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Wiktionary

Catherine

See also: catherine

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”). The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was supposedly tortured on the wheel from where the term Catherine wheel originates.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Catherine

  1. A female given name from Ancient Greek.
    • 1763 Voltaire and Catherine the Great: Selected Correspondence. Voltaire, Catherine, Antony Lentin.(Translation from French.)Publ. Oriental Research Partners,1973:
      - - - despite of what you say of my fine name, I think my head is so obstinate and inflexible that the name Catherine was well chosen. It suits my character. I was given the name by the late Empress Elisabeth, to whom I owe much; she gave it to me out of affection and out of respect for her mother
    • 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC:
      It was named Catherine, but he never called it the name in full, as he had never called the first Catherine short, probably because Heathcliff had a habit of doing so. The little one was always Cathy, it formed to him a distinction from the mother, and yet, a connection with her;
    • 1981, Carole Gift Page, Carrie, Bethany House Publishers, published 1994, →ISBN, page 55:
      "Is that your given name?" "Not exactly. My father named me Catherine, and my mother nicknamed me Carrie. Nobody calls me Catherine." "Oh, but you're much more a Catherine than a Carrie," observed Peter seriously. "Carrie is simple and mundane; Catherine is complex and beautiful."
    • 2003, Michael O. Gregory, The Dead Years, page 35:
      "Yes, Catherine sounds like a lovely name. I like it. My new name will be Catherine." She rolled the name Catherine silently again. The name had character a noble ring to it she really liked it.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Medieval Latin Katerīna, from Latin Ecaterīna, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ka.tʁin/
  • Audio; “rue Sainte-Catherine”:(file)

Proper noun

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Catherine f

  1. a female given name, equivalent to English Catherine
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Descendants

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  • → English: Catherine
  • Japanese: カトリーヌ (Katorīnu)

Anagrams

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