Church of England

The English branch of the Christian Church; (since the 16th century) specifically the established Protestant church in England which is the mother church of the Anglican Communion.


Ganesha

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Plattdeutsch

/ˈplɑtˌdɔɪt͡ʃ/

/ˈplætˌdɔɪt͡ʃ/


Xerxes

From Ancient Greek Ξέρξης (Xérxēs), from Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 (x-š-y-a-r-š-a /Xšayāršā/, “ruler among kings”). Doublet of Ahasuerus.

der

A male given name from Old Persian mainly applied to historical and fictional characters.


Sid

A short form of the male given names Sidney and Siddhartha.

Alternative form of Syd (“unisex given name”).

A minor river in East Devon, England, which flows into the English Channel at Sidmouth.


delict

Borrowed from Latin delictum (“fault”), from neuter of delictus, past participle of delinquo (“to be lacking; to fail; to transgress”), from dē- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”).

(civil law, Scots law) A wrongful act, analogous to a tort in common law.

civil law; Scots law; civil law; Scots law


Low German

High Dutch

antonym(s) of “West Germanic languages that are not High German”

High German

includes numerous Upper German and Middle German/Central German dialects from which Standard High German mainly developed

→ German: American Low German

Because northern Germany (Low Germany), where it is spoken, is lower in elevation than southern Germany.

A West Germanic language spoken in Low (i.e. Northern) Germany and north-eastern parts of the Netherlands, and formerly also in large parts of eastern and north-eastern Europe, which developed out of Middle Low German from Old Saxon; often treated as a dialect group of German (or Dutch) for convenience, but widely recognized as a separate language.

Plautdietsch

often refers specifically to the Mennonite Low German variety

(Low Franconian (Dutch) is a dialect of Low German).

1951, Joseph Wright, A Middle High German primer, 4th ed. revised by M. O'C. Walshe, p. 1

Low German itself falls into two divisions: a western division, namely Low Franconian, the parent (with the admixture of Frisian and Saxon elements) of Flamish and Dutch; and an eastern division, Low Saxon or, as it is simply called, Low German (Plattdeutsch). High German (Hochdeutsch) became …

1983, Henry W. Sullivan, Calderón in the German Lands and the Low Countries: his reception and influence, 1654-1980, part of the series Cambridge Iberian and Latin American Studies, published by Cambridge University Press, page 9

Some linguists adopt a much broader approach and consider that Franconian also embraces dialects of Low German (Flemish, Brabantish, Limburgish, Dutch, Utrechtian, etc.) and High German (southern Rheno-Franconian and eastern Franconian).

Yves Lejeune, The case of Belgium, in: 2010, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Minority language protection in Europe: into a new decade: Regional or minority languages, No. 8, Council of Europe Publishing, p. 43ff., here p. 53

… we may distinguish:
…
Low German, containing:
Low Franconian (lower Rhine), known from some psalm translations.
Old Saxon (modern Lower Saxony), best known from the poem Heliand.

2016 (originally 2001), John M. Jeep (ed.), Michael Frassetto, Joan A. Holladay, Edward R. Haymes, Stephanie Cain Van D'Elden (associate eds.), Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia, published by Routledge (originally by Garland Publishing), p. 266 (section German Language, Dialects)

(linguistics) Any of a number of West Germanic languages, primarily spoken in northern Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, that did not undergo the High German consonant shift; the group thereof.


Ysabel

R. Jeeves: In my experience, ladies who spell Gladys with a W are seldom noted for their reliability, sir. It gives them romantic notions.
B.W. Wooster: With a W, Jeeves? No, no, no, no. You spell it with a G.
R. Jeeves: If I might draw your attention to the signature on the portrait, sir.
B.W. Wooster: Good Lord! G-W?
R. Jeeves: I blame Alfred Lord Tennyson and his Idylls of the King. It also accounts for Kathryn, Ysabel, and Ethyl, all spelt with a Y, but Gwladys is a particularly virulent form, sir.

1993 May 16, “Return to New York”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 6:

Alternative form of Isabel: a female given name.


Romance language

en-noun

Romance language (plural Romance languages)

The five most widely-spoken Romance languages

in order of decreasing number of speakers: Spanish


Denise

French Denise, from Latin Dionysia (feminine form of Dionysius, a male name of Ancient Greek origin indicating "Dedication to Dionysus"). Dionysus is the mythological Greek god of wine responsible for growth of the vines and the originator of winemaking.

der

feminine form of <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">Dionysius</i>, a male name of Ancient Greek origin indicating "Dedication to Dionysus"

A female given name from French, Latin, or Ancient Greek.


Isabelle

A female given name from French Isabelle, ultimately a variant of Elizabeth.


Carlo

From Italian Carlo, from Latin Carolus, from Germanic. Doublet of Charles, Carl, and Carlos.

Charles, come here and be presented to your cousin, Mabel Earnshaw. His name is Carlo, but I couldn't possibly call him by it; it sounds so like a dog. At least, pronounced in my English fashion. And I can't roll my r's.

1867 June 15, Frances Trollope, “Mabel's Progress”, in All the Year Round, page 579:

A male given name from Italian, equivalent to English Charles


Julia

From Latin Iūlia, feminine form of the Roman gens name Iūlius. Further popularized by early Christian saints. Doublet of Julie.

89 Julia
Julia
Julia (programming language)

Salute Philologus & Iulia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the Saints which are with them.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 16:15:

"Julia!" when alone he would exclaim; "what a sweet sounding and romantic name: Julia! what music and magic in its sound! 'tis a name worthy only the fairest and purest of creation!

1826 The New-York Literary Gazette and American Athenaeum, July 8, 1826, J.G.Brooks&G.Bond, page 216

“Why, I mean,” I replied, recoiling, “I mean—in short—that—in other words—I didn't know your name was Julia.”

"Why did you name her Julia?" Amy asked, letting the orange ice cream melt down the backs of her hands.
"Because it sounds dignified."

2000, Luanne Rice, Follow the Stars Home, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 93:


chemical equation

en-noun

chemical equation (plural chemical equations)

(chemistry) a symbolic representation of a chemical reaction; reactants are represented on the left, and products on the right


Isabella

Latinate and Italian form of Isabel. The grape cultivar is popularly thought to have been discovered by a Mrs Isabella Gibbs of South Carolina in 1816.

Can you so stead me,
As bring me to the sight of Isabella,
A novice of this place, and the fair sister
To her unhappy brother Claudio?

A contemporary, and usually very accurate chronicler, Bartholomew of Norwich, tells us that the queen called her infant by the barbarous name of Walkiniana; others again call her Isabella; but, in the wardrobe accounts, and all other state records, she is invariably designated Elizabeth.

1857 Mary Anne Everett Green, Lives of the Princesses of England, Vol. 3, page 2 ("Elizabeth, eighth daughter of Edward I")


/ˌeɪt͡ʃtuːˈoʊ/

Two H initials (Hishammuddin Hussein) represented by H₂ + O for Onn, chosen to humorously match the chemical formula for water.

(Malaysia, Internet slang, humorous, politics) Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, Malaysian politician and son of Hussein Onn, third prime minister of Malaysia.


Marco

From Romance Marco (Italian Marco, Portuguese Marco, Spanish Marco).

A male given name from the Romance languages, equivalent to English Mark

Marco mainly sells his clothes online.


Margot

"I like names that end with an a, don't you? Or other vowels? Most often it seems to be an a. But wait: Margo's name ends with an o, for mercy's sake! Barnaby's mother. Or it used to be o. Then she met Barnaby's father and added a t."
Sophia looked at me. I told her, "Mom thought Margot with a t was higher class."
"First time I saw it written that way was on the wedding invitations," Gram said. "She brought them home from the printer's and I said, 'Who's this?' She said, 'That's me.' Well, I did try to accommodate. Her dad said it was stuff and nonsense, but I told Jeffrey the next time he came to call, 'Mar-gott will be down in a minute.' He laughed because he thought I was joking but I was serious. I honestly assumed people pronounced the t."

1998 Anne Tyler, A Patchwork Planet, A.A.Knopf Inc., page 3


Jessika

A female given name from Hebrew, a rare modern spelling variant of Jessica


Jesse

From Ancient Greek Ἰεσσαί (Iessaí), from Hebrew יִשַׁי (Yishai).

Jesse James was a lad that killed many a man, / He robbed the Glendale train. / He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor, / He'd a hand and a heart and a brain.

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.

We had decided to change the spelling of our names. Mine was to become Jesse instead of Jessie, and hers was to be Meribeth, not MaryBeth. We signed these names to the test papers we turned in at school.
The teacher waved my paper in the air. "I can't give a mark to this person, because I don't know who this person is," she said. "Who is this Jesse?" She spelled the name out loud. "That is a boy's name. Does anybody here know a boy named Jesse?"

1985, Alice Munro, The Progress of Love, Chatto&Windus, published 1987, →ISBN:


Paolo

Borrowed from Italian Paolo. Doublet of Paul.

A male given name from Italian, equivalent to English Paul.


Darren

Unknown. A twentieth-century invention, possibly from a rare Irish surname of obscure meaning, possibly from Dara or Daragh, meaning "oak". It is also the name of an old silver mine near Aberystwyth, Wales.
* The name became popular, particularly in the UK, because of a character in the 1960s American TV series Bewitched, actually spelled Darrin.
* (person with sense of entitlement): As a rhyming equivalent for Karen.

Darren was a beautiful youth, strong and well made.

1959, Gwen Bristow, Celia Garth, Crowell, page 15:

One of those awful names, Gareth or Darren - no, Jason.

1998 Barbara Vine ( Ruth Rendell ), The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, page 315

A male given name originating as a coinage.


Angus

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Aonghas, perhaps literally "one choice".

Angus was a great enlargement of experience for me, because he illustrated how haphazardly Fate attributes names to her unoffending children. Angus McGubbin: a Scots giant, red-haired and scowling - wouldn't you think so?

1994, RobertsonDavies, The Cunning Man, Viking, published 1995, →ISBN, page 168:

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic of mostly Scottish usage.


Nando

A diminutive of the male given name Fernando.


Raleigh

From Old English rā, rāha (“roe deer”) + lēah (“woodland, clearing”). Equivalent to roe + -ley (“lea”).

A male given name, transferred from the surname.


Isabel

From Spanish Isabel, from Old Occitan Elisabel, from Latin Elisabeth, from Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), from Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע (Elishéva, “my God is an oath”). Doublet of Elizabeth.

der

Mariana. O my good lord! Sweet Isabel, take my part:
Lend me your knees, and all my life to come,
I'll lend you all my life to do you service.

There is a silvery bell-like music in the name, which is exceedingly attractive, and which has made it a favorite with the poets. - - - Mary Howitt, in her Flower comparisons, has the following melodious lines:
Now for mad-cap Isabel: / What shall suit her, pr'y thee tell? / Isabel is brown and wild; /Will be evermore a child;

1852 August, D. H. Jacques, “A Chapter on Names”, in The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XL, page 119:

I'm glad you spell your name like that. It's the best of all the ways to spell Isabel.

1994 Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), No Night Is Too Long, page 110

How many poor girls, who would have been wild and raging and beautiful and free sex goddesses if only their parents had found it in their hearts to name them Isabel, instead had to stuff their poor psyches into the name Heather?

2002, Cynthia Heimel, If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?, Grove Press, →ISBN, page 177:


Davo

(Australia) A diminutive of the male given name David


Gilbert

en-proper noun

Gilbert (countable and uncountable, plural Gilberts)

From Old French Gislebert, from Proto-Germanic *Gīslaberhtaz, from *gīslaz (“pledge”) + *berhtaz (“bright, famous”), from Proto-Celtic *Gēstloberxtos.

compound

Gilbert - - - because it is written in Dooms-day book Gislebert, I judge it rather to signifie Bright or brave pledge - - - .So it is a well fitting name for children which are the only sweet pledges and pawns of love between man and wife.

1605, William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain, John Russell Smith, published 1870, page 81:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Guido

A male given name from Italian, equivalent to English Guy.


Fernando

From Spanish Fernando, a contraction of Ferdinando, equivalent to English Ferdinand. From Proto-Germanic *fardiz (“journey”) or *friþuz (“peace”) + *nanþaz (“daring”) (from the root of *ninþaną (“to be daring”)).

A male given name from Spanish of Spanish origin. Diminutive: Nando, Fer


Rocco

From the Italian form of the name of French 14th century saint Roch, of Germanic origin. The meaning is obscure; Old High German hruoh (“crow”), hrok (“rest”) and rohōn (“to roar”) have been suggested.

A male given name from Italian, of mostly American usage.


Peggy

"Peggy Fitzgerald," he had said, laughing in what he later remebered as his one and only attempt at humor with her. "Peggy Fitzgerald," he had said, in his easily remembered brogue. "Puts me in mind of me mither, an Irish lass from County Galway."
Margaret Bunker Fitzgerald had not been amused. "You'll never get over it, will you?" she had spat at him furiously. "You'll never get over being an Irishman, a black Irish Catholic from a Boston slum. Don't you ever dare to call me Peggy again. My name is Margaret, and don't you forget it!"

1956, Grace Metalious, Peyton Place, UPNE, published 1999, →ISBN, Book Two, Chapter 9:

When Caroline gave birth to another daughter, they named her Margaret Ann, after me and then Oscar's mother. They didn't realize that Peggy was my given name. Now they call her Ann, because I do.

1996, Elizabeth McCracken, The Giant's House, page 257:

A diminutive of the female given name Margaret, also used as a formal given name.


Lombard Street

A London street, the site of a colony of Lombard Jewish merchants and moneylenders who settled there in the 13th century.

A street in San Francisco, California with eight hairpin bends.


Fenian Cycle

(Irish mythology) A body of prose and verse focusing on the exploits of the mythological hero Fionn mac Cumhail and his warriors the Fianna Éireann.

cicle fenià

a body of prose and verse focusing on the exploits of the mythological hero Fionn mac Cumhail and his warriors


IDS

(UK politics) Initialism of Iain Duncan Smith.


Fianna Éireann

Meaning "Soldiery of Ireland", named after the mythological Fianna


Hugo

From Old French Hugo, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *hugi (“thought, mind, spirit”).

der

He had liked a girl named Sandra in seventh grade. "Where did you get the name Hugo?" she had asked him once. "It sounds like a made-up name. What's your real name, Hugo? Or are you a Russian spy?"

1986, Kitty Burns Florey, Real Life, Morrow, →ISBN, page 34:

A male given name from the Germanic languages, a Latinized form of Hugh.


Gilbertese

From Gilbert + -ese. See Gilbertese language § Name on Wikipedia.

An Austronesian language spoken in Kiribati.


Gilbertese

If each Gilbertese passes on land to his or her children, not very many generations will pass before the land plots become relatively fragmented. This was and is the case. Many land plots are small,[…]

1981, Roland W. Force, Brenda Bishop, Persistence and Exchange: Papers from a Symposium on Ecological Problems of the Traditional Societies of the Pacific Region : XIV Pacific Science Congress, Khabarovsk, U.S.S.R., August--September, 1979:

(chiefly in the plural) A person from the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati.


Nazarene

In the sense "person from Nazareth", from Ancient Greek Ναζαρηνός (Nazarēnós, “of Nazareth”), an ethnonym of Ναζαρέθ (Nazaréth). In the sense "a member of a certain sect", from Ancient Greek Ναζωραῖος (Nazōraîos), which may or may not be related. For a list of theories as to the further etymology of this word, see the Wikipedia article on ‘Nazarene’.

(usually as “the Nazarene”) an epithet of Jesus Christ


Alfonso

From Spanish Alfonso and Italian Alfonso. Doublet of Alphonse.


Solomon

en-proper noun

Solomon (countable and uncountable, plural Solomons)

From Latin Solomōn (variant of Salomon), from Ancient Greek Σολομών (Solomṓn), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁלֹמֹה (šĕlōmōʰ), from שָׁלוֹם (šālōm, “peace”). Doublet of Shlomo and Suleiman.

(countable) A male given name from Ancient Greek [in turn from Hebrew], feminine equivalent Salome.


Bruno

Bruno (countable and uncountable, plural Brunos or Brunoes)

From Italian, German etc continental European Bruno, name of medieval Italian and German saints and royalty, Latinized form of Old High German brūn (“brown”). The surname is mostly borrowed from Italian Bruno. Doublet of Brown.

He was the man who brought us those great bruising, bristle-chinned teams, with players who had fearsome names like Bruno and Bulldog.

1983, Mike Royko, Studs Terkel, One More Time.The Best of Mike Royko, University of Chicago Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 169:

(countable) A male given name from the Germanic languages.


general formula

en-noun

general formula (plural general formulas or general formulae)

general formulas (plural)
general formulae (plural)

The general formula for saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons is CₙH₂ₙ₊₂ and the molecular formula for propane is C₃H₈

The general formula for alcohols is R-OH and the molecular formula for methanol is CH₃-OH

(chemistry) The molecular formula of a class of compounds in which actual numbers are represented by x, n etc., and organic radicals are represented as Rₙ


Shawnee

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

Ultimately from Shawnee Shawanwa (“Shawnee”) or shawanoki (“southerners”), a hypothetical intermediary term is sometimes supposed to have facilitated the entry into English, such as Munsee sawanow.

The girls from our year were mainly named some version of Shawn. There was Shawna, Dawna, Shawnee, Dawnali, Shalana, and just plain Dawn and Shawn.

2012, Louise Erdrich, The Round House, Corsair, published 2013, →ISBN, page 292:

A female given name, derived from the name of this tribe.


By swapping out less efficient federal vehicles for new hybrid and fuel efficient ones, this strategy will reduce gasoline consumption by 1.3 million gallons per year and prevent 26 million pounds of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere.

2009 April 9, Office of the Press Secretary, “President Obama Announces Accelerated Purchase of 17,600 New American Vehicles for Government Fleet”, in White House, archived from the original on 2010-03-10:


Preston

en-proper noun

Preston (countable and uncountable, plural Prestons)

From Old English prēost (“priest”) + tūn (“settlement”). Doublet of Prestatyn.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Renjith

From Sanskrit, meaning "victor in wars".

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Corbin

An Anglo-Norman nickname from corb (“crow”), or shortened from the Corbinian, the name of a Frankish eighth-century saint, probably from Latin corvus (“crow, raven”).


Conrad

A variant of German Konrad, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *Kōnirād, from *kōnī (“bold, brave”) + *rād (“counsel”). Cognate of Old English Cēnrǣd, Dutch Koenraad and Icelandic Konráð.

af

There was no further need for words, because the lexicon of Romance jargon has just been fully deployed. In it chaps are called names like Conrad, and girls names like Delora, quite unlike the names of those who are reading it on the way to work.

1985, Philip Howard, The State of the Language, OUP, →ISBN, page 58:

კონრად (ḳonrad) (when used with a title or surname)


Alaric

From Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍃 (alls, “all”) + 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (reiks, “ruler”), from Proto-Germanic *Alarīks.

We feel bound to add, however, that it is not very likely, in the usual chances of events, that such names as Alaric Attila Watts should have met in matrimony with those of Zillah Madonna Wiffen; and an unkind world may suggest a mystification somewhere.

1835 June, Fraser's Magazine, volume XI, page 652:


Coorg

A member of the Dravidian language family spoken by the aforementioned ethnic community.


Seamus

Anglicization of Irish Séamas (“James”), itself from English James.


BBC English

received pronunciation
received pronunciation

(British) A form of received pronunciation formerly used in British broadcasting.


Aeschylus

Borrowed from Latin Aeschylus, from Ancient Greek Αἰσχύλος (Aiskhúlos).

(historical) A male given name from Ancient Greek.


Irwin

en-proper noun

Irwin (countable and uncountable, plural Irwins)

From a medieval given name Erwin, Old English eofor (“boar”) + wine (“friend”), the latter of which is from Proto-West Germanic *wini.


Emerson

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


Ging

Clipped form of Ginger, itself sometimes a nickname for Virginia.

Amelia thereupon taught Ginger Park and Lucy. [...] In one picture Amelia and three friends—Katherine Dolan (referred to as Dolan), Lucy (Toot), Virginia Park (Ging) are lying on their stomachs, their chins cupped in their hands, staring at the camera either before or after a basketball game; it is Amelia who is holding the ball.

But while Crosby was their first main topic of conversation, Johnny and Ginger soon began to have the experiences that draw people closer together. [...] “For years,” Mercer said, “anytime anything went wrong, Ging and I would just look at each other and say ‘Borough Hall!’ and think of that poor man who thought he was on his way to Harlem.”

Her taste for philosophical conundrums having been whetted rather than sated by decades of nothing to do, Ging often likes to speculate at length on whether we’re an incarnation that became a refuge, or a refuge that became an incarnation.

(hypocoristic) A diminutive of the female given names Ginger and Virginia.


Tana

A female given name, Alternative form of Tanya


Jints

Eye dialect for popular New York City pronunciation of giants

1914 May 17, “The Old-Time Fan Refers To the Jints' Little Napoleon As a...”, in Atlanta Constitution:

The folks were quite happy about Sunday's thrilling reprieve in Philadelphia and happily confident that "d' Bums'll moider dem Jints"

1951 October 2, “VOICE OF FLATBUSH GOES UP AND DOWN; Loud Shouts of Morning Fall to...”, in New York Times:

He did about as well as could be expected with the Jints, though the halo he gained lastseason was knocked slightly askew in the process.

1952 September 4, “Sports of the Times; Wait Till Next Year”, in New York Times:

The faithful cheered loudly for their beloved Bums; they jeered loudly at the others teams, especially if they were the hated "Jints" from the Polo Grounds.

2000, G. Richard McKelvey, The MacPhails: Baseball's First Family of the Front Office, page 38:

The Polo Grounds, which had been the site of many fierce battles between the "Jints" and the "Bums," was not friendly to the home team.

2001, G. Richard McKelvey, The Bounce: Baseball Teams' Great Falls and Comebacks, page 100:

To his credit, Allen could not imagine the Jints or Bums unabiding on New York's behalf. "New York is fully capable of supporting three clubs."

2007, Curt Smith, The Voice: Mel Allen's Untold Story, page 111:

(baseball, informal) Nickname for the New York Giants, subsequently the San Francisco Giants.

On Sunday it would be even more drinking, plus the Times, and the pitiful "Jints" on TV.

2000, James Patterson, The Midnight Club, page 101:

(American football, informal) The New York Giants.

(US, sports) Nickname for many teams with name including Giants.


Joel

/ˈd͡ʒəʊ(ə)l/

From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yoél, “Yahweh (is) God”). As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Breton Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn). Cf. Elijah.


Fleming

From Middle English flameng, from late Old English Flæmingi, from Old Norse Flǽmingr, Middle Dutch Vlaminc, Vleminc, from Old Frisian (unattested) (compare West Frisian Flaming), from Proto-Germanic *flaumaz (“flowing, current (water)”) and the patronymic suffix *-ingaz (“belonging to, descended from”). More at Flanders.

der

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

A number of places in the United States:

A tiny city in Ray County, Missouri; suburb of Kansas City.

A town and hamlet in Cayuga County, New York.


Drina

A diminutive of the female given name Alexandrina


Brazilian Portuguese

The Portuguese language as spoken and written in Brazil, particularly when it differs from other regional varieties of that language.


Ewok

Coined by American filmmaker George Lucas in 1983 from the syllabic reverse of Wookiee. The name first appeared in the end titles of the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

coin

Those vampire-wanna-bes, who are actually cute in a Ewok/troll doll sort of way, pick their teeth nightly after a six-course wing fling.

2000, Lori Torrance, Tea for Texas: A Guide to Tearooms in the State, page 15:

Tripping a walker the size of a house is difficult but not impossible. You will need high-tensile wire and suitably grounded posts. Ask your Ewok friends for help.

2005, Daniel H. Wilson, How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Bloomsbury,, →ISBN, page 134:

My answer to those who believe that all Bigfoot are just huge cuddly Ewoks is to remind them that there is plenty of evidence that every member of the great apes family […] has exhibited hostility […].

2007, Matthew Scott Hansen, The Shadowkiller: A Novel, page 434:

She looked like a little plump Ewok, standing with Big Foot.

2008, Grace Octavia, His First Wife, Dafina Books,, →ISBN, page 30:

It’s been claimed that Jon has a string of mistresses, that Kate had an affair with her bodyguard and that Baby Number Six is actually a shaved Ewok with a catastrophic heroin addiction. Or something.

2009 May 22, Stuart Heritage, “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”, in Hecklerspray:

A member of a fictional, primitive race of teddy-bear-like creatures.


Zyrian

A Finnic language spoken by the Komi people.


glossolalia

From glosso- + -lalia, from Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssa, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰs) + λᾰλῐᾱ́ (laliā́, “talking; form of speech, dialect”) (from λᾰ́λος (lálos, “talkative”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)).

der

[Adolf Bernhard Christoph] Hilgenfeld, indeed, is mistaken in explaining the unintelligibility of the γλω̑σσαι, only by the transcendent nature of what they expressed to the merely human consciousness; but he observes with great truth, that that which is common to prophecy and to glossolalia consisted in the exaltation of the consciousness above the merely human sphere, but that which is distinct consisted in this: that he who was prophetically inspired was in the full possession of his reflecting spiritual powers; […] [W]e showed that there is a human πνευ̑μα in a narrower sense, a capacity of immediate perception and insght. As all ecstasy, so also glossolalia was perfected in this πνευ̑μα: it was a miraculous agency of the Spirit of God […]

1869, Franz Delitzsch, translated by Robert Ernest Wallis, A System of Biblical Psychology. … Translated from the German, (Second Edition, Thoroughly Revised and Enlarged,) … (Clark’s Foreign Theological Library, Fourth Series; XIII), 2nd English edition, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 38, George Street; London: Hamilton and Co.; Dublin: John Robertson and Co., →OCLC, page 426:

The occurrence in Acts ii. is therefore to be recognised, according to its historical import, as the phenomenon of the glossolalia, (not as a higher stage of it, in which the foreign languages supervened, Olshausen), which emerged for the first time in the Christian church, and that immediately on the effusion of the Spirit at Pentecost,—a phenomenon which, in the sphere of the marvellous to which it belongs, was elaborated and embellished by legend into a speaking in foreign languages, and accordingly into an occurrence quite unique, not indeed as to substance, but as to mode[…], and far surpassing the subsequently frequent and well-known glossolalia, having in fact no parallel in the further history of the church.

1877, Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Paton J. Gloag, chapter II, in William P[urdie] Dickson, editor, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles. … Translated from the Fourth Edition of the German … (Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; I), volume I (The Acts of the Apostles), Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 38 George Street, →OCLC, page 67:

But glossolalia by definition makes no such sense, because it consists of strings of syllables, made up of sounds taken from all those that the speaker knows, put together more or less haphazardly but emerging nevertheless as word-like and sentence-like units because of realistic, language-like rhythm and melody.

1972 September, William J. Samarin, “Sociolinguistic vs. Neurophysiological Explanations for Glossolalia: Comment on Goodman’s Paper”, in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, volume 11, number 3, Blackwell, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, page 293:

Lorenzo is still kneeling at the box, once more Luisa wipes her eyes, Violeta is sobbing and rocking, her glossolalia now at the -sə-sə-sə-level of near exhaustion.

1982, Felicitas D. Goodman, Jeannette H. Henney, Esther Pressel, “Chronology of Events”, in Trance, Healing, and Hallucination: Three Field Studies in Religious Experience, Malabar, Fla.: Robert E. Krieger Pub. Co., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 301:

Everything was a labyrinthine amalgam of languages, a towering Babel of puns and glossolalia.

2012, Andy Martin, “Text Messenger”, in Literary Review, London: The Literary Review & Quarto, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 404:

Speaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under the influence of a deity or spirits); speaking in tongues.


Cecilia

From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila.

Hark how the flutes and trumpets raise / At bright Cecilia's name, their lays!

1694, Joseph Addison, A Song for St. Cecilia's Day:

‘Sissy is not a name,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Don’t call yourself Sissy. Call yourself Cecilia.’ ‘It’s father as calls me Sissy, sir,’ returned the young girl in a trembling voice, and with another curtsey. ‘Then he has no business to do it,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Tell him he mustn’t. Cecilia Jupe. Let me see. What is your father?’

1854, Charles Dickens, “Book I, Chapter II”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC:

Because they had named her Cecilia, her parents fancied that the matter of her life and character had been fairly well settled. She would, of course, be quiet and pale and mystical, like the saint whose picture hung above the old upright piano in the Kirby living-room.

1928, Lynn Montross, “Silent Minstrel”, in American Magazine, volume 106, page 14:

Cæcilia (alternate with the “æ” ligature)

Celia

often regarded as a short form of Cecilia

Celia”)

Latin: Caelia, from Caelius, probably from caelum (“heaven

Sheila

alternate spellings: Sheela, Sheelagh, Shelagh, Sheilagh, Sile


low back merger

en-noun

low back merger (plural low back mergers)

The low back merger is one possible outcome of a series of triggering events outlined in Chapter 5, but it is itself the triggering event for a variety of further consequences for the English vowel system.

1994, William Labov, Principles of Linguistic Change, volume 3:


cot-caught merger

cot-caught merger (plural cot-caught mergers)

/ˈkɑt kɔt ˌmɝd͡ʒɚ/

/ˈkɑt kɑt ˌmɝd͡ʒɚ/

/ˈkɒt kɔːt ˌmɜːd͡ʒə/

/ˈkɔt kɔt ˌmɛɾdʒəɾ/

/ˈkɔt koːt ˌmɵːd͡ʒɘ/

One was /au/-monophthongisation, described earlier in Chapter 2, while the second was the so-called low-back merger (LBM), also referred to as the cot–caught merger because words in these two classes are pronounced the same and speakers cannot hear any small differences in their pronunciation, even when they are present.

2011, Scott F Kiesling, Linguistic Variation and Change, page 81:

(phonology) A phonemic merger in some varieties of English (especially American and Canadian English) in which the vowels in words such as hot and doll (/ɒ/) and in words such as law and talk (/ɔː/) are pronounced identically, making the words cot and caught homophones.


Sydwell

(rare) A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Sidwell.


Aleut

From Russian алеу́т (aleút), probably from a native word, perhaps Aleut allíthuh (“community”) or Chukchi aliat (“island”).

The language of the Aleutian Islands, related to Eskimo (Inupiaq and Yupik).


Old High German

Old Alemannic is a dialect of Old High German, which is traditionally divided into two main dialect groups: Old Upper German (Altoberdeutsch) and Old Franconian (Altfränkisch). Old Upper German comprises Old Alemannic (Altalemannisch) and Old Bavarian (Altbairisch) while Old Franconian consists of Old Mid Franconian (Altmittelfränkisch), Old Rhine Franconian (Altrheinfränkisch), Old South-Rhine Franconian (Altsüdrheinfränkisch), and Old East Franconian (Altostfränkisch).

2019, Javier Caro Reina, Central Catalan and Swabian: A study in the framework of the typology of syllable and word languages (series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, vol. 422, edited by Claudia Polzin-Haumann and Wolfgang Schweickard), p. 318

The early recorded form of the High German language, spoken from the 8th century to the 11th century.


Old High German

… one particular Old High German text. This text is the Ludwigslied, which is 59 lines long and was written in a special Old Franconian dialect in 881 or 882 after the battle of Saucourt; …

Herbert Penzl, Methods of textual linguistics and the old high German Ludwigslied, in: 1978, Mohammad Ali Jazayery, Edgar C. Polomé, Werner Winter (eds.), Linguistic and literary studies: In honor of Archibald A. Hill: III: Historical and comparative linguistics, p. 163ff., here p. 163

Concerning the Old High German language.


Jonathon

A male given name from Hebrew, variant of Jonathan.


rosary

From Middle English rosarie, from Latin rosārium, here in its sense as a garland of roses. The coin usage referred to the laurel wreath appearing on the obverse bust, as opposed to the bare head on the pollard. Doublet of Rosario and rosarium.

psalter (150-bead rosary for use with the Psalms)

(historical numismatics) A 13th-century coin minted in Europe as a counterfeit debased form of the sterling silver penny of Edward I, at first accepted as a halfpenny and then outlawed.


Fergus

From Irish or Scottish Gaelic Fearghas. The first element may be related to modern fìor (“true”) or fear (“man”) (cf. Fearchar). The second element has been understood to mean 'choice' (cf. Angus). Thus the name means either "most chosen one" or "chosen man".


Lucas

From Latin Lucas, from Ancient Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs). See the Greek entry for more.

There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Philemon 23-24::


ETV

ETV (countable and uncountable, plural ETVs)

(ufology, countable) Initialism of extraterrestrial vehicle.


Nordic

en-adj

Nordic (comparative more Nordic, superlative most Nordic)

more Nordic (comparative)
most Nordic (superlative)

From French nordique, from nord (“north”).

(linguistics) Of or relating to the family of North Germanic languages.

nòrdic

of or relating to the family of North Germanic languages


Nordic

A person of Nordic descent or having features typical of Nordic people.

Called “Nordics,” the aliens are human-like in appearance, of average height, and often have long, flowing hair. Contactees are typically struck by the beauty of the Nordics, as was Howard Menger (1959): “She seemed to radiate and glow,” Menger explains,

2007, Erich Goode, D. Angus Vail, Extreme Deviance, Pine Forge Press, page 41:

But the third most common alien is called a Nordic, or humanoid.

2012, Kelly Milner Halls, Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFOs and Aliens, Millbrook Press, page 45:

Known as Nordics, these extraterrestrials are said to have blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin and are anywhere from 6 to 8 feet (183cm to 244cm) tall.

2012, Patricia D. Netzley, Extraterrestrial Life: Alien Encounters, Reference Point Press, page 33

(ufology, science fiction) A race of extraterrestrials similar in appearance to Nordic humans.


Gibson

en-proper noun

Gibson (countable and uncountable, plural Gibsons)

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Virgil

From Middle English Vyrgyle, from Latin Virgilius, from the Roman clan name Vergilius, from Etruscan and of unknown meaning.

A wedding dance at the Avon Ballroom on July 22nd for Mary Paterek and Virgil Loucks (imagine, a youth named Virgil, he must be the youngest Virgil in Minnesota, maybe the last of the Virgil line).

1985, Garrison Keillor, Lake Wobegon Days, Penguin, published 1990, →ISBN:

(mainly US) A male given name from Latin.


Wilma

A female given name from the Germanic languages, a contraction of Wilhelmina.


Larisa

A female given name from Ancient Greek, a less common spelling of Larissa.


Athan

Perhaps from Nathan, via rebracketing of "my Nathan" as "mine Athan"; compare Ned, derived from Ed via rebracketing in the opposite direction.


Eden

From Hebrew עֵדֶן (eden), perhaps from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin, “steppe, garden”).

We call Edith Eden now because that is what she called herself before she could pronounce 'th'. It is rather a lovely name, I think. Edith sounds like someone's old aunt. I can't think why Mother and Father chose it.

1986 Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell): A Dark-Adapted Eye: page 35

A female given name from Hebrew from the biblical place name; also a medieval diminutive of Old English compound names beginning with the element ēad (“riches”).


Kare

Kare Narain Pathak (born 1941), Indian theoretical condensed-matter physicist


Kare

A language in the Mabuso subfamily of Central Madang languages, spoken in the Hansemann Range of Papua New Guinea.

Kare

Mabuso (Central Madang) language spoken in the Hansemann Mountains, PNG


Nicole

Borrowed from the French Nicole, the feminine form of Nicolas (“Nicholas”).

Nicole. They were all named Ashley or Nicole or Ashley Nicole. A sultry temptress of thirteen was after poor innocent Bob who was still a child, although lately his voice had been getting deeper […]

1999, Perri O'Shaughnessy, Acts of Malice, Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 26:


Enets

The Samoyedic language spoken by these people.


Mordvin

Of or relating to Mordovia (Mordvinia) or its people or culture.


Mordvin

A branch of the Finno-Ugric language group.


Selkup

the Samoyedic language spoken by these people.


Samoyedic

Any of a group of languages spoken in the Urals that, along with Finno-Ugric, make up the Uralic language group.


Finno-Ugric

A group of languages that, together with Samoyedic, make up the Uralic family; they are spoken in a broad swathe from Siberia to Norway.


Finno-Ugric

Of or relating to Finno-Ugric languages.


Nenets

The Samoyedic languages spoken by these people.


Mansi

Borrowed from Northern Mansi Ма̄ньси (Mānʹsi).

bor+

The languages of the other three branches – Mansi, Khanty and Samoyed – are or were spoken in Siberia, but the area of Tundra Nenets in the Samoyed branch extends to the west of the Ural mountains, and the area of Southern Mansi also originally covered parts of Europe.

2010, Christopher Moseley, editor, Atlas of the world's languages in danger:

The Uralic language spoken by these people, now more often considered a group of closely related languages.


Brock

"I suppose you," she said, "were named for General Clive." "I was. And my father was named for General Brock." "General Brock?" she asked, mystified. "General Isaac Brock, you know. The Battle of Queenston Heights, where we defeated the Americans." Her puzzled expression showed that she had not heard of the occasion. Young Busby was shocked.

1949, Mazo de la Roche, Mary Wakefield, Dundurn Press, published 2009, →ISBN, page 132:


Japanglish

English words that have been co-opted into Japanese vernacular, often incorrectly.

English terms or names that have been localized for Japanese use.


Knox

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cnoc (“round hill”).


Khanty

From Northern Khanty хӑнты (hănty, “Khanty person; Khanty (adj.)”), Southern Khanty хӑнтӛ (hăntjə, “Khanty person; man”), Eastern Khanty кӑнтӛг яг (kăntjəg jag, “Khanty people”), presumably from Proto-Uralic *kunta (“clan, kin, community”).

der

related to Khanty people or their language


Khanty

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

A member of an indigenous ethnic group living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia.

խանտի

member of an ethnic group — see also Ostyak


Khanty

The Ob-Ugric language spoken by these people, now more often considered a group of closely related languages.


Capeverdean Crioulo

A creole language spoken in Cape Verde and divided into Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava creoles.


Seneca

Seneca
Seneca language
Seneca people
Seneca the Younger

From Dutch Sennecaas, from Algonquian (probably Mahican [Term?]).

The Iroquoian language of the Seneca people.

A number of places in the United States, including:

Green Lake County
Green Lake County#English


Gael

Book of Llandaff
Brill Publishers
Goídel Glas
Lebor Gabála Érenn

Borrowed from Irish Gael, alt. Gaol, from earlier Gaoidheal, cognate with Scottish Gaelic Gàidheal and Manx Gael, from Middle Irish Gaídel, from Old Irish Goídel (“Irishman”), a loanword from Old Welsh Guoidel (“wild man, warrior”) (also recorded as a personal name in the Book of Llandaff), from Proto-Brythonic *guɨðel (“savage, woodsman”), from Proto-Celtic *weidelos (“savage, woodsman”), related to *weidus (“wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“wood, wilderness”) (cf. Old English wāþ (“hunt”)). Doublet of Goidel, unrelated to Gaul or Gallia.
Medieval Irish traditions, including the Lebor Gabála Érenn, trace the origin of the Goídels to an eponymous ancestor, Goídel Glas, but this is no longer held to be the ultimate etymology of the word.


Lett

The Strange Case of Peter the Lett


Komi

An endonym, used by the Finno-Permic Komi people to refer to themselves, probably through Russian коми (komi). See Komi-Zyrian коми (komi) for further etymology.

A Finno-Ugric language currently spoken by 200,000 to 400,000 people, depending on source and definition of "speaker", in northeastern European part of Russia.

A republic of Russia. Official name: Komi Republic.


Komi

In 1376 he set out to establish his mission among the Komi people of the Perm’ region, and achieved enough success for the Metropolitan to make him bishop […].

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, page 519:

A member of an ethnic group chiefly consisting of Komi speakers and descendants of Komi speakers who don't speak the language.


Lycian

An extinct Indo-European language in the Anatolian group.


Jennifer

From Cornish, from Middle Cornish Gwynnever (cognate with Welsh Gwenhwyfar), from Proto-Brythonic *Gwɨnnohuɨβar. Doublet of Guinevere. Compare Irish Fionnbharr, Fionnabhair, which may be cognate.

RIDGEON. Thats a wonderful drawing. Why is it called Jennifer?
MRS DUBEDAT. My name is Jennifer.
RIDGEON. A strange name.
MRS DUBEDAT. Not in Cornwall. I am Cornish. It's only what you call Guinevere.

1906, George Bernard Shaw, The Doctor's Dilemma, act I:

"Most people's sisters have decent names like Jennifer or Jane or something. What did you say hers was?"

1960, Jerrard Tickell, The Hunt for Richard Thorpe, Doubleday, page 10:

Jennifer. Jenny with the light brown hair. Jenny-fair, their high school French teacher had called her, and fair she had been.

2000, Dana Stabenow, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Dutton, →ISBN, page 131:

A female given name from Cornish, Middle Cornish, or Proto-Brittonic.


Latonia

A female given name transferred from the place name or originating as a coinage, a blend of the female name prefix La- + Tonia.


ve

Cyrillic script
Appendix:Cyrillic script#English

The name of the Cyrillic script letter В / в.


Eliza

"My real name's !Eliza!. I've sometimes thought she called me after Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion." "Come again?" said Sean. "Because she intended to do the same thing with me as Pygmalion did with Galatea and as Professor Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle, he remade her to be the way he wanted her, or let's say he had an ideal and he tried to turn her into that." - - - "She said she didn't, anyway, when I asked her. She just liked the name."

1993, Ruth Rendell, The Crocodile Bird, page 76:

A female given name from Hebrew, popular in the 19th century.


Darius

Borrowed from Latin Dārīus, from Ancient Greek Δᾱρεῖος (Dāreîos), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Dārayauš), shortened form of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Dārayavaʰuš), see it for more.


injun

1805–15; variant of Indian. Compare Cajun.

We'll kill ourselves an injun, and maybe two or three!

You want a problem, well I guess we got one now / I really don't know how / There's injuns over every goddamn hill

1999, “What Do You Want Me to Say?”, in Emergency & I, performed by the Dismemberment Plan:

Instead of grudgingly admitting the “Injuns” weren’t so bad after all, it actually explores the conflicted culpability of individual white Americans.

2024 February 2, Ellen E. Jones, “Beyond the pale: where are all the films about ‘whiteness’?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(US, slang, offensive) A Native American.

en:Native American name controversy#Controversial terminology


Vik

A diminutive of the male given names Viktor and Vikram.


Miguel

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Miguel. Doublet of Michael.

bor+

A male given name from Portuguese or Spanish.


Lisa

Diminutive of Elisabeth in several European languages. The computer is named after Lisa Brennan-Jobs, officially explained as an acronym for “Locally Integrated Software Architecture”.

You were born in the '70s? Were you named after Lisa on As the World Turns?

Elizabeth coloured.
"Oh, I don't want the doll called after me, if that is what you mean," she said, rather disdainfully.
"Nonsense, Lisa!" laughed her father, "you ought to consider yourself highly honoured to have such a handsome lady as this for your namesake."

1868, William Meynell Whittmore, editor, Sunshine, page 138:

Lisa is a better name. Claudia bangs, like the gong in the hall at Sotleigh. Bang - whoom! Lisa makes a nice silky noise, like streams or rain.

1997, Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger, Grove Press, →ISBN:

Did I want to be burdened with a common name? Be the third Lisa and fourth Susan in my classroom? Darleen or Doreen or Maureen?
I did.

2007, Elinor Lipman, My Latest Grievance, →ISBN, page 16:


Clive

"I suppose you," she said, "were named for General Clive." "I was. And my father was named for General Brock."

A male given name transferred from the surname. Popular in Britain in the mid-twentieth century.


Viktor

Ви́ктор Виктор#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Ви́ктор (Víktor).


Dionysius

From Latin Dionysius, from Ancient Greek Διονύσιος (Dionúsios).

Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 17:34:

An Ancient Greek male given name from Ancient Greek


Timothy

From Middle French Timothée, from Latin Tīmotheus, from Ancient Greek Τῑμόθεος (Tīmótheos), from τῑμάω (tīmáō, “I honour”) + θεός (theós, “god”).

The name Timothy was an inspiration of Cherry's own. - - - "Now then, TIMOTHY!" and this she said with a rapid forte crescendo movement which made her mother laugh and also with a jerk which spilt the milk on the little one's forehead. "Well, mother," says Cherry gaily, "I've christened him at all events." And Timothy being a distinctive name, and a scriptural one, it was retained as the appellative of this mite,

1867, William Brighty Rands, Shoemakers' Village, Strahan, published 1871, pages 89–90:

O Timothy Tim / Has ten pink toes, / And ten pink toes / Has Timothy Tim.

1932 A. A. Milne, The Christopher Robin Verses: Cradle Song

A male given name from Ancient Greek of biblical origin, also borne by early Christian saints.


xenonym

From xeno- (“foreign”) + -onym (“name”).


Steph

Female: shortened from Stephanie, from French Stéphanie.
Male: shortened from Stephan.

A diminutive of the female given name Stephanie.

A diminutive of the male given name Stephan.


Reuben

en-proper noun

Reuben (countable and uncountable, plural Reubens)

* From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén), from רְאוּ (r'ú, “see [masculine plural imperative]”) + בֵּן (ben, “son”); its literal meaning is therefore roughly, "See, all: a son!"
* There are several unconfirmed etymologies for the name of the sandwich.


ethnonym

The name of an ethnic group, nation, nationality, tribe, tribal alliance, clan, or other ethnic community.


glossonym

Irish is the glossonym of the native language of Ireland.


endonym

A name used by a group or category of people (an ingroup) to refer to themselves or their language, as opposed to a name given to them by other groups (outgroups).

endònim

a name used by a group or category of people to refer to themselves or their language


Briana

Sayd then that Squire: The Lady which doth owne
This Castle, is by name Briana hight.
Then which a prouder Lady liveth none:

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 14:

A female given name from Irish, masculine equivalent Brian, in regular use since the 1970s.


Homer

Homer (countable and uncountable, plural Homers)

From Latin Homērus, from Ancient Greek Ὅμηρος (Hómēros).


Dakota

Dakota (countable and uncountable, plural Dakotas)

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

'Montana?' I said. 'You can't call a kid Montana'―these friends of mine were going to call their new baby girl Montana and I tried to talk them out of it, because I'm sick of Australians naming their kids after American placenames, I'm sick of all these Montanas and Delawares and Indianas and Dallases. You'd never hear it the other way around; you're not going to hear about an American kid called Warrnambool or Kooweerup― [- - -] and they said,'Okay okay, we won't call her Montana.' So they called her Dakota.

2002, Danny Katz, Dork Geek Jew, Allen & Unwin, published 2002, →ISBN, page 12:

A unisex given name transferred from the place name.


Frenchy

Franchelle "Frenchie" Davis
w:Frenchie Davis

A short form of various names: Francine, Franchelle, Francoise, etc., e.g. Franchelle "Frenchie" Davis.


Sanjay

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Olyvia

(rare) A female given name from Latin, a nonstandard spelling of Olivia.


Saraiki

From Saraiki سرائیکی (sarā'īkī), further etymology is disputed. There are multiple interpretations of this name's origin:
* From Sindhi سِرو (siro, “up-river, north”).
* From Sanskrit सौवीर (sauvīra, “Sauvira”).

unc

further etymology is disputed.

The Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Saraiki people.


Elvis

From the anglicisation of the Irish name of Saint Ailbe (Saint Elvis), also known as Saint Eilfyw or Eilfw. Ultimate origin is uncertain.


Prissy

A diminutive of the female given name Priscilla.


Biblical Latin

Late Latin, as used in translations and commentaries on the Bible, influenced by biblical Greek and Hebrew.


Irishwoman

From Middle English Irish womman, equivalent to Irish + -woman.


Late Latin

As with English, Latin also has historical periods. These are broken into Early Latin (240–70BC); the Golden Age (70BC–AD14); the Silver Age (AD14–130); Late Latin (2nd–6th century); and then Medieval Latin or Low Latin (6th–15th centuries). ]

[ 2007, elizabeth solopova, stuart d. lee, Key Concepts in Medieval Literature, section 2 Old English, sub-section (b) Anglo-Latin Writing

The form of the Latin language used between the 2nd/3rd and 6th centuries.


Mummerset

Blend of mummer (“actor in a pantomime”) + Somerset (“county in the west of England”).

Mummersetin murre

An imaginary rural county in the West Country of England.

Mummerset

(often theater) An invented English-language dialect used by actors that mimics a stereotypical West Country rural accent.


Priscilla

Feminine diminutive form of a Roman cognomen Priscus, from Latin prisca (“ancient”).

Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Priscilla, / Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla!

1858, Henry Wadswoth Longfellow, The Courtship of Miles Standish:

'Priscilla,' she said, --- 'The same name I've had for twenty years!' She smiled cynically. 'And, before you ask why, I was stoned when I chose it, so any thoughts of Cill were in my subconscious. I used to think it was classier than Louise or Daisy... probably because the Trevelyans were such snobs.'

2003, Minette Walters, Disordered Minds, Macmillan., →ISBN, page 354:

A female given name from Latin of biblical origin.


Olivia

From Latin Olīva, an early saints’ name from olīva (“olive; olive branch”). First popularized by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

O! when mine eyes did see Olivia first / Methought she purg’d the air of pestilence.

1601, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, act I, scene 1:

I intended to call her after Aunt Grizel, but my wife who, during pregnancy, had been reading romances, insisted upon her being called Olivia. In less than another year we had another daughter, and now I was determined that Grizel should be her name; but a rich relation taking a fancy to stand godmother, the girl was, by her directions, called Sophia, so that we had two romantic names in the family, but I solemnly protest I had no hand in it.

1766, Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield:

‘Olivia, that's a fine posh name for Castlebay,’ he said approvingly. ‘Ah, they're sick of these Davids and Clares and Gerrys, the dull old names,’ Clare laughed. ‘I hope they won't call her Olly,’ David said. ‘Make your own nickname then,’ Gerry said. ‘Livy?’ Clare suggested. ‘Liffey even?’ Gerry said.

1985, Maeve Binchy, Echoes, Arrow Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 404:


virtue name

A Puritan given name, such as Hope or Charity, derived from one of the Christian virtues.


Verity

A female given name from English derived from the Latin for truth; one of the Puritan virtue names.


Visayan

Of or relating to the Visayans or the Visayas.


eka-

(chemistry) Used to form prototype names for as-yet undiscovered elements, when prepended to the known element above them in the same group of the periodic table.


Huey

en-proper noun

Huey (countable and uncountable, plural Hueys)

A diminutive of the male given name Hugh.


Huey

A diminutive of the male given name Hubert.


Prakash

From Sanskrit प्रकाश (prakāśa, “light”).

A male given name from Sanskrit. It is a common name among Indic races, mostly Hindus, with some usage among Jains, Sikhs and recently Indic Christians.


Sonya

Borrowed from Russian Со́ня (Sónja), an informal pet form of Со́фья (Sófʹja) or Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sofia, Sophia”), from the Ancient Greek σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”). It was introduced into English through 19th century Russian literature and taken into general use in early twentieth century.

It was Valery who had named her firstborn Sonya, after the figure skater Sonja Henie. "She moves through space so smoothly! She has such freedom!" she explained to Ray, the child's father. "Anything you want, honey," he replied, with a half-smile.

1983, Sheila Ballantyne, Imaginary Crimes, Penguin Group USA, →ISBN:

He said nothing, then asked, “Is Sonya your real name?”
“Harinderjeet.”
“A good name. A strong name.”
He could see her face in the bar's surface, frowning as she returned the card to her purse. “Is Sonya not a nice name?”
He felt her leaning in.
“A sexy name?”

2016, Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways: A novel, Vintage, →ISBN:


Balti

A people who live in Baltistan, Gilgit and Kargil.


chemical nomenclature

The system for naming chemical compounds. There are two systems of chemical nomenclature:

Wikipedia article on the naming of organic compounds.

Wikipedia article on the naming of inorganic compounds.


Dhivehi

An Indo-Aryan language, the official language of the Republic of Maldives.


Pleiad

(historical) A group of 16th-century French poets who sought to enrich the French language.


Pleiad

(astronomy, demonym) A member of the Pleiades cluster.


close encounter

en-noun

close encounter (plural close encounters)

(ufology) A supposed observation, or observation of evidence, of extraterrestrial beings or their craft.

contato imediato

observation of extraterrestrials or their craft


sceat

Learned borrowing from Old English sceatt.

lbor

1840, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, Volume 2, Commissioners on the Public Records of the Kingdom, unnumbered page,
In the Anglo-Saxon laws there is no passage from which the value of the ‘sceat’ can be ascertained with certainty, though from some places in the laws of Ethelbirht it would appear, that, in Kent at least, 20 sceats were equal to 1 scilling.

1862, Eben William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, Edmonston and Douglas, page 347,
The Obolus and the Scruple appear to have been equally familiar to the Anglo-Saxons under the names of the older sceat and penny. The Kentishmen seem to have resembled the Franks in their coinage as well as in their Wergilds, for their scilling weighed 20 sceats; and as the scilling was only a corruption of the Roman sicilicus (the shekel), or quarter-ounce weight, the Kentish ounce must have contained 80 sceats or 40 pence; in other words it was the old Salic solidus of 40 scruples, often met with in later times under the name of mancus, or heavier ounce of 30 Carlovingian (or sterling), and 40 Merovingian pence, or scruples.

(numismatics, historical) A small Anglo-Saxon coin, especially one made of silver; sometimes regarded as a weight (and thus a comparative measure of a coin's value).


Silesian

(uncountable) Lower Silesian, a Germanic language or dialect spoken in southwestern parts of what is now Poland (Lower Silesia).

Slezská němčina

Germanic language or dialect — see also Lower Silesian

(uncountable) Upper Silesian, a West Slavic language spoken in southwestern parts of Poland and the Czech Republic.


mora

From Latin mora (“duration of time, delay”).

(Scots law) A delay in bringing a claim.


Samatha

From Sanskrit समाधान (samādhāna) (śamatha) meaning "tranquility" and "concentration" (referring to Buddhist meditation) or "equality".


Pomeranian

Among their dialects the Rhine Franconian and Moselle-Franconian varieties prevailed, but other dialects were present as well, such as Upper German Swabian, Low German Westphalian, Pomeranian, and the Mennonite varieties, and even Volga German.

P. Rosenberg, Dialect convergence in the German language islands (Sprachinseln), in: 2005, Peter Auer, Frans Hinskens, Paul Kerswill (eds.), Dialect Change: Convergence and Divergence in European Languages, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge University Press, p. 221ff., here p. 228

… the language of everyday use is characterized by a wide panorama of local dialectal variation, ranging from Low German dialects in the north (e.g. Low Saxon, Westphalian, Pomeranian), through Central German dialects (e.g. Hessian, Thuringian, Silesian) to the High German dialects of the south (e.g. Bavarian, High Alemannic, Alsatian and Franconian) …

2011, George L. Campbell, Gareth King, The Routledge Concise Compendium of the World's Languages, 2nd ed. (1st ed. 1995), p. 238, inside the section German

A second important isogloss that separates Pomeranian from the other Low German variants, … These strong morphemes are absent in the North Sea Germanic area, as well as in Pomeranian.

2019, Gertjan Postma, A Contrastive Grammar of Brazilian Pomeranian (Linguistik Aktuell / Linguistics Today 248), p. 6


Mustafa

From Arabic مُصْطَفَى (muṣṭafā, “the chosen one”).

uder

A male given name from Arabic used by Muslims.


Ionian

* (Hellenic, Ionia, architecture): Ionia + -n
* (moon of Jupiter): Io + -n- + -ian

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Io, a moon of Jupiter


Hellenistic Greek

See Hellenistic, from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής (Hellēnistḗs, “a user of the Greek language”).

calque

Synonym of Koine (the Greek language from the time of Alexander the Great)


Dani

A diminutive of the female given name Danielle and of its variant forms.

A rare spelling variant of Danny, diminutive of the male given name Daniel.


Dani

* As an Italian, Slovak (Dáni), Romanian, and German surname, from diminutives of the given name Daniel.
* As an Albanian surname, from Dan, a short form of the Islamic name Ramadan.
* As an Indian surname, borrowed from Gujarati દાણી (dāṇī), from Sanskrit दानिन् (dānin, “giving, generous”).


Kiara

A female given name from Irish, variant of Keira or Ciara.


Jayla

“When you sing your song, be sure to sing loud enough that everyone can hear,” Ms. Tate told her daughter.
“I hope I can sing that loud,” Jayla said.

2013, Caitlind L. Alexander, The Case of the Pageant Princess:

A female given name originating as a coinage, a 1990s coinage similar to Jaylen and Kayla.


Darrell

Derived from d'Airel, name of a Norman family that came from a place called Airelle in Calvados.

A male given name transferred from the surname in the 19th century.


Christina

Name of an early martyr, shortened from Latin Christiana (“a Christian (woman)”). Doublet of Kirsten.

For never yet that maiden's woes
To check our social pleasure rose,
Her joy she shares, her grief's her own,
CHRISTINA CHRISTIAN weeps alone.

1811, Mary Mitford, Christina, the Maid of the South Seas, London: A.J.Valpy, page 26:

Her name "Christina" was derived from one of the Bonaparte family, Lady Dudley Stuart

1900, Elisabeth Luther Cary, The Rossettis:Dante Gabriel and Christina., Putnam's Sons, page 230:

She was born on Christmas Day. I wanted to name her Holly. But with the last name of Wood, your mama wouldn't go for that. So we named her Christina.

2006, Richard Paul Evans, Finding Noel: A Novel, Simon&Schuster, →ISBN, page 168:


Katharevousa

/ˌkaθəˈɹɛvuːsə/

/ˌkɑθəˈɹɛvusɑ/

/ˌkɑθəˈɹɛvəsɑ/

From Greek καθαρεύουσα (katharévousa), feminine of καθαρεύων (katharévon), present participle of Ancient Greek καθαρεύω (kathareúō, “to be clean, pure”).

‘You read the poetry of Cavafy, I have taught you to speak Katharevousa and Italian.’

1994, Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Minerva, published 1995, page 87:

A year later, after much deliberation and public discussion, an act of parliament established that demotic Greek was to replace the hybrid katharevousa as the official language of education – and therefore, in practice, in most walks of life (exceptions are the Church and law).

2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, Penguin, published 2020, page 345:

A learned, archaising form of Modern Greek, based on Classical Greek and used for formal and official purposes; it was legally displaced as the official language of Greece in 1976 by Demotic Greek.


Lazarus

From Late Latin Lazarus, from Koine Greek Λᾱ́ζᾱρος (Lā́zāros), the given name of Biblical characters found in Luke 16 and John 12, from Biblical Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azár), a given name shared by various figures in the Hebrew Bible and literally meaning "God has helped". Doublet of Eleazar.


Hessian

en-noun

Hessian (countable and uncountable, plural Hessians)

(historical) A mercenary soldier, especially a German one who fought with the British in the American Revolutionary War.

(mathematics) Ellipsis of Hessian matrix.


Hessian

The Rhine Franconian dialect spoken in Hesse.


Kenny

A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth


Phrygian

/ˈfɹɪ.d͡ʒɪ.ən/

From Latin Phrygiānus + English -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Phrygianus is derived from Phrygia + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’); and Phrygia is from Ancient Greek Φρῠγῐ́ᾱ (Phrugíā, “region in Anatolia”), from Φρῠ́ξ (Phrúx, “person from Phrygia”) (further etymology unknown, possibly from Phrygian or related to Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to ascend, rise up; to be elevated, up high”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).


Savoyard

He is one of the Emperor’s French-speaking subjects, not a Spaniard but a Savoyard.

2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 30:


Savoyard

The dialect spoken in Savoy (Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France, canton of Valais in Switzerland, and in the Italian region of Aosta).


Brigid

/ˈbɹɪ.d͡ʒɪd/

From Irish Brighid, from Old Irish Brigit, from Proto-Celtic *Brigantī (“high, exalted”).

The pagan Brigid was part of the Tuatha Dé Danann – a race of dieties who are said to have inhabited Ireland before the Milesians, from whom today’s Irish people are descended. Raised among druids, Brigid was the daughter of an enslaved woman and the Dagda, chief of the gods.

2024 February 5, Katy Hessel, “Move over Saint Patrick: why the world should be celebrating beer-brewing Brigid”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(Irish mythology) The goddess of the Sacred Flame of Kildare and the patron goddess of the Druids. Daughter of Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

A female given name from Irish, equivalent to English Bridget, sometimes borrowed from Irish.


Middle High German

Concerning the Middle High German language.


Marshall

* As an English surname, from the noun marshal.
* As a French surname, variant of Mercier.
* As a German surname, variant of Marschall.

A unisex given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.


Classical Latin

The Latin language as spoken and written in formal speeches, literature, the arts, etc., by the ancient Romans.

لَاتِينِيَّة كْلَاسِيكِيَّة

Latin language as spoken and written formally


Dagda

The Middle Irish name Dagda means “Good God” or “Shining God”, from Old Irish Dagdae, from Proto-Celtic *Dago-deiwos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰagʰo- (“shining”) (< *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”)) + *deywós (“divinity”).

Raised among druids, Brigid was the daughter of an enslaved woman and the Dagda, chief of the gods.

(Irish mythology) An important god in Irish mythology, portrayed as a father figure, king, and druid.


Craig

en-proper noun

Craig (countable and uncountable, plural Craigs)

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic creag (“rock”).

bor+

He told her the name he had used to rent the cabin. " I'm Craig Hemsworth."
She burst out laughing. "That's a funnier name than mine. It sounds like the kind of name they give a movie actor when they decide his own name won't do.

1979, Bruce Jackson, The Programmer: A Novel, Doubleday, page 168:

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


Provençal

/ˌpɹɒvɑːnˈsɑːl/

/ˌpɹɒvənˈsɑːl/

/ˌpɹɒvɒnˈsɑːl/

From Middle French provenceal, provençal, from Latin prōvinciālis.

(broadly, dated in linguistics) The language spoken in Provence; Occitan.


Byron

Habitational surname from Old English byrum (“at the byre or cattleshed”).

inh

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


Old Norse

The language of Scandinavia until the 14th century, the common ancestor of modern Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Icelandic.


Silicone Valley

And so I went to the San Fernando Valley, aka Silicone Valley, on the other side of the Hollywood Hills, to talk with the suits of the adult business.

2003, Gail Dines, Jean M. Humez, Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader, SAGE, →ISBN, page 49:

(slang, derogatory) San Fernando Valley, in particular in reference to its large porn industry.


Mayan

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


Leidy

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


Theodoric

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *Þeudarīks. Doublet of Theoderic; piecewise doublet of Tudor.
Unrelated to Theodore, of Greek origin.

A male given name of historical usage, notably borne by two kings of the Visigoths


Silvius

From Latin Silvius, from silva (“forest”).

A male given name from Latin, of mostly historical use in English.


Theo

Short form of Theodore, or of the rare given names Theobald, Theophilus or Theodoric, or of Theodora.

He has three teeth and two names: Theodore, which is what health visitors call him, and Theo, which is what I call him.

2010, Maggie O'Farrell, The Hand That First Held Mine, Headline, →ISBN, page 341:

A male given name from Ancient Greek and nickname.

(less common) A diminutive of the female given name Theodora.


Theobald

/ˈθiːoʊbɔɫd/

From Old English Þēodbald and later Old French Theobald, Tibaut; both ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic *Þeudōbalþaz. Common in the Middle Ages under various spellings in the archaic pronunciation. After it became obsolete a spelling pronunciation took over. Doublet of Theudebald.

A male given name from the Germanic languages


Cethern

(Irish mythology) In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, an Ulster warrior (son of Fintan) who assists Cúchulainn in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.


Uathach

(Irish mythology) The daughter of Scáthach and later the lover of Cúchulainn (after a duel with Cochar Crufe).


Táin Bó Cúailnge

(Irish mythology) The central tale in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.


Amalia

Derived from Germanic compound names beginning with *amala-, a word of unknown meaning, like Ostrogothic Amalaberga and Amalafrida.

A female given name from the Germanic languages, of less common usage, variant of Amelia.


Winston

Originally only a place name, then also a family name, later also a given name in the Churchill family. Likely from Old English wine (“friend”) + stān (“stone”), or from wines (“friend's”) + tun (“town”).

A male given name derived from the place name.


Sylvia

Feminine form of a Medieval form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.

What lovely names for girls there are!
There's Stella like the Evening Star,
And Sylvia like a rustling tree, […]

1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Girls' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 91:

A female given name from Latin, a popular spelling variant of Silvia.


Cú Roí

The first element is apparently cú (“hound”); the second probably means "battlefield", making the whole term "hound of the battlefield".

(Irish mythology) A king of Munster and sorcerer who was killed by Cúchulainn and avenged by his son, Lugaid mac Con Roí, who was subsequently killed by Conall the Victorious.


Savior

مُنْقِذ

(Christianity) Jesus Christ — see also savior, Messiah

(uncommon) A male given name from English


Tristan

Old French, the name of a knight, lover of Iseult in medieval romance Tristan and Iseult, from Celtic Drystan derived from drest meaning "riot" or "tumult".

After the first son had been properly named after the grandfather, the second caught the brunt of her few impulses, being named "Tristan", gleaned from medieval lore from her years at Wellesley.

1978, Jim Harrison, Legends of the Fall, Dell, published 1994, →ISBN, page 201:

'His name is Tristan, by the way.' 'Tristan?' 'Yes. Oh, I should have told you. You must have wondered about my own queer name. It was my father. Great Wagnerian. It nearly ruled his life. It was music all the time – mainly Wagner.'

2012 May 17, James Herriot, All Creatures Great and Small: The Classic Memoirs of a Yorkshire Country Vet, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:

A male given name from the Celtic languages.

A knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend


Silvia

Feminine form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.

Who is Silvia? what is she? / That all our swains commend her? / Holy, fair and wise is she; / The heaven such grace did lend her, / That she might admired be.

c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:


Amelia

A variant of Amalia, derived from Germanic compound names beginning with *amal, "vigor, bravery". The name and its variants have been confused with the Latin name Aemilia (whence Emilia, Emily) and the French Aimée (whence Amy).

By their dresses, their names, and the airs of quality they give themselves, I am rendered ridiculous among all my acquaintance. My wife, who is a very plain good woman, and whose name is Amey, has been new-christened, and is called Amelia; and my little daughter, a child of a year old, is no longer Polly, but Maria.

1776 Adam Fitz-Adam, The World of Adam Fitz-Adam, Edinburgh, Apollo Press 1776: Numb. 187. Thursday, July 29, 1756

We must have heard it first on the battery radio, the news about Amelia Earhart, lost over the ocean. […] Air Heart, I saw it spelled, Amelia ... a name like a soft, bold bird.

1982 Carol Fenner, Saving Amelia Earhart,The Third Coast: Contemporary Michigan Fiction page 66

A female given name from the Germanic languages


Donn Cuailnge

(Irish mythology) The Brown Bull of Cooley: an extremely fertile stud bull over whom the Táin Bó Cúailnge was fought.


Mesgegra

Conall the Victorious
Conall the Victorious

(Irish mythology) The king of Leinster during the events of the Ulster Cycle. He was killed by Conall the Victorious.


Mórrígan

From Irish Mór-Ríoghain ("great queen"), from Middle Irish Morrígan.

(Irish mythology) An Irish mythological figure widely considered to be a goddess, and usually interpreted as a triple goddess.


Flidais

(Irish mythology) A woodland goddess whose chariot is drawn by deer.


Vandals

An east Germanic tribe that once lived in north Africa and sacked Rome.


Tetum

From Portuguese tétum, from Tetum Tetun.

The Malayo-Polynesian national language of East Timor.


Miskito

From Spanish Mosquito, and its source, Miskito Miskito, of unknown origin.


Gascon Occitan

A dialect of the Occitan language spoken in parts of southern France and northern Spain.


sanctuary

en-noun

sanctuary (countable and uncountable, plural sanctuaries)

/ˈsæŋkt͡ʃʊəɹi/

/ˈsæŋkt͡ʃuˌɛɹi/

From Middle English seyntuarie, from Old French saintuaire, from Late Latin sanctuarium (“a sacred place, a shrine, a private cabinet, in Medieval Latin also temple, church, churchyard, cemetery, right of asylum”), from Latin sanctus (“holy, sacred”); see saint.

der

The government granted sanctuary to the defector, protecting him from his former government.


Mainer

“People have no idea how good this stuff is, but they are about to find out,” said Mr. Patry, 62, who is possibly the most optimistic and talkative native Mainer in history.

2012 September 11, Julia Moskin, “Buttermilk, Often Maligned, Begins to Get Its Due”, NYTimes.com

United States of America
United States of America

A native or resident of the state of Maine in the United States of America.

Mainois

native or inhabitant of the State of Maine


Auregnais

An extinct Norman dialect once spoken on Alderney, one of the Channel Islands.


Sercquiais

From French sercquiais, from Sercq (“Sark”).

A language spoken on Sark, one of the Channel Islands.


Aleutian

Of, from, or pertaining to the Aleutian Islands (a group of islands in the northern Pacific Ocean, west of Alaska), or to its inhabitants, their culture, or their language.


Bananaland

From banana + -land, since the tropical coast of Queensland is suited to growing bananas.

The post-office is in New South Wales, and the police-barracks in Bananaland.

1896, Henry Lawson, “Hungerford”, in While the Billy Boils, Sydney, N.S.W.: Angus and Robertson […], →OCLC, page 41:

But it's ages before the news gets up north to Bananaland that the ASL has passed more motions against agitators than you can poke a stick at, especially if they agitate amongst the unemployed.

2007, Pip Wilson, Faces in the Street: Louisa and Henry Lawson and the Castlereagh Street Push, page 145:

The recompense ‘James’ required from the Government was three miles depth of frontage along the whole route; but the representatives of the people in Bananaland thought the offer was a bit one-sided, and declined to negotiate.

2010, Graham Seal, Great Australian Stories: Legends, Yarns and Tall Tales, page 216:


Kurd

Attested in English since roughly 1600, from Kurdish کورد (kurd) and Classical Persian کُرْد (kurd), from Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (gurd /kurd/), ultimately of unknown origin. More at Kurds.

Curdi, B[arbarous]. a people which many think to be the Parthians, A[uncient]. But we cannot possiblie thinke them to be so. wherein we agree with Castaldo.

1595, Abraham Hartwell, The History of the Warres between the Turkes and the Persians, translation of Historia della guerra fra Turchi, et Persiani by Giovanni Tommaso Minadoi:

Mehemet took her for a man and said, “Good father, I am a Kurd: my story is very curious”

1865, Charles Wells, Mehemet, the Kurd, and Other Tales, from Eastern Sources, page 16:

After defeating IS in battle, Syria's Kurds are now eager to show they can bring justice against the group's members.

2018 May 8, Sarah El Deeb, “In a new justice system, Kurds put IS on trial eyeing reconciliation”, in Sydney Morning Herald:

A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.

كُرْدِيّ

a member of the people inhabiting Kurdistan


Liberal Democrat

en-noun

Liberal Democrat (plural Liberal Democrats)

(Australian politics, UK politics) a member of the Liberal Democrats political party


Macha

(Irish mythology) The wife of Nemed. She died only twelve days after arriving in Ireland.


Delia

From the Ancient Greek Δήλῐᾰ (Dḗlia), epithet of the goddess Artemis, referring to her birth on the island of Delos.

Sentiment hallows the vowels of Delia;/Sweet simplicity breathes from Rose;

~1886, William Ernest Henley, A Ballade of Ladies' Names, Gleeson White: Ballades and Rondeaus, Read Books 1887, page 19:

"I'm Delia Grinstead," she told him. - - - "I don't believe I've ever run into a Delia before." "Well, it's Cordelia, really. My father named me that."

1995, Anne Tyler, Ladder of Years, Knopf, →ISBN, page 8:


Queenslander

From Queensland + -er (suffix attached to placename proper nouns denoting inhabitants or residents of those places).

suffix

"An' what about your Queenslander?" the Australian asked.

1926, Rudyard Kipling, “A Friend of the Family”, in Debits and Credits, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 268:

In view of the rapid development of Queensland, our prosperity and our major contribution to the nation and to world trade, I believe it is significant that a Queenslander should be honoured with such a high position in Rotary.

1977, Joh[annes] Bjelke-Petersen, “Messages to the Convention and to the President, Incoming President, and President-Elect of Rotary International”, in 1977 Proceedings: Sixty-eighth Annual Convention of Rotary International: San Francisco, California, U.S.A.: 5–9 June, 1977, [Evanston, Ill.]: Rotary International, →OCLC, page 198:

In reality the selectors' decision was between [Rod] Marsh and John Maclean and the Queenslander got the nod.

2004, Mark Browning, Rod Marsh: A Life in Cricket, Dural, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Publishing, →ISBN:

Takada had the added advantage of being a Queenslander, although from the other end of the state. But to a native north Queenslander, that was better than being from Melbourne.

2009, Darryl Greer, chapter 31, in The Election, [Mudgeeraba, Qld.?]: Darryl Greer, →ISBN, page 249:


Liana

A female given name from Latin, derived from Juliana or Eliana


Guernésiais

A Romance language spoken in Guernsey; Guernsey Norman.


Dusty

A diminutive of the male given name Dustin.


Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats (UK)
Liberal Party (UK)
Social Democratic Party (UK)

From the merger of the Liberals and the Social Democrats.

(UK politics) A centrist political party


Jèrriais

A Romance language spoken in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands.


Sunita

A female given name from Sanskrit of Hindi and Sanskrit origin, meaning: reliable one, one of good character, one with good morals, good behaviour, a daughter of Dharma or goddess of divine bliss.


Celia

Borrowed from Latin Caelia, feminine of Roman family name Caelius, probably from caelum (“heaven”). Introduced into English by William Shakespeare in As You Like It.

Rosalind: But what will you be called?
Celia: Something that hath a reference to my state:
No longer Celia, but Aliena.


Julian

A male given name from Latin Iulianus, from Iulius.

A female given name from Latin, of medieval English usage, variant of Gillian.

census-designated place
census-designated place

San Diego County
San Diego County#English

A census-designated place in San Diego County, California; named for early settler Mike Julian.


Aromanian

/æɹəʊˈmeɪnɪən/

From Romanian aromân; itself from armân. Ultimately from Aromanian armãn.

Of, from, or pertaining to the Aromanian people or the Aromanian language.

arumun

relating to Aromanians or the Aromanian language


Aromanian

/æɹəʊˈmeɪnɪən/

A member of the people living throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, southern and central Albania, parts of North Macedonia, southwestern Bulgaria and Serbia; they are a subgroup of Vlachs.


Aromanian

/æɹəʊˈmeɪnɪən/

An endangered Eastern Romance language spoken mainly in Greece, but also in Albania, North Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and relatively intelligible with Romanian and Megleno-Romanian.


Bradford

* Various place names in England, from Old English brād (“broad”) + ford (“ford”).
* (shaken martini)

"Bradford? I didn't know you called him Bradford." "That's just one more thing you don't know about me. I call him Bradford because it makes me feel like I'm in a soap opera. That's what they name men on soap operas. Bradford and Desmond and Elliott and Royce. - - -

1988, K. C. Constantine, Joey's Case, →ISBN, page 132:

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


Mandy

But Mother and Father and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty couldn't very well call out "Millicent Margaret Amanda" every time they wanted her, so they shortened it to "Milly-Molly-Mandy" which is quite easy to say.

1928, Joyce Lankester Brisley, chapter 1, in Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories:

Without looking up, she asked: "Is your name Mandy or Amanda Price?"
"Mandy, Miss Etienne." In other circumstances Mandy would have pointed out that if her name were Amanda the CV would have said so.

1994, P.D.James, Original Sin, →ISBN, page 10:

A diminutive of the female given name Amanda. Popular as a formal given name in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s.


Catharine

A great number of children, amongst the lower classes, are Carolines. - - - A clergyman in my neighbourhood used to mistake the sound, and christen the babies Catharine; - a wise error, for Kate is a noble abbreviation.

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

A female given name from Ancient Greek, of less common usage, variant of Catherine.


Cody

A unisex given name transferred from the surname.


Minorcan

The variety of Balearic Catalan native to Minorca.


Igor

Transliterated from Russian И́горь (Ígorʹ), a Varangian name derived from Old Norse Yngvarr, Ingvarr, from Yngvi (name of a god) + herr (“army”). Doublet of Ivor.


Tish

A diminutive of the female given name Letitia.


Muskogee

A city, the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States.


Zeke

A diminutive of the male given name Ezekiel, also used as a formal given name.


Boris

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2019–2022)

2000 January, Frank McCourt (interviewee), Morning Edition, National Public Radio
It's not like a Russian novel, where you read nine hundred forty-three pages and then finally Boris the peasant decides to commit suicide, and you wish he’d done it on page four. It’s not like that at all.

A male given name from the Slavic languages.


Columbus

From Latin columbus (“a dove”). Doublet of Colombo. The verb is a reference to the Italian explorer.


Freya

Scottish form of Old Norse Freyja (“mistress, lady”).

A female given name from Old Norse of mostly British usage.


Jena

A female given name of rare usage, variant of Gina.


Shelta

(Ireland) A language spoken by some Irish Travellers, particularly in Ireland, but also in Britain, which has been heavily influenced by English and Irish and is now effectively a cant or creole, though some scholars think it may have originated as and may retain elements of a non-Irish, non-English language.


Lebor Gabála Érenn

The title translates as The Book of the Taking of Ireland.

(Irish mythology) A loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of an Irish race from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages.


Jasmine

en-proper noun

Jasmine (countable and uncountable, plural Jasmines)

From French jasmin, from Arabic يَاسَمِين (yāsamīn), from Classical Persian یاسمین (yāsamīn), from earlier یاسمن (yāsaman), from Middle Persian yʾsmn' (yāsaman).


Enya

A female given name from Irish; the phoneticised form of the Irish Eithne.


Cassandra

From Ancient Greek Κασσάνδρα (Kassándra).

But succeeding ages (little regarding S. Chrysosthome's admonition to the contrary) have recalled prophane names, so as now Diana, Cassandra, Hyppolytus, Venus, Lais, names of unhappy disaster are as rife, as ever they were in paganism.

1605, William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain, John Russell Smith, published 1870, page 56:

Warren J. Tyler, son of Joel, was born in Byron, July 28, 1828. He married Cassandra Tyler, of Stafford, and has four children living.

1890, Frederick W. Beers, Gazetteer and Biographical Record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788–1890, page 656:

"What's your name?" I asked.
"Cassandra."
Ah, a mythical name. It fit with the fairy-tale looks.

2004, Torey Hayden, chapter 1, in Twilight Children, HarperCollins UK, published 2013, →ISBN:

Cassandra sat down on a small sofa next to Mrs Budley.

2013, M. C. Beaton, chapter 4, in Miss Tonks Turns to Crime:


Choctaw

An unincorporated community in Bolivar County, Mississippi.

An unincorporated community in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

A city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma; suburb of Oklahoma City.


Hongcouver

(informal, somewhat derogatory) Vancouver; referring to the large-scale Chinese Canadian immigration to that city in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly from Hong Kong.


Ricky

A diminutive of the male given name Richard.


Madrilenian

Of or pertaining to Madrid, Spain, or to its inhabitants.


Prichard

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


Alison

Alison (countable and uncountable, plural Alisons)

From Old French Alison, brought to England by the Normans (from Anglo-Norman Alison, from Norman Alison), diminutive of Aliz, equivalent to English Alice, from Old High German Adalhaid (“of noble kind”). Became Middle English Alisoun.

der

He came up close and kneeling gently down
He said, "My love, my dearest Alison,
So help me God, I never again will hit
You, love; and if I did, you asked for it.

1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, “Wife of Bath's Prologue”, in Nevill Coghill, transl., The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977:

(countable) A female given name from the Germanic languages.


Lydia

From Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía, “the region of Lydia”), from λυδία (ludía, “beautiful one, noble one”), a feminine form of Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)); the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.

uder

Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age.

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], “Chapter 9”, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

The first three, Macklin, Lydia, and Randall, were the special ones. Even those names, we thought, showed greater imagination, greater involvement on our parents' part, than ours did: Nina, Mary, Sarah.

1990, Sue Miller, Family Pictures, Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 5:


Georgie

/ˈd͡ʒɔɹd͡ʒi/

A diminutive of the male given name George.

A diminutive of the female given name Georgina


florin

From Middle English florin, floren, from Old French florin, from Italian fiorino (“little flower”). Doublet of fiorino.

[I]n 1646, during the phenomenon known as "Tulipomania", a tulip like the red and white 'Admirael van der Eijck', or the purple-splashed 'Generalen van Gouda' would sell for more than 1,000 Dutch florins, at a time when the average annual income of a skilled worker was about 300 florins.

2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening):

A pre-decimal British coin, worth two shillings or ten new pence.


Cimmerian

/sɪˈmɪəɹ.ɪ.ən/

From the Latin Cimmerius, from Ancient Greek Κιμμέριος (Kimmérios, “pertaining to the Cimmerii”) + -an.

der

the language of the Cimmerians, possibly belonging to the Iranian branch


Demi

A female given name, a diminutive of Demetria introduced into English in the 1990s by the actress Demi Moore.


Liz

"Liz. That doesn't sound like your name, wildcat. It is far too hard and brittle." She shrugged. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that is my name. Elizabeth is too stuffy, Beth is too soft, so Liz it is."

2010, R. G. Alexander, Midnight Falls, Samhain Publishing,, →ISBN, page 67:

A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.


Ndonga

A Bantu language spoken by the residents of Ovamboland in Namibia and in some parts of Angola.


Rodney

From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda's island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).


Tania

"Does she? What a name that child has got. Tania."
"That's not so odd a name," Hazel said. "Not nowadays."
"I know. They all have outlandish international names, like Tania and Natasha and Erin and Solange and Carmen. No one has family names. These girls with rooster hair I see on the streets. They pick the names. They're the mothers."

1990, Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth, →ISBN, page 102:

A diminutive of the female given name Tatiana.


Martina

Usually interpreted as the feminine form of the saints' name Martin, though there was an identical Roman name, likewise derived from Latin Martinus.


Natalie

From the French form of the Late Latin saint's name Natalia, from nātālis (diēs) (“birthday [of Christ], Christmas”). Doublet of Natalya.

[…] often I have listened to my dear brother, as he told me the pretty story of the sad gentleman whom he met, when I was but an infant, and how he spoke to me so tenderly, and sighed for his own Natalie. I had no other name then but Sea-flower, and I have been called by that name ever since; yet after that day, my Christian name was Natalie.

1860, Emma V. Hallett, Natalie: A Gem Among the Sea-weeds, W. F. Draper, published 1860, page 264:

I was ashamed of my very name, Natalie. Nobody else in town had the name Natalie. I wanted to have a name like Frances or Elizabeth, as two of the most popular little girls were named. When old ladies at church would say to me kindly enough,"What's your name, little girl?" I would answer "Natalie," and they would say, "Madaline, Mattie, what did you say?"

1964, Natalie Robinson Cole, The Arts in the Classroom, The John Day Company, page 129:

ELSTON. Natalie is a beautiful name.
NATALIE. Well, yes. It is. Thank you.
ELSTON. A real spy name. My wife Natasha has a spy name and I'm forever telling her […]

1998, Phyllis Nagy, Plays 1, Methuen Drama, →ISBN, page 133:


Stefan

From Ancient Greek στεφανίζω (stephanízō, “to crown”) & Ancient Greek στέφανος (stéphanos, “that which surrounds, crown, wreath”).


Aletta

From a Middle Low German diminutive form of Adelheid, related to English Adelaide and Alice.


Sorani

The Kurdish language spoken by the majority of Kurds in Iran and Iraq.


ethel

Learned borrowing from Middle English ethel, from Old English ǣþel, ēþel.


Tatiana

Popular saints' name in the Eastern Orthodox Church, feminine of Latin Tatianus, derivative of Tatius, a Roman family name of obscure origin. Modern English usage is derived from Russian Татья́на (Tatʹjána).

Татья́на Татьяна#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian female given name Татья́на (Tatʹjána).


Pavlov

From Russian Па́влов (Pávlov), itself from Па́вел (Pável).

A male surname from Russian, feminine equivalent Pavlova.


Nichole

A female given name from Ancient Greek, a less common spelling of Nicole.


Dacian

From Dacia + -an, from Latin Dacia (“Dacia”).

An extinct Indo-European language spoken by the people of Dacia.


Ginevra

From Italian Ginevra. Doublet of Jennifer.

A female given name from Italian, variant of Guinevere


Leonid

Borrowed from Russian Леони́д (Leoníd) or Ukrainian Леоні́д (Leoníd), from Ancient Greek Λεωνίδας (Leōnídas). Cognate with the English historical name Leonidas.

A male given name, a transliteration of a common East Slavic name (notably that of the first two Ukrainian presidents, Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma, as well as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev).


Ephraim

From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.


hyperborean

/hʌɪ.pəˈbɔː.ɹɪən/

From Late Latin hyperboreanus, cognate with Classical Latin hyperboreus, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβόρεος (huperbóreos), composed of ὑπέρ (hupér, “over”) + βόρειος (bóreios, “northern”). See also Ὑπερβόρεοι (Huperbóreoi).

The Hyperboreans venerated Apollo over the other gods.

(Greek mythology, usually capitalised) One of a race of people living in the extreme north, beyond the north wind.

Hyperboréen

(Greek mythology), one a race of people living in the extreme north

(usually humorous) Any person living in a northern country, or to the north.


hyperborean

en-adj

hyperborean (comparative more hyperborean, superlative most hyperborean)

more hyperborean (comparative)
most hyperborean (superlative)

/hʌɪ.pəˈbɔː.ɹɪən/

The hyperborean or frozen sea.

1633, C. Butler, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

You could have knelt down, damn it, Kinch, when your dying mother asked you, Buck Mulligan said. I’m hyperborean as much as you. But to think of your mother begging you with her last breath to kneel down and pray for her. And you refused.

Pertaining to the extreme north of the earth, or (usually jocular) to a specific northern country or area.

северен

pertaining to the extreme north of the Earth


marae

Borrowed from Maori marae and Tahitian marae, from Proto-Oceanic *malaqe.

The path ended down by the sea at a crumbling ‘ingot’ of black coral, twenty yards in length & in height two men. ‘A marae, this is called,’ Mr Wagstaff informed me. ‘All over the South Seas you see ’em, I’m told.’

2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:

(archaic) a Polynesian sacred altar or enclosure

The courtyard of a Maori wharenui or meeting-house and the buildings around it.


Danielle

Borrowed from French Danielle, the feminine form of Daniel.

A female given name from Hebrew, masculine equivalent Daniel.