Catherine
WordNet
noun
(1) Empress of Russia who greatly increased the territory of the empire (1729-1796)
(2) First wife of Henry VIII; Henry's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
WiktionaryText
Alternative spellings
Etymology
‘Εκατερινη (Hekaterine), of debated meaning, possibly from ‘εκατερος (hekateros) "each of the two", or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The spelling with 'h' in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρος (katharos) "pure". The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the wheel.
Related terms
Quotations
- 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 Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights: Volume II, Chapter III:
- 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;
- 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.
Proper noun
- , cognate to English Catherine.