Joan (era)
WiktionaryText
Proper noun
Usage notes
Joan was the usual feminine form of John in the Middle Ages. It was superseded by Jane in the 17th century, but was again very popular during the first half of the 20th century.
Quotations
- ~1595 William Shakespeare: King John: Act I, Scene I:
- Well, now I can make any Joan a lady.
- 1979 Margaret Atwood: Lady Oracle, p.336:
- Maybe my mother didn't name me after Joan Crawford after all, I thought; she just told me that to cover up. She named me after Joan of Arc, didn't she know what happened to women like that?
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Proper noun
- , cognate to John in English
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Proper noun
- borrowed from English, popular in the 1950s and the 1960s
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Proper noun
- , cognate to John in English