What's In A Name? Robert, Roberta, Linda
The name "Robert" goes back to Old Germanic "Hrodbert" and the variant "Hrodperht" (which later became "Ruprecht"), both of which meant "bright or shining with glory." Old English had forms, according to dialect, one of which was "Hreodbeorht" (the others were similar). * The name spread throughout much of Europe from various Germanic sources, including Frankish, which gave the name to French. The Normans took along the name, as "Robert," to England, where it gradually replaced the native form. "Roberta" is simply the feminine form of Robert.
"Linda" goes back to German "linde," which meant "tender, gentle" (see "Word History"). The word was used to form compounds for names, and the ending "e" was pronounced "ah/eh." The shortened form, "Linda," spread to English in the 1800s, helped along by an association with the Spanish word "linda," which meant 'beautiful, pretty."
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.
* The second part of the compound, Old English "beorht," is indeed the old form of "bright," as the "r" and vowel sound later changed places and the aspirated "h" became "gh," which was pronounced until somewhat more modern times.
WORD HISTORY:
Lithe-This word goes back to Indo European "lent," which had the notion of "flexible, bendable." This gave Old Germanic "linthaz," with similar meaning, but also the figurative "soft, gentle, tender." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "liþe" (þ=th), meaning "soft, gentle," and also "mild" for weather. In modern times the meaning tends to be "thin (of body)," from the meaning of "flexible," which also still exists. The "n" sound did not survive in Old English, nor in its close relative Old Saxon (the surviving Saxon dialect in northern Germany, as not all Saxons participated in the invasion of Britain), which had "liþi." German has "lind(e)" (soft, tender) and Icelandic "linr" (soft), but most forms in the Germanic languages have died out.
"Linda" goes back to German "linde," which meant "tender, gentle" (see "Word History"). The word was used to form compounds for names, and the ending "e" was pronounced "ah/eh." The shortened form, "Linda," spread to English in the 1800s, helped along by an association with the Spanish word "linda," which meant 'beautiful, pretty."
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.
* The second part of the compound, Old English "beorht," is indeed the old form of "bright," as the "r" and vowel sound later changed places and the aspirated "h" became "gh," which was pronounced until somewhat more modern times.
WORD HISTORY:
Lithe-This word goes back to Indo European "lent," which had the notion of "flexible, bendable." This gave Old Germanic "linthaz," with similar meaning, but also the figurative "soft, gentle, tender." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "liþe" (þ=th), meaning "soft, gentle," and also "mild" for weather. In modern times the meaning tends to be "thin (of body)," from the meaning of "flexible," which also still exists. The "n" sound did not survive in Old English, nor in its close relative Old Saxon (the surviving Saxon dialect in northern Germany, as not all Saxons participated in the invasion of Britain), which had "liþi." German has "lind(e)" (soft, tender) and Icelandic "linr" (soft), but most forms in the Germanic languages have died out.
Labels: English, etymology, French, German, Germanic languages, Linda, names, Robert, Roberta
posted by Randy at 7:14 PM
2 Comments:
Hi,
Can you tell me where you get your word history from?
"Lithe-This word goes back to Indo European "lent," which had the notion of "flexible, bendable." This gave Old Germanic "linthaz," with similar meaning, but also the figurative "soft, gentle, tender." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "liþe" (þ=th), meaning "soft, gentle," and also "mild" for weather. In modern times the meaning tends to be "thin (of body)," from the meaning of "flexible," which also still exists. The "n" sound did not survive in Old English, nor in its close relative Old Saxon (the surviving Saxon dialect in northern Germany, as not all Saxons participated in the invasion of Britain), which had "liþi." German has "lind(e)" (soft, tender) and Icelandic "linr" (soft), but most forms in the Germanic languages have died out."
One of the sources was "Deutsches Wörterbuch," by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
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