What's In A Name: Celeste, Trevor

Celeste-The female name goes back to Latin "caelum," meaning, "sky;" thus also, "heaven(s), atmosphere." This gave Latin the adjective "caelestis," meaning "of the sky or heaven;" thus also, "of the gods." This was used as a name in Late Latin and passed to other Latin-based languages, including French as, "Céleste." It came to be used in English from French, but almost certainly given reinforcement by the Latin form.

Trevor-This name is of Celtic origin, but in Anglicized form, coming from two Celtic sources: Welsh and Cornish "Trefor," meaning, "large settlement:" thus also, "a village, a town, an estate," from "tref," a word distantly related to English "thorp,"* and "mawr," meaning, "great, large, big," a distant relative of English "meal" (the word of that spelling meaning "time for eating, mealtime"), with the connection being both words going back to an Indo European form having to do with "measuring." "Trevor" also is an Anglicized form of Irish "Treabhar," which means, "wise, prudent."

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) www.behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Shrine-The origin of "shrine" is unknown, although attempts have been made to connect it to Indo European forms having to do with "curved, bent," but why the fascination with this notion is unclear to me. It goes back to Latin "scrinium," meaning, "a chest for scrolls." This was borrowed either by Old Germanic, or perhaps by individual Germanic dialects/languages, and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "scrin" ("chest for holding relics and valuable objects," also possibly, "Ark of the Covenant??"). This then became "schrin"(?) and "shryne," with the meaning expanded to, "tomb, crypt, coffin for saints," circa 1400, before the modern form, by which time it had taken on the expanded meaning, "a place (not necessarily in or with a chest) with cherished objects used for reverence and dedication to someone." The verb form developed in the late 1500s as "enshrine" (to keep sacred objects in a chest for preservation and reverence"), with the inclusion of the prefix "en."^ "Shrine" has relatives in other Germanic languages, which generally mean the chest used for objects and relics, but sometimes with the expanded meaning of a place used for dedication, with that meaning a likely borrowing from English: German has "Schrein," Low German "Schrin" (?), Dutch "schrijn," Danish "skrin," Swedish "relikskrin" (chest for relics). Frisian once had "skrin" and Old Norse had "skrini," apparently the source of the Danish and Swedish forms. 

^ The prefix "en-" in English comes both directly from French in some cases, but also from French influence in spelling upon the original English prefix "in-." Both forms trace back to Indo European "en," and interestingly, in both Latin and Germanic the forms came to be "in." 

What's In A Name: Jacob, James, Guinevere

Jacob-This name is from transliterated Hebrew "Ya'aqov," which seems to have meant, "one who follows on the heels of and takes the place of another;" thus, "a supplanter." Greek borrowed the name as transliterated "Iakobos," which was then borrowed by Latin as "Iacobus." English took the name as "Jacob" from the Latin form, which also had a variant form of the name, as "Jacomus." This second form passed into French as "James," which was borrowed by English and became widely used by Christians, in preference to "Jacob," which was thought of by many as a Jewish name. Other common forms of "Jacob," outside of English, are "Jakob," "Yakov," "Giacomo" and "Yakub." Another form of "James" is "Jaime."

Guinevere-This is from Welsh "Gwenhwyfar," which "seemingly" meant "fair and smooth." * At some point after the Normans conquered England in late 1066, they rendered the name as "Guenevere." Famously, "Guinevere" is the name of King Arthur's wife in the writings about the legendary leader of a part of the the Celtic people who were resisting the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Briton. Some of those Celtic people survived the Anglo-Saxons in Cornwall,** in southwestern England, where the name came to be rendered as "Jennifer."  

* Some sources believe the meaning to have been "white ghost/spirit."

** The original language of Cornwall was "Cornish," one of the Celtic languages, and closely related to Welsh and Breton (from Brittany in France). It has declined, as English prevailed as the primary language in Cornwall, but it is still spoken as a second language by some there, while others know at least some words or phrases.

For these names, I consulted: 1) "A World of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Glee-There is a problem with "glee's" history. This word, related to "glad" and to "glisten," both from Germanic, goes back to Indo European "ghel," which had the notion "to shine, to cause or to bring light," with the extended meaning, "to bring joy or happiness." Many sources cite some Old Germanic offspring from the Indo European form, but the problem I have is, where are the forms in other Germanic languages, although Old Norse had "gly," which meant "joy, gladness." I wonder if, in fact, "glee" is not just a shortened form of "glad," which was "glæd" in English long ago, or an English invention fashioned out of "glæd" as an intensifier, as while "glad" means "happy, pleased, cheerful," it does not convey the intensity of joy that "glee" signifies. In Old English, "glee" was rendered as both "gleo" and "gliw" and meant, "joy, merriment, jesting, mirth." Further, in Old English, a "gleoman" was a "jester" or a "minstrel." Could it be that the forms of "glee" back then were more often applied to "joy" provided by performers/entertainers who made people "gleeful?" "Glad" often expresses a sense of cheerfulness derived from "satisfaction;" as in, "I'm glad your son chose to go to college." "Perhaps" the Old Norse form could have been borrowed FROM English. The Old English forms melded into "gle," before doubling the "e" for the modern version.