catherine
/ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɪn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.11 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Example Sentences
- "- - - 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"
- "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;"
- ""Is that your given name?" "Not exactly. My father named me Catherine, and my mother nicknamed me Carrie. Nobody calls me Catherine." "Oh, but you're much more a Catherine than a Carrie," observed Peter seriously. "Carrie is simple and mundane; Catherine is complex and beautiful.""
- ""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."
- "State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, one of the bill’s supporters, said people were not reusing or recycling any plastic bags."
Etymology
Borrowed from French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”). The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the wheel from where the term Catherine wheel originates.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Αἰκατερίνη
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɪn/
- British English: /ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɪn/