name Henry.

Alberta is more like a man's name than any other name that comes from a men's, more than Georgianna which is just like a magnolia blossom or Henrietta which most people change to Etta or Geraldine which nobody ever thinks of coming from a man's Irish name like Gerald.

1936, George Weller, Clutch and Differential, Ayer, published 1970, →ISBN, page 196:

A female given name from the Germanic languages.


Native American

en-noun

Native American (plural Native Americans)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Native American.wav

His name, as given on the records, was Joe Slater, or Slaader, and his appearance was that of the typical denizen of the Catskill Mountain region; one of those strange, repellent scions of a primitive colonial peasant stock whose isolation for nearly three centuries in the hilly fastnesses of a little-travelled countryside has caused them to sink to a kind of barbaric degeneracy, […] their general mental status is probably below that of any other section of the native American people.

1919, H. P. Lovecraft, Beyond the Wall of Sleep:

(dated) A resident of the United States who is not an immigrant. (Often uncapitalized: native American.)


Mattathias

/ˌmætəˈθaɪ.əs/

From the Latin Mattathiās, from the Ancient Greek Μᾰττᾰθῐ́ᾱς (Măttăthĭ́ās), from the Biblical Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū). Doublet of Matthew.

uder

מַתִּתְיָהוּ

Mathathias (alternative)
Matthathias (alternative)

vvho vvas of Matthathias, vvho vvas of Amos, vvho vvas of Naum, vvho vvas of Heſli, vvho vvas of Naggé,

1582, The Nevv Teſtament of Ieſus Chriſt, tranſlated faithfully into Engliſh, out of the authentical Latin (first edition), The Holy Goſpel of Ieſus Chriſt according to Luke iii:25 (page 144)

(rare) A male given name from Hebrew — famously held by:

(Christianity, in Luke’s genealogy of Christ) The son of Amos and father of Joseph, six-times-great–grandfather of Jesus.

vvho vvas of Mahath, vvho vvas of Matthathias, vvho vvas of Semei, vvho vvas of Ioſeph, vvho vvas of Iuda,

1582, The Nevv Teſtament of Ieſus Chriſt, tranſlated faithfully into Engliſh, out of the authentical Latin (first edition), The Holy Goſpel of Ieſus Chriſt according to Luke iii:26 (page 144)

(Christianity, in Luke’s genealogy of Christ) The son of Semei and father of Mahath, twelve-times-great–grandfather of Jesus.

In thoſe dayes aroſe Mathathias the ſonne of Iohn, the ſonne of Simeon, prieſt of the ſonnes of Ioarib from Ieruſalem, and he ſate in the mountayne of Modin: and he had fiue ſonnes, Iohn who was ſurnamed Gaddis: and Simon, who was ſurnamed Thaſi: and Iudas, who was called Machabeus: and Eleazar, who was ſurnamed Abaron: and Ionathan, who was ſurnamed Apphus.

1610, The ſecond tome of the Holie Bible faithfully tranſlated into Engliſh, out of the authentical Latin (first edition), The Firſt Booke of Macabees ii:1–5 (page 896)

(Judaism and Christianity) A Jewish priest featured in the second chapter of 1 Maccabees, instigator of the Maccabean Revolt and progenitor of the Hasmonean dynasty.


Artemis

From Ancient Greek Ἄρτεμις (Ártemis). Further etymology is uncertain.

(rare) A female given name from Ancient Greek, masculine equivalent Artemios.

Mr. HISS. And is Mr. Artemis Denaxas an official of that company?
Mr. ALLARD. I believe he is.
Mr. HISS. I offer as "Exhibit No. 307" a letter of August 22, 1933, by Mr. Artemis Denaxas to Mr. Goulding, […]

1934, United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate the Munitions Industry, Munitions Industry: Hearings Before the Special Committee Investigating the Munitions Industry, United States Senate, Seventy-third[-Seventy-fourth] Congress, Pursuant to S. Res. 206, a Resolution to Make Certain Investigations Concerning the Manufacture and Sale of Arms and Other War Munitions, page 735:

Artemis's father rested one hand on the rolling ladder, lifting his weight from the artificial limb. His expression was strange, and one that Artemis could not recall ever seeing. He realized his father was more than anxious. Artemis Fowl Senior was afraid. […] Now Artemis himself grew worried.

2009, Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

She must give her full attention to the man at her side, Mr. Artemis Boutwell, as she had promised her mother. The young Mr. Artemis Boutwell, as everyone referred to him, was tall like Griffin—no, Mr. Parks. She must remember to refer to him ...

2012, Kristy Dykes, The Tender Heart, Barbour Publishing, →ISBN:

(very rare) A male given name from Ancient Greek.


Athena

From Middle English Athena, from Latin Athēna, from Ancient Greek Ἀθηνᾶ (Athēnâ). Doublet of Athina.


Shaun

A variant of Sean, from Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”).
Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Sean, Shawn, Shane, and Giovanni as a male name.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.


Shawn

A variant of Sean, from Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Jōhannēs, variant of Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥānān, yokhanán, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of Evan, Giovanni, Ian, Ivan, Jack, Jean, Johan, Johann, Johannes, John, Juan, Sean, Shane, and Shaun as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.

doublet

Two weeks later Dot and her girl, who was finally named Shawn, like most girls born that year, came back to work at the scales.

1984, Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine, Bantam Books, published 1987, →ISBN, page 169:

Or take Sean, S-E-A-N. Been spelled like that for about five hundred years. But not them, they've gotta spell it S-H-A-W-N. Like they have a right to that name in the first place.

1996, Tobias Wolff, The Night in Question: Stories, Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 141:

(chiefly US) Alternative form of Shaun, a unisex given name.


Meg

Old Meg was brave as Margaret Queen,
And tall as Amazon:
An old red blanket cloak she wore,
A chip-hat had she on.

My mother thought Meg a sweet child, that's what she called her, a sweet child, although she was critical of her name.
'What kind of name is that,' she said.
'It's short for Margaret,' I said. 'But everyone calls her Meg.'
'Well, that's no name for a girl, that's a scullery maid's name. I fault the mother.'

1985, E. L. Doctorow, World's Fair, Fawcett Crest, published 1986, →ISBN, page 208:

A diminutive of the female given names Margaret or Megan.


Judah

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (yehudá). Doublet of Judas and Yehuda.


Kingdom Hall

A place where Jehovah's Witnesses meet for fellowship and worship.

Salón del Reino de los Testigos de Jehová


synagogue

synagogues (plural)
synagog (alternative)

/ˈsɪ.nəˌɡɒɡ/

/ˈsɪ.nəˌɡɑɡ/

Inherited from Middle English synagoge, from Old French synagoge, from Latin synagōga, from Ancient Greek σῠνᾰγωγή (sŭnăgōgḗ, “assembly, gathering”), from συνάγω (sunágō, “I gather together”), from σῠ́ν (sŭ́n, “with, together”) & ᾰ̓́γω (ắgō, “I lead”). By surface analysis, syn- + -agogue.

der

On Tuesday, Netanyahu and his wife toured Shanghai’s Ohel Moshe synagogue in the Hongkou district that was home to many of the 18,000 Jews granted refuge in Shanghai from the horrors of Nazi persecution.

2013 May 7, “Netanyahu: Jewish people capable of own defense”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-05-25:

(countable, Judaism) A place of worship for Jews or Samaritans.


middle name

First recorded from Harvardiana in 1835.

I go by David but it's my middle name; my full name is William David Mason.

a name between the first given name and the family name or surname; a second or subsequent given name


faculty

From Middle English faculte (“power, property”), from Old French faculte, from Latin facultas (“capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty, stock, goods, property; in Medieval Latin also a body of teachers”), another form of facilitas (“easiness, facility, etc.”), from facul, another form of facilis (“easy, facile”); see facile. Doublet of facility.

der

(Church of England) A licence to make alterations to a church.


Spanglish

Dunglish

mixture of English and Dutch in the Netherlands

Llanito

mixture of English and Spanish in Gibraltar

The Nobel laureate Octavio Paz is said to have had it that Spanglish is “neither good, nor bad, but abominable.”

2021 November 23, John McWhorter, “America Has More Than One Spanglish”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A language blend of English and Spanish spoken by both Latinas, Latinos, and Anglo-Americans.


Engrish

From the mispronunciation of the word English common to Japanese speakers, who have difficulty distinguishing "L" and "R" sounds. The Japanese transliteration of the word "English", イングリッシュ (Ingurisshu) is often used for teaching purposes. In that word, /ɾ/ (romanised as "r") is pronounced instead of the English /l/.

'Why you not teach Engrish more? I must aspeak^([sic]) Engrish.' The Chelsea's resident mad painter was angry at the way Jeremy had been ignoring him.

2003, Bruce L. Russell, Channelling Henry, page 129:

(sometimes derogatory) Ungrammatical, unorthographical or nonsensical English, especially that which is found in East Asia, notably in Japan.


Martian

From Latin Mārtius (“of or relating to the planet Mars”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix). The word is cognate with Middle English marcien, marcyan, mercien (“subject to the influence or power of the planet Mars; relating to the god Mars, that is, warlike”), Middle French martien (“Martian”) (modern French martien), French Martien (“imaginary inhabitant of Mars; any extraterrestrial”), Italian marziano, Latin Mārtiānus (“Martian”), Portuguese marciano, Spanish marciano.

cog

The direct heat of the sun, shining through so thin an atmosphere, must be considerable wherever the sun is at a sufficient elevation; and of course the very tenuity of the air renders vaporization so much the easier, for the boiling point (and consequently all temperatures of evaporation at given rates) would be correspondingly lowered. Accordingly, during the greater part of the Martian day, the hoar frost and whatever light snow might have fallen on the preceding evening would be completely dissolved away, and thus the ruddy earth or the greenish ice-masses of the so-called oceans would be revealed to the terrestral observer.

1873 July, “The Planet Mars: An Essay by a Whewellite”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXVIII, number 163, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 96–97:

Prof. Percival Lowell, the eminent Martian astronomer, said in a recent interview in New York: "The Martian canals are not Panama canals. The word 'canals' you know, really means 'lines.' [...]"

1910 September, H[enry] H[aven] Windsor, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 14, number 3, Chicago, Ill.: Popular Mechanics Co., →OCLC, page 456, column 1:

Not wishing to lose this great opportunity of being the first to receive Martian signals, we 'phoned to the manager to come over immediately and verify our "startling" discovery. [...] A day later a lineman in the employ of a stock quotation ticker agency happened to be working on the roof. [...] [H]e suggested that we might possibly be troubled with induction from these wires, and that our lead-in would perhaps be better if it ran along the outside of the building. Troubled with induction! In truth, that was the very thing which we had mistaken for Martian signals.

1920 October, Austin C. Lescarboura, “Wireless Fakes and Fakers”, in H[ugo] Gernsback, editor, Radio World, volume 2, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 217, columns 2–3:

She [Catherine Elise Muller] claimed her astral body was transported to the planet, so she was able to draw detailed Martian landscapes and to speak and write its language.

2004 January 8, Mark Pilkington, “Martian spoken here”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2014-09-12:

Martian meteorites (Fig. 1.3) are pieces of Mars that have been blasted off the surface, hurtled through space, and delivered to Earth [...]. We know they are from Mars because the noble gases, carbon, and nitrogen measured in shock melt pockets in certain meteorites have the same relative elemental abundances and similar isotopic ratios as the Martian atmosphere—a unique fingerprint [...].

2019, Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, “Introduction to Volatiles in the Martian Crust”, in Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, editors, Volatiles in the Martian Crust, Amsterdam, Kidlington, Oxford: Elsevier, →ISBN, section 1.1.1 (Martian Meteorites), page 4:

Of or relating to the planet Mars, or (science fiction) its imagined inhabitants.


Martian

Amazing Stories
Frank R. Paul
H. G. Wells
Hubble Space Telescope
The War of the Worlds

Coordinate term: Martianess

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Mars.

An inhabitant of the planet Mars.
A male Martian.


Venusian

Venusians (plural)
Venutian (alternative)

The Venusians, unlike other planetary races, were almost like Earthpeople. There was only one notable difference—they had feathers on their heads instead of hair.

1953 May, Eando Binder, “Interplanetary Tenements”, in Captain Marvel Adventures, volume 24, number 144, page (inside front cover):

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Venus.


Venusian

Near-synonym: Aphrodisian

en:pertaining to the Roman goddess Venus


Venusian

(science fiction) A hypothetical language spoken on Venus.


Howard

en-proper noun

Howard (countable and uncountable, plural Howards)

Medieval personal name from Middle English Howard, Howarde, from Old Norse Hávarðr, from hár (“high”) + varðr (“guard”). In some cases a variant of Heward, from Old French Huard.

"King Howard Kashpaw, Junior," said his new teacher. "Which one of those names would you like to be called?"
He had never thought about it.
"Howard," he was surprised to hear himself answer. It was that simple. After that he was Howard at school. - - -
""He don't call himself Little King anymore," Lynette said from the kitchen. "He thinks his name's Howard."
"Howard?"
The boy looked at me and nodded.
"He won't claim his dad no more," said King, standing in the doorway. "He's too good."

1984, Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine, Bantam Books, published 1987, →ISBN, page 238,250:

A male given name from the Germanic languages, transferred back from the surname. Short form: Howie.


Amerind

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Amerind.wav

Blend of American + Indian or possibly blend of American + indigenous. First appears c. 1899 in the publication American Anthropologist.

The cultural hiatus associated with the Pine Pollen Zone suggests that Amerinds may have avoided the area.


Athabascan

From Athabasca + -an, from Cree Athap-askaw.

Athabaskan (alternative)
Athapascan (alternative)
Athapaskan (alternative)

“I’d like to thank the president for working with us to achieve this significant change to show honour, respect and gratitude to the Athabascan people of Alaska,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who led the fight for the name change in Congress.

Pertaining to a group of peoples mostly inhabiting Alaska, western Canada, the Pacific coast of California and Oregon, and the Navajo and Apache peoples in the American Southwest.


Siouan

A primary language family containing the Sioux and Catawban languages.


Arvid

Borrowed from Danish Arvid, Swedish Arvid or Norwegian Arvid.


Hokkien

Borrowed from Hokkien 福建 (Hok-kiàn, “Fujian / Fukien”). Doublet of Fukien and Fujian.

bor

Hokkian (alternative)
Hok Kian (alternative)
Hok-kian (alternative)
Hokien (alternative)
Hukkien (alternative)
Hokyen (alternative)
Hok-kien (alternative)
Hok-Kien (alternative)
Hokkeen (alternative)
Hok-keen (alternative)
Hokkeën (alternative)
Hokkëèn (alternative)

Almost 90 percent of Taiwan's 6 million occupants at the end of World War II spoke Hokkien.

2011, Shelley Rigger, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, →ISBN, page 28:

Because Hokkien is the most widely spoken local language (after Mandarin) in both Taiwan and Kinmen, this national language policy – when implemented in Kinmen – resulted in a different perceived language policy.

2020, Tsung-lun Alan Wan, “Language Revitalization and Perceived Language Shift: A Case of Kinmenese Hokkien”, in Jens Damm, Hauke Neddermann, editors, Intercultural Dialogue across Borders: China between Tradition and Modernity, Zürich: LIT Verlag, →ISBN, page 106:

Under colonial rule, learning or speaking my grandma’s native Hokkien, along with dozens of indigenous languages, was illegal by law.

2022 June 22, Zoe Yu, “Endangered Languages Are Worth Saving”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-22, Student Editorial Contest Winner:

The awards celebrate not only Mandopop but also artists singing in Taiwanese - also known as Hokkien - Hakka and indigenous languages, a visible sign of the government's efforts to promote tongues other than Mandarin.

2023 July 2, Ben Blanchard, “Taiwan celebrates linguistic diversity at annual music awards”, in William Mallard, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2023-07-03, Asia Pacific:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Hokkien.

(chiefly Southeast Asia) A linguistic subgroup of the Southern Min (Min Nan) branch, of the Min branch, of the Sinitic (Chinese) branch, of the Sino-Tibetan language family which is mainly spoken in the south-eastern part of mainland China (Fujian province), Taiwan, and by overseas Chinese of Hoklo descent, such as in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Southern Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Southern Vietnam, etc.

Teochew

Other branches of Southern Min (limited mutual intelligibility)


shul

shuls (plural)
shuln (plural)
shool (alternative)
schul (alternative)
schule (alternative)
shule (alternative)

From Yiddish שול (shul, “school, synagogue”), from Old High German scuola (“school”), from Latin schola, from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ). Doublet of schola and school.

That Asher's mind would have also been on Elohim, at this moment receiving prayers in Asher's shul, goes without saying.

2006, Howard Jacobson, Kalooki Nights, Vintage, published 2007, page 146:

Unfortunately, she has used the attack as a launch pad for a bizarre and undercooked exercise in rhetorical bothsidesism, in which she argues that American Jews should be just as worried about college students who overzealously criticize Israel as they are about the aspiring Einsatzgruppen who shoot up shuls.

2019 September 6, Jordan Weissman, “How Not to Fight Anti-Semitism”, in Slate:

The other reason he has upped his synagogue attendance is more positive. “My life has been about introducing everyone to everyone and going to shul can be like one big party.

2023 July 27, Nicole Lampert, quoting Philip Sallon, “Meet the colourful shul regular who admits: ‘I’m quite an extreme person’”, in The Jewish Chronicle:


Bri

A diminutive of the female given name Brianna, or Bridget, or Britney, or, rarely, Britannia or Sabrina.

A diminutive of the male given name Brian.


Tyrone

en-prop

Tyrone (countable and uncountable, plural Tyrones)

From Irish Tír Eoghain (literally “land of Eoghan”).

der

(countable, chiefly US) A male given name transferred from the place name.


Cecil

From Latin Caecilius, a Roman family name derived from caecus (“blind”). The surname has absorbed the Old Welsh Seisyllt, from Latin Sextilius, from Sextus.

A unisex given name from Latin.
A male given name from Latin.

A unisex given name from Latin.
A female given name from Latin.

John Sumner always called him "Sissy" but other kids called him Cecil or See-sal or Weasil. He didn't mind anything except "Sissy". Every time he heard it he saw red.

1968, Ivan Southall, Let the Balloon Go, Methuen, page 91:


Dee

Dee
River Dee (Ireland)
River Dee, Aberdeenshire
River Dee, Cumbria
River Dee, Wales

His daughter was called Deirdre, a good Irish name, but now she signed herself Dee, and her man friend was called Fox.

1996, Maeve Binchy, This Year It Will Be Different: A Christmas Treasury, Hachette UK, published 2008, →ISBN:

A unisex given name, short for names beginning with D.


Fiona

From Irish fionn (“fair, white”). In use before 1713. Popularized by James Macpherson (see 1765 quotation), and perhaps by the 19th-century Scottish writer William Sharp, who chose “Fiona Macleod” as his pen name.

Let the sighs of Fiona rise on the dark heaths of her lovely Ardan.

1765, James Macpherson, The Works of Ossian, the son of Fingal:

A female given name from Scottish Gaelic, in regular use since the 20th century, first in Scotland, then in England.


Ethan

From Biblical Hebrew אֵיתָן (ʾêṯān, literally “firmness, strong, or long-lived”).

bor

For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

There have been Ethan Allen mills, Ethan Allen stock companies, Ethan Allen fire companies and Ethan Allen streets. The name of the daring partisan leader has been used in Vermont much as that of Washington throughout the Union.

1889, John Langdon Heaton, The Story of Vermont: p.90:

They would have named him something dignified: Ethan, or Tristram. Something that couldn't easily be shortened.

2001, Anne Tyler, Back When We Were Grownups, Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 88:

The engineers are Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran.

2025 February 2, Vittoria Elliott, “The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 2025-02-02:

A male given name from Hebrew, of mostly American usage since the 18th century; popular in the 2000s.


Steven

Inherited from Middle English Stevene, Steven, from Anglo-Norman Estievne, Estievene, from Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”).

His first name was probably Steve or Ed. No, there were no more Steves or Eds in New York. They were now Steven or Edward, whether they were gay or straight. If they had money, they didn't have a nickname. Everybody was into high seriousness, so that now even dogs were named Humphrey and Raphael.

1989, Ann Beattie, Picturing Will, Random House., →ISBN, page 67:

That's why the people of this world believe in... Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, and Steven!

A male given name from Ancient Greek, variant of Stephen.


Stephen

From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”).
From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).

der

I, for my part, ask any candid reader if it was not bad enough to be called Broadfoot, without having it aggravated into Stephen Broadfoot? I feel confident I will here get a tear of sympathy from all unhappy Andrews and Peters, and Aarons and Samuels, with a smile of disdainful compassion from thrice-happy Franks and Charleys and Bills.

1852, William Harrison Ainsworth, “Tale of a Carpet-Bag”, in Ainsworth's Magazine, volume 21, page 17:

It is doubtless true that American English lacks a tradition for the pronunciation of Anthony, a name which was not often bestowed upon American males until the comparatively recent craze for supposedly swank "British" Christian names, like Stephen, Peter, Michael, etc., in this country.

1952, Thomas Pyles, Words and Ways of American English, Random House, page 245:

I thought that ideally it should be a name which could work whether he was serious and reserved or butch, a name like Stephen which could be Steve or David which could be Dave.

2000, Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai, Miramax Books, published 2002, →ISBN, page 142:

Stephen reigned from 1135-1154, that nasty period of our history dubbed 'The Anarchy', when forces loyal to Stephen contested the throne with those of Henry I's daughter Matilda, who by rights should have been queen. Stephen, her cousin, plonked his own posterior on the throne.

2023 December 27, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: the way to Weymouth”, in RAIL, number 999, page 52:


missive

15th century; from Medieval Latin missīvus, from mittō (“to send”).

(in the plural, Scots law) Letters sent between two parties in which one makes an offer and the other accepts it.


Tara

Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”). The female given name is derived from the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind, named for the place in Ireland.

A female given name transferred from the place name, of 20th century and later usage.

the story of Tara Cochrane, a war veteran, a physician, and a burned-out man who describes himself in terms of a bad cigarette

1952, Janice Holt Giles, Tara's Healing:

Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill:

An unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida, United States.

A township in Swift County, Minnesota, United States.

A township in Traverse County, Minnesota.


Gabriel

From Latin Gabriel, from Ancient Greek Γαβρῑήλ (Gabrīḗl), from Hebrew גַּבְרִיאֵל (gaḇrīʾḗl, “God is my strong man”), from גֶּבֶר (géver, “strong man, hero”) and אֵל (ʾēl, “God, deity”), from Proto-Semitic *ʾil-. Doublet of Jibril.

Yea, it seems to me not fit for Christian humility to call a man Gabriel or Michael, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality.

1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed, The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212

"I'm the only Gabriel in the whole school," I told my father. "You don't have to whisper it from the tomb, lad. You should thank your mother and me for giving you a handle that people notice. You ought to be pleased, not down in the dumps. Backstreet Gabriels aren't bumped into on every corner, remember.

1986, Paul Bailey, Gabriel's Lament, Viking, published 1987, →ISBN, page 20:


Zion

Zion
Zion (Latter Day Saints)
Zion (disambiguation)#Places

Inherited from Old English, from Ecclesiastical Latin Sion, from Hebrew ציון (tsiyón).

(poetic reference to) Jerusalem city proper; or more strictly speaking, the Temple Mount.

Mount of myrrh

as a special landmark of 'perfume' importance; Analogous to the very special power of prayer that rises specifically from this locale. In accordance with Jewish Midrashic literature


Iberian

An extinct language isolate that was spoken in the Iberian peninsula.


Battle of Britain

(historical) A series of air engagements between the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe during World War II for air superiority over southern England and the English Channel prior to any German invasion of the British Isles.

Slag om Brittanje

series of air engagements between the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe during World War II


forename

en-verb

forename (third-person singular simple present forenames, present participle forenaming, simple past and past participle forenamed)

forenames (present singular third-person)
forenaming (participle present)
forenamed (participle past)
forenamed (past)

He forenamed him Ishmael, and assigns as a reason, his own attention to her present distress.

1798 August, Monitor, “Sacred Biography”, in The Christian Magazine: Or, Evangelical Repository, volume 2, number 18, page 371:

It may be noted that Le Verrier subsequently suggested another ad hoc hypothesis , namely , that the irregularities in the orbit of Mercury were due to an interior planet, which he forenamed Vulcan.

1950, Lizzie Susan Stebbing, Revival: A Modern Introduction to Logic, page 398:

Implicit in the record of the resolution of a dispute in the manorial court of Werrington in 1368 are issues relating to the pattern of forenaming amongst the lower social groups of medieval England, as well, perhaps, as those concerning law and love and arbitration in inter-peasant conflict.

2020, Dave Postles, Naming the People of England, c.1100-1350, page 68:

The child was named Pujari Venkata Guru Siva Prasad. the boy was forenamed Pujari to serve as a reminder to the people that he will look after the temple of Gurappa Swami and perform Devara.


cloister

cloister (third-person singular simple present cloisters, present participle cloistering, simple past and past participle cloistered)

cloisters (present singular third-person)
cloistering (participle present)
cloistered (participle past)
cloistered (past)
cloistre (alternative)

Recorded since about 1300 as Middle English cloistre, borrowed from Old French cloistre, clostre, or via Old English clauster, both from Medieval Latin claustrum (“portion of monastery closed off to laity”), from Latin claustrum (“place shut in, bar, bolt, enclosure”), a derivation of the past participle of claudere (“to close”). Doublet of claustrum.

der

(intransitive) To become a Roman Catholic religious.


Stancel

Possibly from:
* Old English stane cell, which means "stone chamber". Or it could be from Stancil, a village in England.
* German Stenzel.
* Polish-Jewish Stencel
* Polish Stanisław, or Russian Станислав (Stanislav)
* Romanian stâncă, meaning rock or cliff

(rare) A male given name transferred from the surname.


Arizona

zh-l

亞利桑那／亚利桑那 (Yàlìsāngnà)

亞里桑那 (Yàlǐsāngnà)

Chinese: 亞利桑那／亚利桑那 (Yàlìsāngnà), 亞里桑那 (Yàlǐsāngnà)

→ Kurtöp: ཨ་རི་ཟོ་ན ('Arizona)

/ˌæɹɪˈzoʊnə/

/ˌɛɹɪˈzoʊnə/

/ˌæɹɪˈzəʊnə/

Uncertain. Possibly from O'odham alĭ ṣonak (literally “small spring”) (traditionally through the Spanish intermediary form Arizonac; compare modern Arizona), a name initially applied to an area around a silver-mining camp in Sonora.
Alternatively, perhaps from Basque haritz ona (literally “good oak”), as the area many Basque herders, and a descendant of them established the ranchería of Arizona (circa 1735) in Sonora.
Suggestions of derivation from arizuma, supposedly a Nahuatl word meaning "silver-bearing", are considered implausible, and derivation from Spanish árida zona (literally “dry zone”) is considered a folk etymology.


Romanche

From French romanche, which stems from Latin romanice.


Xena

Possibly a variant of Xenia, from Latin Xenia, from Ancient Greek ξενία (xenía, “hospitable”), the assumed name of a fifth-century saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from ξένος (xénos, “foreign, strange”).

der

A female given name from Ancient Greek of modern usage.


Elizabeth

en-proper noun

Elizabeth (countable and uncountable, plural Elizabeths)

Elizabeths (plural)
Elisabeth (alternative)

From Middle English Elizabeth, from the Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of the Old Testament Biblical Hebrew אלישבע (Elisheva, “my God is an oath”). See El and שבועה. Doublet of Elisheba.

der

Most happy letters! framed by skilful trade, / With which that happy name was first designed, - - - / Ye three Elizabeths! for ever live, / That three such graces did unto me give.

1595, Edmund Spenser, Amoretti, section LXXIV:

"Because if you say it over and over to yourself, darling, it really is a quite strange-sounding name, isn't it? It's just as strange as any other from the Old Testament, Mehetabel or Hepsibah or Shulamith, and any of them might have got to be as fashionable as Elizabeth if a queen had been called by them.

1988 Barbara Vine ( =Ruth Rendell ), The House of Stairs, p.21

No one ever called Elizabeth Tannenbaum stunning, but most men found her attractive. Hardly anyone called her Elizabeth, either. An "Elizabeth" was regal, cool, an eyecatching beauty. A "Betsy" was pleasant to look at, a tiny bit overweight, capable, but still fun to be with.

1993, Phillip Margolin, Gone But Not Forgotten, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 25:

A female given name from Hebrew, popular since the 16th century.


Duncan

en-prop

Duncan (countable and uncountable, plural Duncans)

* As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Donnchadh, a name composed of donn (“brown”) + cath (“battle”). Also spelled as Donagh and Donaghue, Donahue.
* Also as an Irish surname, Anglicized from ó Duinnchinn, from donn (“brown”) + ceann (“head”).

For them the gracious Duncan I have murder'd

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

"Country?" replied Cuddie; "ou, the country's weel eneugh, and it werena that dour deevil, Calver'se, ( they ca' him Dundee now) that's stirring about yet in the Highlands, they say, with a' the Donalds, and Duncans, and Dugalds, that ever wore bottomless breeks, driving about wi' him, to set things asteer again, - - -

1816, Walter Scott, Old Mortality, Samuel H. Parker, published 1836, page 232:

His full name is Benji Duncan Geoffrey Rigby-Monk. 'You're joking,' Kit said, when I first told him. Benji? Not even Benjamin?' ''Duncan and Geoffrey are his two granddads'names ― both unglamorous and old-dufferish, in Kit's view, and not worth inflicting on a new generation ― and Rigby-Monk is a fusion of Fran's surname and Anton's.

2011, Sophie Hannah, Lasting Damage, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, pages 77–78:

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Donnchadh; the name of two early saints and of two kings of Scotland.


Oliver

en-proper noun

Oliver (countable and uncountable, plural Olivers)

From Middle English Oliver, from Old French Olivier, by folk etymology derived from the Latin name Olīvārius, but probably representing an Old High German form of Old Norse Óleifr (“ancestral + relic”) (modern Danish Olaf and Swedish Olof), or Proto-Germanic *ala- (“all”) + *wēraz (“true”) (modern Swedish allvar). Name of a paladin of Charlemagne in medieval French romance.

Froyſard, a Countreyman of ours, records, / England all Oliuers and Rowlands breed, / During the time Edward the third did raigne: […]

1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 98, column 1:

"My name is Oliver, sir," replied the little invalid with a look of great astonishment. "Oliver," said Mr. Brownlow; "Oliver what? Oliver White,—eh?" "No, sir, Twist,—Oliver Twist." "Queer name," said the old gentleman. What made you tell the magistrate your name was White?"

1837 August, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “In Which Oliver Is Taken Better Care of than He Ever Was Before. With Some Particulars Concerning a Certain Picture.”, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 187:

And Oliver suits me, don't you find? It rather goes with my dark, dark hair and kissable ivory teeth, my slim waist, my panache and my linen suit with the ineradicable stain of Pinot Noir.

1991, Julian Barnes, Talking It Over, Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 13:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Filipino

From Spanish filipino m, from Felipe + -ino, demonym to Spanish las Islas Filipinas (“The Philippine Islands (P.I.); The Philippines”), after Spanish El Rey Felipe II de España (“King Philip II of Spain”). The Spanish term formerly only referred to a male Philippine-born person of pure or majority Spanish descent, synonym to Spanish insular (“islander”) (plural insulares) in the Spanish Colonial Era of the Philippines, before it was applied as a nationality for every citizen of the Philippines from the First Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution.

der

Pilipino (alternative)
Philipino (alternative)
Philippino (alternative)

(uncountable) The national language of the Philippines, based on Tagalog.

Filippyns

the national language of the Philippines


Jerry

Jerrys (plural)
Jerries (plural)
Gerry (alternative)
Jheri (alternative)
Gerry (alternative)
Geri (alternative)
Gerri (alternative)
Jeri (alternative)
Jerri (alternative)
Jerrie (alternative)

We stated in our last that the award in this class was sent to Fowler & Vannatta’s Jerry, but this was a mistake which arose from the fact that there were two Jerrys in this class and both of them grade Herefords, one from Benton County, Ind., and one shown by Wallace Libby & Co., Ottawa, Ill. When the awards were made it was announced that Mr. Vannatta’s Jerry was the winner, and that breeder left for his home congratulating himself on the fact of having a winner on the block; […]

1886 November 25, “On the Block. A Grand Display of Meat at the Fat-Stock Show.”, in The Breeder’s Gazette. […], volume X, number 22 (261 overall), Chicago, Ill.: J[ames] H[arvey] Sanders & Co., […], page 785:

..."I, incidentally, am Jeremy Wilson, and anyone who abbreviates that to 'Jerry' does so at unspeakable peril."
"Oh really?" Kay asked. "Why?"
"Well, just a wartime hangover. We used to call the Germans 'Jerries'."
"I don't know much about the German war."

1970, Santha Rama Rau, The Adventuress, page 157:

And Jerry would appear, his work-clothes clean and pressed, his thinning rust-red hair combed flat, his glasses round and earnest, and quietly fix whatever was wrong. There was a Mrs. Jerry, who kept the creases sharp and clean in the tan workpants, and several small Jerrys, whom Sawyer & Sloat invariably remembered at Christmas. Jack had been small enough to associate the name Jerry with Tom Cat’s eternal adversary [Jerry Mouse], and so imagined that the handyman and Mrs. Jerry and the little Jerrys lived in a giant mouse-hole, accessible by a curved arch cut into a baseboard.

1984, Stephen King, Peter Straub, The Talisman, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, pages 169–170:

Maxine grabbed the hair on the top of her head. “No, Jerry, I’m not talking hippy dippy. You’re not hearing me.” / Carla snickered. “I’m going to remember what he just said about nostalgia the next time he tells one of his Brown Beret stories.” She glanced around the table. “You may not know it, but Jerry is a sucker for stories with a moral to them.” / Vizenor shifted in his seat, cleared his throat. […] Carla looked at the Berkeley writer, startled. “I’m sorry, I forgot there were two Jerrys here. I was referring to the guy at the head of the table—Martinez.” There was uncomfortable laughter, then a long silence as the assembled activists eyed one another and sipped coffee. Jerry Vizenor leaned forward on his elbows and massaged his temples.

1997, Lawrence R[ichard] Smith, “Coalition”, in The Map of Who We Are: A Novel (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series; 24), Norman, Okla., London: University of Oklahoma Press, →ISBN, page 245:

There are many Nancies and Jerries in the world. They get told apart by a further name, such as Nancy Lovelace, or Jerry Turing.

2003, Ira Pohl, “Nested Classes”, in C# by Dissection: The Essentials of C# Programming, Boston, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 249:

If the names we give our children represent our hopes for the future, names like Kathie and Jerry, Darlene and Butch are dreams of contentment. […] Of course, the generation bestowed with those contented names ended up far from content. The little Kathies and Jerries born in 1950 grew up to be the protesters, free-lovers, and Woodstock attendees of 1969.

2009, Laura Wattenberg, “Mid-Century America”, in The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN:

A diminutive of the male given names Jeremiah, Jeremy, Jerome, Jared, Jermaine, Jerrold, Gerald, Gerard, or similar male given names.

A diminutive of the female given names Geraldine or Jerilyn.

An unincorporated community in Asotin County, Washington, United States; named for early rancher Jerry McGuire.


Bambara

The Bambara groundnut, Vigna subterranea.


Bambara

A West Sudanic language spoken mainly in Mali by as many as six million people, and by smaller numbers of people in Senegal Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Gambia.


palochka

From Russian па́лочка (páločka, “little stick”), diminutive of па́лка (pálka, “stick”).

bor

A Cyrillic letter used in writing several Caucasian languages.


Krishna

en-prop

Krishna (countable and uncountable, plural Krishnas)


Kapampangan

A language of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of languages; it is one of the major languages of the Philippines and the primary language in the province of Pampanga, as well as southern Tarlac.


Kapampangan

Kapampangans (plural)
Pampangan (alternative)

A native speaker of the Kapampangan language.


Kapampangan

Pertaining to the Kapampangan language or its speakers.

капампанганский

pertaining to Kapampangan or its speakers


Chaldean

From Ancient Greek Χαλδαῖος (Khaldaîos).

Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic#English


Pali

A learned borrowing from Sanskrit पालि (pāli).

lbor

A Middle Indo-Aryan language of north India, closely related to Sanskrit; the sacred language of the Buddhist scriptures.


Old French

The French language as spoken or written from the 9th to the early 14th century.

ou frans

French language from 9th to the early 14th century


Classical Greek

The form of the Ancient Greek language used during the classical period of Greek literature: approximately 600 to 300 BCE.


Ancient Greek

Any of the various forms of the Greek language of classical antiquity, particularly the classical Attic dialect used in Athenian literature.


SDP

We believed that the Trots represented a mad, extreme form of Labour that was never going to do anything for anybody, yet we felt strongly that nothing would be achieved by jumping ship and defecting to the SDP.

2008, Cherie Blair, Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street:

Social Democratic Party
w:Social Democratic Party (UK)

(UK politics, historical, 1981–1988) Initialism of Social Democratic Party, a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom.


Wilson

en-proper noun

Wilson (countable and uncountable, plural Wilsons)

From Will (short form of William) + -son.

affix

short form of <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">William</i>

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Area 51

→ German: Area 51

desc

→ Mandarin: 51區 /51区 (Wǔshíyī qū) (calque)

Unclear, but perhaps from a grid numbering system of the area by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). While Area 51 is not part of this system, it is adjacent to Area 15.

Nevada Test and Training Range
w:Nevada Test and Training Range

(science fiction or ufology, informal) A secret military facility, airport, and airbase in Nevada Test and Training Range, Nevada, United States.

Atomic Energy Commission
en:Area 51
en:Area 51 (disambiguation)


Andrea

Latinate feminine form of Andreas and Andrew.

There's not much you can do with a name like Andrea. "Call me And." I don't think so. "Call me Andy." You say that and people will start calling you Handy Andy, and before you know it, you'll be getting phones calls from people wanting you to come and get their drain unstopped. So I've been forced to have people call me Andrea, which sounds like a girl who takes ballet and is learning to play the cello.

2003, Jack Weyland, Everyone Gets Married in the End, Cedar Fort,, →ISBN, page 157:


Balinese

A car is taking us to a traditional Balinese dance at a nearby temple. It is on a cliff top with scenic views of the Indian Ocean and sheathed in what the internet calls a “peaceful ambience.”

2022 November 26, Virginia Feito, “Sweating Through a Honeymoon in Paradise”, in The New York Times:

Of or relating to Bali, its inhabitants, or their language or culture.

balinès

of or relating to Bali, or its inhabitants, language or culture


Balinese

(chiefly in the plural) A native or inhabitant of Bali.

A long-haired breed of domestic cat with Siamese-style point coloration and sapphire-blue eyes.


Hollywood

en-proper noun

Hollywood (countable and uncountable, plural Hollywoods)

The name of the neighbourhood in Los Angeles (sense 1) was coined by real estate developer H. J. Whitley, from holly + wood. By metonymy, it became the name of the industry, and eventually also a name for decadence.

coin

A nickname for someone involved with the film industry or celebrity culture.


cathedral

Ellipsis of cathedral church, from Middle English chirche cathederall, cathedrall chirch, calque of Late Latin ecclēsia cathedrālis (“church serving as the bishop's or archbishop's office”), from Latin ecclēsia + cathedrālis. Displaced Old English hēafodċiriċe (literally “main church, head church”).

ncog

The principal church serving as the office (and some as place of residence) of an archdiocese's/a diocese's archbishop/bishop which is symbolized by an episcopal throne known as the cathedra.

katedraal

church serving as the office of the diocese's bishop and archdiocese's archbishop


basilica

en-noun

basilica (plural basilicas or basilicae)

Borrowed from Latin basilica, from Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκή (băsĭlĭkḗ), from βᾰσῐλῐκὴ στοά (băsĭlĭkḕ stoá, “royal hall”), ultimately from βασιλικός (basilikós, “royal”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king, chief”). Doublet of basoche.

A Roman Catholic church or cathedral with basilican status, an honorific status granted by the pope to recognize its historical, architectural, or sacramental importance.


chapel

→ Japanese: チャペル (chaperu)

→ Korean: 채플 (chaepeul)

From Middle English chapele, chapel, from Old French chapele, from Late Latin cappella (“little cloak; chapel”), diminutive of cappa (“cloak, cape”). Doublet of capelle.
(printing office): Said to be because printing was first carried on in England in a chapel near Westminster Abbey.

der

(especially Christianity) A place of worship, smaller than or subordinate to a church.

One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

A place of worship in another building or within a civil institution such as a larger church, airport, prison, monastery, school, etc.; often primarily for private prayer.

A funeral home, or a room in one for holding funeral services.


chapel

The village butcher is chapel.

(Wales) Describing a person who attends a nonconformist chapel.


chapel

en-verb

chapel (third-person singular simple present chapels, present participle chapelling, simple past and past participle chapelled)

chapels (present singular third-person)
chapelling (participle present)
chapelled (participle past)
chapelled (past)

(nautical, transitive) To cause (a ship taken aback in a light breeze) to turn or make a circuit so as to recover, without bracing the yards, the same tack on which she had been sailing.


priory

A monastery or convent governed by a prior or prioress.


Horace

From Latin Horatius, a Roman family name of obscure origin, possibly from Etruscan. Doublet of Horatio.


Katyusha

Katyushas (plural)
katyusha (alternative)
Katiusha (alternative)

Borrowed from Russian and Ukrainian Катю́ша (Katjúša) diminutive of Ка́тя (Kátja, “Katya”), in turn diminutive of Екатери́на (Jekaterína, “Katherine”), named after a popular wartime song.

Катюша Катюша#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian or Ukrainian female given name Катюша (Katjuša)


Walloon

Borrowed from Middle French Wallon / wallon, from Frankish *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“foreigner”).
Cognate to Welsh/Wales, the second part of Cornwall, and first part of walnut, as well as Gaul and Wallachia.

By the time this mysterious knight died in the 1360s, his book was available in every European language, including Dutch, Gaelic, Czech, Catalan, and Walloon.

2001 December 2, Giles Milton, “'The Riddle and the Knight'”, in The New York Times:

A Romance language spoken in parts of southern Belgium and northern France (around Givet).


Sinn Féin

From Irish Sinn Féin (literally “we ourselves”) from sinn (“we, us”) + féin (“-self, -selves”).

compound

Ireland’s largest party, Fianna Fáil, has said it will not consider going into government with Sinn Féin, a decision likely to prevent the leftwing nationalists from entering power for the first time.

2020 February 13, “Ireland: Fianna Fáil rules out coalition with Sinn Féin”, in The Guardian, sourced from Reuters, →ISSN:

(Irish politics) An Irish political party committed to the reunification of Ireland.


Taoiseach

en-noun

Taoiseach (plural Taoiseachs or Taoisigh)

Taoiseachs (plural)
Taoisigh (plural)
taoiseach (alternative)

Borrowed from Irish Taoiseach (“chieftain, leader; prime minister of Ireland”).
The plural form Taoisigh is borrowed from Irish Taoisigh.

bor

Article 28. […] 5. 1º The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is in this Constitution referred to as, the Taoiseach. 2º The Taoiseach shall keep the President generally informed on matters of domestic and international policy.

1937 July 1 (date ratified), “The Government”, in The Constitution of Erin, Ireland, San Francisco, Calif.: Russell Quinn, published [1938?], →OCLC, page 22:

To cope with the situation created at home by the war so close at hand, an Taoiseach (Prime Minister [Éamon] de Valera) rearranged his cabinet and formed a Ministry of Supplies under one of his ablest men.

1940 December 7, Arthur W. Bromage, Mary C. Bromage, “Ireland—What Now?”, in The Michigan Alumnus: Quarterly Review: A Journal of University Perspectives, volume XLVII, number 10, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, →OCLC, page 208:

The only leader of the 1916 Easter rebellion to escape hanging, [Éamon d]e Valera lost the civil war, then won elections that made him taoiseach (prime minister) for 19 years.

1954 May 31, “The Taoiseach Falls: De Valera Nears the End of Long Political Trail”, in Henry R[obinson] Luce, editor, Life, volume 36, number 22, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29, column 1:

The Constitution of Ireland, art. 13, requires that the President of Ireland, the formal head of state, appoints the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) on the nomination of the Dáil Eireann (a popular elected legislative Chamber of Deputies). Ther same provision also requires that the President appoints the other members of the government on the nomination of the Taoiseach with the previous approval of the Dáil.

1983 October, Law Library, Library of Congress, “Time Span between Election or Selection of an Official and the Subsequent Taking of Office in Various Foreign Countries [Ireland]”, in Commencement of Terms of Office of the President and Members of Congress: Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session on S.J. Res. 71: A Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relative to the Commencement of the Terms of Office of the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress […] (Serial No. J-98-113), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 24 April 1984, →OCLC, page 42:

So what if they didn't have their Christmas Eve drinks party with the two Taoiseachs? They would have the satisfaction of knowing they could have.

1993, Mary Breasted, chapter 12, in Why Should You Doubt Me Now?, New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, →ISBN, page 50:

Although Taoisigh insist that choices are based on merit and capacity, they show a remarkable tendency to surround themselves with loyalists.

1994, Brian Farrell, “The Political Role of Cabinet Ministers in Ireland”, in Michael Laver, Kenneth A. Shepsle, editors, Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary Government (The Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 81:

Despite the attacks, 'the boss', as [Charles] Haughey was to become known, was elected taoiseach by 82 votes to 62. However, he was a taoiseach with strong opposition from within his own party.

2003, Dermot Keogh, “Ireland, 1972–84”, in J[acqueline] R. Hill, editor, A New History of Ireland, volumes VII (Ireland 1921–84), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 379:

Under normal circumstances, when a Taoiseach 'advises' the President to dissolve the Dáil and thereby bring about a general election, the President is bound to accede to this. However, the President, in the words of Article 13.2.2 [of the Constitution of Ireland], 'may in his absolute discretion refuse to dissolve Dáil Éireann on the advice of a Taoiseach who has ceased to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann'.

2010, Michael Gallagher, “The Oireachtas: President and Parliament”, in John Coakley, Michael Gallagher, editors, Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge in association with PSAI Press, →ISBN, part II (Representative Democracy at Work), page 200:

For three centuries, the fabled Round Room in Dublin's Mansion House has been the site of some of Ireland's most important gatherings. British monarchs and Irish taoiseachs, a Catholic pope and a Protestant terrorist, all have walked its halls.

2010, David J. Lynch, “Money is Just Evidence”, in When the Luck of the Irish Ran Out: The World’s Most Resilient Country and Its Struggle to Rise Again, New York, N.Y., Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 175:

He [Charles Haughey] was determined to seize the initiative, to paint a picture of a taoiseach forging ahead with a bold new strategy in relation to Northern Ireland – a leader, driven by an inner crusade to transform the landscape of Anglo-Irish relations.

2016, Stephen Kelly, “The Haughey—Thatcher Relationship: The Anglo-Irish Summit Meeting, May 1980”, in ‘A Failed Political Entity’: Charles Haughey and the Northern Ireland Question 1945–1992, Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland: Merrion Press, →ISBN, page 149:

Everyone in the UK and Ireland should be afraid of a no-deal Brexit, the Irish taoiseach said, after he was accused of engaging in “Project Fear mark two”.

2019 August 1, Kevin Rawlinson, “Leo Varadkar: ‘We should all be afraid of a no-deal Brexit’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-26:

Well, I was there from 1973 to 1993, working directly with five different taoisigh, at different times, of course, as secretary to the government, or Cabinet Secretary in Robert [Armstrong]'s terms—from Sunningdale to the Downing Street Declaration.

2020, John Coakley, Jennifer Todd, quoting Dermot Nally, “The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985”, in Negotiating a Settlement in Northern Ireland, 1969–2019, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 173:

Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

(Irish politics) The head of the government of Ireland, comparable to a prime minister of a Commonwealth of Nations country.


Syriac

From Ancient Greek συριακός (suriakós), an adjective pertaining to Συρία (Suría), the Greek name for Aram, and probably based on the name Assyria.

The language of the kingdom of Osroene.

The liturgical language of various churches with roots in the Middle East.

An Aramaic language, part of the Semitic language family, specifically:


Syriac

A speaker of the Syriac language (see above).

Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church


Syriac

Of, pertaining to, or being the Syriac language, its speakers, or their culture.


Errol

Transferred from a rare Scottish surname derived from a place name, of unknown meaning. Later interpreted as a variant of Earl in the U.S.

Bridey says if she had a son which please God she will some day she'll call him Ronald because she's mad about Ronald Colman that you see in the Coliseum Cinema. Or Errol, that's another lovely name, Errol Flynn.
Mam says, will you go way outa that, Bridey. I'd never be able to stick my head out the door and say, Errol, Errol, come in for your tea. Sure the poor child would be a laughingstock.

1996, Frank McCourt, chapter VII, in Angela's Ashes, HarperCollins, →ISBN, pages 203–204:

A male given name transferred from the surname, popularized by American Actor Errol Flynn.


Meryl

A female given name from Scottish Gaelic, variant of Muriel.


Cheryl

Coined in the early 20th century, possibly a blend of Cherie or Cherry and Beryl. (See cher for the etymology of Cherie.)

Cheryl is a woman of few interests: she will be watching TV or she'll be out shopping.
"Cheryl" is a soft, round, pleasant name. "Cheryl" sounds like a person who listens to classic rock, irons aprons and plays bunko. In fact, she's not an aunt at all. She's a glorified housekeeper.

2009, Caroline B. Cooney, If the Witness Lied, Random House LLC, →ISBN, page 38:

A female given name originating as a coinage.


Alabama

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Alabama.wav

From Alabama Albaamaha, the name of a people native to the area.

That’s right. In fact, a law which passed in Mississippi is so restrictive, it could close the one remaining abortion clinic they have in the entire state, meaning a Mississippi woman, right now, could be saying to herself, “I need to go someplace more progressive like Alabama.”

2014 November 2, “State Legislatures and ALEC”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 23, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

A state of the United States. Capital: Montgomery. Largest city: Birmingham.

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands

A Muskogean language, spoken by the Alabama people.

ພາສາອາລາບາມາ

phā sāʼā lā bā mā


Gretel

A diminutive of the female given name Margarete, from German.


Neville

en-proper noun

Neville (countable and uncountable, plural Nevilles)

Nevilles (plural)
Nevil (alternative)
Nevile (alternative)
Nevill (alternative)
Nevils (alternative)
Newill (alternative)

* A Norman baronial surname, de Neville, from place names in Normandy, Néville, from Old French Neville (“Néel's estate”) or Neuville (“new settlement”), equivalent to nuef + ville.
* Also as an Irish surname, from Ó Niadh (see Nee) or Ó Cnaimhín (see Nevin).

(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname, of 16th century and later usage.


Selene

From the Ancient Greek Σελήνη (Selḗnē, proper noun), from σέλας (sélas, “light”).

der

“Selene, I am going to get you out of bed and sit you in the chair for a minute. I want to put this heavy blanket and sheet on your bed so it will keep your new bedding clean.”

2008, Diane M. Unger, A Colonial Lieutenant Beckons, page 143:

In the opening sequence of the film Underworld (2004), the beautiful vampire assassin Selene, clad in tight black rubber and leather, is perched beside gargoyles on top of a soaring Gothic tower.

2012, Johan Höglund, “10: Militarizing the Vampire: Underworld and the Desire of the Military Entertainment Complex”, in Tabish Khair, Johan Höglund, editors, Transnational and Postcolonial Vampires: Dark Blood, page 173:

We also made arrangements with my sister Marion and brother-in-law Richard for Selene to stay with them over long school holidays, like Thanksgiving and Easter, when the campus would be closed for a few days.

2013, Arnold E. van Beverhoudt, Jr., Island Boy: My Life on the Rock, page 157:


Trevor

He never wasted a word even to tell his name until that was required of him by the rules. When he said 'Trevor' it was a statement of fact, not as it would have been with the others a statement of shame or defiance. - - - There was every reason why T., as he was afterwards referred to, should have been an object of mockery - there was his name ( and they substituted the initial because otherwise they had no excuse not to laugh at it ) - - -

1941, Graham Greene, “The Destructors”, in Collected Stories, Heinemann, page 327:

A male given name from Welsh, from Welsh Trefor. Popular in the UK in the 1950s and the 1960s.


que

en-noun

que (countable and uncountable, plural ques)

having lost their own pees and ques, by some pitiful attempt in our alphabetical orchard

1820, John Borthwick Gilchrist, The Stranger's Infallible East-Indian Guide, London, page 163:

he was about to be interviewed by German television and he had to be on his pees and ques.

2011, Elgin Dobbins, Thirty Seconds to Midnight, page 386:

(rare) The name of the Latin-script letter Q/q. Alternative form of cue.


Amaryllis

A female given name from Latin or Ancient Greek.


Indiana

en-proper noun

Indiana (countable and uncountable, plural Indianas)

From indian + -a. From “Indiana Territory” dating from 1800, noting the territory's large Native American Indian population. From indian territory.

Haldimand County
Haldimand County#English

A ghost town in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada.

A borough, the county seat of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States.

(rare) A unisex given name.
(rare) A male given name.

(rare) A unisex given name.
(rare) A female given name.

A unisex given name.
A female given name.


Missouri

From a French adaptation of Miami wimihsoorita (“the people who have dugout canoes”), a term for the inhabitants of the area around the Missouri River.

der

A state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Capital: Jefferson City. Largest city: Kansas City.


Tennessee

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.


Washington

en-proper noun

Washington (countable and uncountable, plural Washingtons)

Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of Hwæssa”), from Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia.
The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.

DC

The federal district and city are coterminous and the city government administers the district, so are jurisdictionally equivalent

(US) A male given name transferred from the surname, popular during the first century of American independence, given in honor of George Washington.


Mobilian

An informal Native American trade language used among the tribes of the US Southeast, primarily along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. May have originally been the language of one particular tribe.


Maricopa

Borrowed from Spanish, of uncertain origin.

In the valley of the Gila and on its tributaries from the northeast are the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos.

1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 24:

A member of a Native American people belonging to the Yuman linguistic stock, a part of the Hokan family. They originate in the Colorado River area, but following an exodus in the 1700s or 1800s, they live amongst the Pima in the vicinity of the Gila and Salt Rivers.


Maricopa

A city in Pinal County, Arizona, United States.


Thalia

From Ancient Greek Θαλία (Thalía) or Θάλεια (Tháleia); from Ancient Greek θάλλω (thállō, “flourish, to be verdant”).

uder

(rare) A female given name from Ancient Greek.


Sami

Derived from Arabic سَامِي (sāmī), from the informal pronunciation of سَامٍ (sāmin, “high, exalted”).

A male given name from Arabic, feminine equivalent Samiyah.


Sami

A diminutive of the female given name Samantha.


Sidney

en-proper noun

Sidney (countable and uncountable, plural Sidneys)

Sidneys (plural)
Sydney (alternative)
Cydney (alternative)
Sydnie (alternative)
Sydne (alternative)

English surname, from several placenames in England, from Old English sīdan, dative of sīd (“spacious, wide”) + īeġ (“island”).

A male or female given name transferred from the surname.


Pollyanna

Polly-Anna (alternative)
Polly Anna (alternative)

Pollyanna Pocket was small, with long floppy ears and a tail that coiled upwards in a little ringlet. She was a bouncy, happy young dog, who frolicked all day

A female given name from Hebrew derived from Polly and Anna; rare in the real world.


Nigel

English form of Latin Nigellus, from nigellus (“slightly black”), diminutive of niger (“(shining) black”), particularly used in the Middle Ages to Latinize Norman Néel and Irish Neil.

'I thought, sir,' answered Nigel, with as much haughtiness as was consistent with the cool distance he desired to preserve, 'I thought I had told you, my name was Nigel Grahame.'
His eminence of Whitefriars on this burst into a loud, chuckling, impudent laugh, repeating the word, till his voice was almost inarticulate, - 'Niggle Green - Niggle Green - Niggle Green! why, my lord, you would be queered in the drinking of a penny pot of Malmsey, if you cry before you are touched.'

1822, Walter Scott, chapter XXIII, in The Fortunes of Nigel:

A male given name from Latin, of mostly British usage.


Simon

From Middle English Simon, from Latin Simon, from Ancient Greek Σίμων (Símōn), from Biblical Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (šimʿōn, “hearkening”). In Britain, confusion arose at an early date due to similarity with native Sigmund (Siegmund), and its Norman introduced variant, Simund. Doublet of Simeon.

der

His first name is Simon. I wonder why his mother named him that, or it may have been his father. My own father never bothered with the naming of us, it was up to Mother and Aunt Pauline. There is Simon Peter the Apostle, of course, who was made a fisher of men by our Lord. But there is also Simple Simon. Met a pie man, going to the fair.

1996, Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace, Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 379:


Tyson

Tysons (plural)
Tison (alternative)
Dyson (alternative)
Theisen (alternative)
Theissen (alternative)
Teisen (alternative)
Teissen (alternative)
Teison (alternative)

* A variant of Tison. A nickname from Old French tison (“firebrand”).
* A patronymic English surname, variant of Dyson, from Dennis + -son.
* In the US, adopted by a German family who came to America (Germantown, PA) in 1683, originally named German Teisen "son of Theiss", which was short for Matthias. Original spellings were Theisen, Theissen, Teisen, Teison.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Kent

Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”)), from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”).

cog

A male given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.


Norfolk

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk
Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk
Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk
James Cook
Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk (disambiguation)
William Ambrosia Cowley

From Middle English Northfolk, from Old English Norþfolc (literally “northern people”), from norþ (“north, northern”) + folc (“folk, people, race, nation”). As an Ecuadorian island, clipping of Duke of Norfolk's Island, bestowed by William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684 honor of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk; his son Henry, the 7th duke; or both. As an Australian island and territory, bestowed by James Cook in 1774 in honor of Mary Howard, wife of the 9th duke.

der

Litchfield County
Litchfield County#English

A town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States.

An independent city in Virginia, United States; the largest naval base in the world, situated there.


Rutland

Unclear. Attested in Old English as Roteland and Ritelanede. Perhaps hrīþer (“cattle”) + land (“land”), or from the personal name Rota + land.

unk

Unclear


Sussex

en-proper noun

Sussex (countable and uncountable, plural Sussexes)

Inherited from Old English Sūþseaxan (literally “South Saxons”), which stood for both Sussex and its people.
The town in New Brunswick may have been named after Sussex, New Jersey. The civil parish is named after the town.

inh+

Ellipsis of Sussex Drive or Sussex Street; a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on which the residence of the Prime Minister of Canada and the Governor General of Canada are located.


Mebyon Kernow

From Cornish, meaning "Sons of Cornwall".

A left-of-centre political party that campaigns for greater self-government for Cornwall.


Maximilian

From German Maximilian, ultimately of Latin origin.

It is as well certainly not to call a parcel of idle and ragged young rogues by the titles of Augustus, Orlando, and Theodore: nor does it sound very fitting and heroical to hear a father cry out pompously to his little boy, as we did once, - "You, Sir, there, - Maximilian,- come out of the gutter."

1820 February 9, Leigh Hunt, “Names”, in The Indicator, number XVIII:

A male given name from Latin, rare in English.


Maximillian

A male given name from Latin, variant of Maximilian, a modern spelling of Maximilian, taken from films and video game characters.


Gillian

Dromio of Ephesus. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian, Ginn!
Dromio of Syracuse. Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch! - - -
Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for such a store

c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

"Just Jill, I'm afraid." "Would you prefer if it was Gillian?" "Oh, I think so. Gillian sounds so much fancier." "Fancy?" Terrence said. He smiled at her. "Or perhaps it sounds flashy?" "Royal," Richard said. "Flowery," Terrence added. "You could say Gillian was more flowery. That would fit. What about you, Corrie, what does it sound like to you?" "Rich," Corrie glanced at Jill. "Gillian sounds richer than Jill."

1994, Floyd Skloot, Summer Blue, Story Line press, →ISBN, page 98:

A female given name from Latin; Medieval variant of Julian and Juliana, revived and quite popular in Britain in the mid-twentieth century.


Gurage

Guragē (alternative)
Guragué (alternative)
Gurague (alternative)
Guragé (alternative)

Any of the Semitic languages of these people.


Waray-Waray

Borrowed from Waray-Waray Waray-Waray, from Waray.

(linguistics) A central Philippine Visayan language from the islands of Samar, Biliran, and northeast Leyte.


Camden

From Old English campas (“enclosure”) + denu (“valley”).

A male given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.


nominal

→ Afrikaans: nominaal

PIE word
 *h₁nómn̥
From the Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names”), from nōmen (“name”).

a nominal difference

1856 February, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Oliver Goldsmith, republished in 1865, The Miscellaneous Writings of Lord Macaulay, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green, page 300,
At Edinburgh he passed eighteen months in nominal attendance on lectures, and picked up some superficial information about chemistry and natural history.

In contrast to the traditionally conservative or libertarian ethos of the entrepreneurial class, the oligarchy is increasingly allied with the nominally populist Democratic Party and its regulatory agenda.

2013 October 5, Joel Kotkin, “California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude”, in The Daily Beast:


Anurag

From Sanskrit अनुराग (anurāga, “a higher love, as of music or art”).

der

A male given name from Sanskrit used mainly in India.


Cyril

→ Cebuano: Cyril

→ Japanese: シリル (Shiriru)

→ Korean: 시릴 (Siril)

Via Late Latin Cȳrillus, from Ancient Greek Κύριλλος (Kúrillos), from κύριος (kúrios, “lord, master”).

Boxers, too, not so long ago a somewhat uncouth section of the community who were seldom if ever mistaken for members of the Vere de Vere family, have taken on a polish which makes their society a pleasure. They have names like Cyril and Percy and Clarence and live up to them.

1954, P. G. Wodehouse, Over Seventy: An Autobiography with Digressions, Herbert Jenkins, published 1957, page 35:

A male given name from Ancient Greek; best known for a ninth century missionary to the Slavs.


San Franciscan

en-adj

San Franciscan (comparative more San Franciscan, superlative most San Franciscan)

more San Franciscan (comparative)
most San Franciscan (superlative)


San Franciscan

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors last month approved a new zoning law designed to limit the height and size of office towers and to reduce by half the projected employment growth downtown over the next 15 years. ¶ Adoption of the plan came after more than a decade of complaints from San Franciscans that their city was being "Manhattanized."

1985 August 4, Robert Lindsey, “The Struggle to Keep Skylines in Line”, in The New York Times:

Her fellow San Franciscan Fraser is a long-haired, 24-year-old ex-baseball player with rugged, modelish looks.

1988 July 15, Albert Williams, “Prison Drama”, in Chicago Reader:


Casey

en-proper noun

Casey (countable and uncountable, plural Caseys)

Anglicisation of an Irish surname Ó Cathasaigh (“descendant of (a person named) Watchful”).

Casey Anthony was sentenced on Thursday to a four-year jail term, the maximum possible, for lying to the police, but will be freed this month because she has spent nearly three years behind bars in Orlando, Fla., awaiting trial.

A female given name transferred from the surname.

A minor city in Adair County and Guthrie County, Iowa, United States.

A town in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States.


Dec

A diminutive of the male given name Declan.


Luannah

A female given name originating as a coinage.


hypocorism

en-noun

hypocorism (countable and uncountable, plural hypocorisms)

hypocorisms (plural)
hypocorisma (alternative)

Borrowed from Late Latin hypocorisma, a loan from Ancient Greek ὑποκόρισμα (hupokórisma), ὑποκορισμός (hupokorismós, “pet name”), from ὑποκορίζεσθαι (hupokorízesthai), ὑποκορίζομαι (hupokorízomai, “to use a pet name; to act in a childish manner”), from ῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-, prefix indicating a small degree) + κορίζομαι (korízomai, “to caress”) (from κόρος (kóros, “boy; youth”), κόρη (kórē, “girl; young woman”)).

af

"Mary" is informed that "Polly" is one of those "hypocorisms," or pet-names, in which our language abounds. Most are mere abbreviations, as Will, Nat, Pat, Bell, &c., taken usually from the beginning, sometimes from the end of the name.

1850 February 2, Benj[amin] H[all] Kennedy, “Pet-names”, in Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc., volume I, number 16, London: George Bell, […], published 16 February 1850, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 242, column 1:

For the flattering hypocorisms of lovers and parents see Plut. de Leg. Poet. p. 44; [...]

1865, Frederic W[illiam] Farrar, “The Nature of Words”, in Chapters on Language, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, footnote 3, pages 281–282:

The addition of diminutive or familiar prefixes and suffixes to the name of a saint to produce a 'pet name' or hypocorism, is common in the Celtic areas and would at times seem to produce extra saints from doublets of existing names.

2000, Karen Jankulak, “The Cult of St Petroc in Cornwall”, in The Medieval Cult of St Petroc (Studies in Celtic History; 19), Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 41:

Cabbage, however, has enjoyed unlikely success as a hypocorism, a usage that dates back to the mid nineteenth century; this usage arose as a direct translation of chou, which French lovers had been calling each other for a long time: "Oh, mon petit chou"—"Oh, my little cabbage."

2003, Mark Steven Morton, “My Swete Hurle Bawsy: Terms of Endearment”, in The Lover’s Tongue: A Merry Romp through the Language of Love and Sex, Toronto, Ont.: Insomniac Press, →ISBN, page 52:

Another example are hypocorisms (nicknames based on personal names) derived via language-specific word formation processes. In Amadeus, the German hypocorisms for Wolfgang and Constanze, Wolfie and Stanzi, can pass as German as well as American English – however, the latter hearing is encouraged by Constanze's pronunciation of the first vowel in Wolfie as [ˈvʊlfɪ] rather than German [ˈvɒlfɪ].

2008, Lukas Bleichenbacher, “Replacement Strategies”, in Multilingualism in the Movies: Hollywood Characters and Their Language Choices (Schweizer Anglistische Arbeiten [Swiss Studies in English]), Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg: Francke Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN, section 5.3 (Evocation), page 66:

Barney's own name is a hypocorism of Barnabas or Barnaby; Ted is a clipping of Theodore, which commonly becomes the hypocorism Teddy; among Barney's many sexual encounters were Wendy, Abby, and Jenny, each a hypocorism of original names Gwendolyn, Abigail, and Jennifer.

2016, Jessie Sams, “Word Formation in HIMYM [How I Met Your Mother]”, in Kristy Beers Fägersten, editor, Watching TV with a Linguist, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, page 172:

(countable) A term of endearment, often a diminutive; a pet name.


Algonquian

Relating to a group of North American languages.

algonquí

relating to a group of North American languages


Clara

Learned borrowing from Latin clāra, feminine of clārus (“bright, shining, clear”), a post-classical name made famous by the 13th century Saint Clara (Clare) of Assisi. Doublet of Clare and Claire.

But the fashion spreads deeper and wider; the village is infected and the village green; Amelias and Claras sweep your rooms and cook your dinners, gentle Sophias milk your cows, and if you ask a pretty smiling girl at a cottage door to tell you her name, the rosy lips lisp out Caroline.

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names::

My mother called me Clara. And everybody else called me Clara until I was fourteen years old. Then I got sick of it. Clara! Sounds like breaking glass. Did you ever stop to think of that, Frank? Say it fast and hit the C.

1956, Tad Mosel, Other People's Houses. Six Television Plays., page 123:

Կլարա

cognates and transliterations of the name Clara


Charlie

Charlies (plural)
Charley (alternative)
charley (alternative)
charlie (alternative)

→ Translingual: Charlie

Heaven only knows why a man with a strong biblical name like James wants to be a president named Jimmy. I'm certain that if he were called Charles, he wouldn't fool around that way. Charles is not so bad, but Charlie is a terrible burden to bear.

1979 Charles Kuralt, Dateline America, Harcourt Brace Jovanocich, page 184

A diminutive of the male given name Charles; also used as a formal given name.

Ча́рли

diminutive of Charles or its translations in other languages

'Can I call you Charlotte?'
'No. I hate the name, makes me sound like a Victorian aunt. I'm Charlie, and no, you can't call me that either.'

2007, Sophie Hannah, Hurting Distance, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 225:

A diminutive of the female given name Charlotte or Charlene, also used as a formal given name, although less common than the male name.

Karo

diminutive of Charlotte or Charlene or its translations in other languages


Oscar

Exact origin uncertain. Resuscitated by James Mcpherson in The Works of Ossian (1765). Napoleon, an admirer of the Ossianic poems, chose it for his godson Oscar Bernadotte, who became a king of Sweden.
The modern given name is a conflation of two unrelated names: first, Middle Irish Oscar (the name of Fionn Mac Cumhaill's grandson in Irish mythology), from Middle Irish os (“deer”) + cara (“friend”); and second, Old English Ōscār, Ōsgār (personal name, literally “spear of the gods/spear of God”), from Old English ōs (“god”) and gār (“spear”) (see Oswald). Compare German Ansgar (personal name), Danish Asker, Asger (personal name), Norwegian Asgeir (personal name), Icelandic Ásgeir (personal name).
(Academy Award): Disputed. Said to have been named by actress Bette Davis after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, or by secretary Margaret Herrick after her cousin Oscar Pierce.

bor

My son, though alone, is brave. Oscar is like a beam of the sky: he turns around, and the people fall.

1765, James Macpherson, The Poems of Ossian, Tauchnitz, published 1847, page 192:

Had a funny first name, like Oscar or maybe - no! I remember now. It was Felix. Felix Tanner.

2005 Marc Cerasini, etc, Operation Hell Gate, HarperEntertainment, page 134

A male given name from Irish or Old English.