What's In A Name: Amy, Jason
Amy (also spelled Ami and Amie)-This came to English from French "Amee" (also "Aimee??"), which came from a participle form of the verb "amer" (to love), from Latin "amare" (to love). So, the meaning of Amy is, "beloved." It is a fairly common female name in Ireland, England, Wales and the United States.
Jason (also as, Jayson)-This name comes from transliterated Greek "iason," from the word "iasthai," which meant, "to heal," a form of which was "iatros," meaning, "physician." Popular from Greek mythology and Jason of Thessaly (one of the regions of Greece), the leader of the Argonauts (a group of heroic sailors of the ship "Argo"). Because there is a "Jason" mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible, which was written in Greek, this may have provided a second source for the name, as the Hebrew name "Yehoshua" (Joshua) was also rendered as "Jason" in Greek. "Jason/Jayson" remains a very popular male name in English, especially so in the U.S. Now, if we could get a Jason to lead a space mission, we'd have, "Jason and the Astronauts."
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, (1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. (2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.
WORD HISTORY:
Ballad-This word, related "ball" (a dance), goes back to Indo European "gwele/gwela," with the notion of, "bubble up, rise up, overflow, throw outward or upward." This gave transliterated Greek "ballizein," with the meaning, "to jump about in dance" (literally, "to throw oneself about"). Latin borrowed the term from Greek as "ballare," also meaning, "to dance," and this passed into Old Provençal as "balar" (to dance) and this spawned "ballada," meaning, "poetic verse for a dance." This then was taken on by Old French as "ballade," meaning, "song for dancing," and English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1400s. By the 1600s the meaning had shifted to "a poem, often expressing sentimentality, set to music."
Jason (also as, Jayson)-This name comes from transliterated Greek "iason," from the word "iasthai," which meant, "to heal," a form of which was "iatros," meaning, "physician." Popular from Greek mythology and Jason of Thessaly (one of the regions of Greece), the leader of the Argonauts (a group of heroic sailors of the ship "Argo"). Because there is a "Jason" mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible, which was written in Greek, this may have provided a second source for the name, as the Hebrew name "Yehoshua" (Joshua) was also rendered as "Jason" in Greek. "Jason/Jayson" remains a very popular male name in English, especially so in the U.S. Now, if we could get a Jason to lead a space mission, we'd have, "Jason and the Astronauts."
I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, (1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. (2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940.
WORD HISTORY:
Ballad-This word, related "ball" (a dance), goes back to Indo European "gwele/gwela," with the notion of, "bubble up, rise up, overflow, throw outward or upward." This gave transliterated Greek "ballizein," with the meaning, "to jump about in dance" (literally, "to throw oneself about"). Latin borrowed the term from Greek as "ballare," also meaning, "to dance," and this passed into Old Provençal as "balar" (to dance) and this spawned "ballada," meaning, "poetic verse for a dance." This then was taken on by Old French as "ballade," meaning, "song for dancing," and English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1400s. By the 1600s the meaning had shifted to "a poem, often expressing sentimentality, set to music."
Labels: Ami, Amie, Amy, English, etymology, French, Greek, Greek mythology, Hebrew, Jason, Jayson, Latin, names, Provençal
posted by Randy at 10:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home