What's In A Name: Chloe, Nicholas

Chloe-This female name goes back to transliterated Greek "Khlóē," with the meaning, "plant shoot, young plant, blooming;" thus also, "fertility." In Greek Mythology it was a name used for Demeter, the goddess of grains and vegetation; thus also, of the world's fertility. The name is mentioned in the New Testament's 1st Corinthians in the Bible, "in the household of Chloe," or, "in the house of Chloe," depending upon translation. The name seems to have begun use in England in the aftermath of the Reformation, but it has seen a rise in use in some English speaking countries since about 1990.  

Nicholas-This male name (and sometime family name), come from transliterated Greek "Nikolaos," which meant, "victory of the people." Saint Nicholas, a Christian figure born in the 3rd Century, and revered as a saint by many people in Christianity, is the basis of the more modern figure of Santa Claus. The name began to gain use in English in the 1100s. Five popes have been named Nicholas, with the first being in the 800s and the last being in the 1400s. There are various spellings in other languages: German "Nikolaus," Spanish "Nicolás," Portuguese "Nicolau," and many others. Its abbreviated forms in English are commonly "Nick" and "Nicky." The female form is usually "Nicole" or "Nicola" in English, with "Nicky" also used as an abbreviated form.

 I consulted the following for this article: 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 3) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Epithet-This compound word is composed of "epi-" which goes back to Indo European "epi," which meant, "on, upon, at, near." This gave Ancient Greek (transliterated) "epi," used as a word forming part meaning, "upon, near;" thus also, "in addition." The second part, "thet," goes back to Indo European "dhe/dheh," meaning, "to put, to set, to place." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "tithenai," with the same meanings. Together this gave Greek "epitithenai," meaning, "to add on." This produced Greek "epithetos," meaning, "added," which produced the Greek noun, "epitheton," meaning, "something added (as descriptive);" thus also, "an adjective, a descriptive word or phrase." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "epitheton," which passed into French as "épithète," and English borrowed the word as "epithet" in the second half of the 1500s, with the meaning, "a word or phrase used to describe or characterize a person," but also, "a word or phrase of abuse toward someone or some group" (as in "racial epithets").