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Enid (given name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enid
Julia Margaret Cameron, Enid, 1874: portrait of the legendary figure as depicted in Tennyson
GenderFeminine
Origin
Word/namecognate with the Welsh word enaid meaning "soul, life" (earlier eneid, eneit)
Meaning"purity" or "soul"
Other names
Related namesÉnide (French)
Enid by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, 1913.

Enid (/ˈnɪd/ EE-nid; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɛnɨ̞d]) is a feminine given name. Its origin is Middle Welsh eneit, meaning 'spirit; life; purity' (from Proto-Celtic *ana-ti̯o-, compare Gaulish anatia 'souls (?)' attested on the Larzac tablet, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂enh₁- 'to breathe, blow'; compare the modern Welsh word anadl 'breath; wind').[1]

Enid was the Celtic goddess and Arthurian name of the 19th century following Alfred Lord Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859) and its medieval Welsh source, the Mabinogi tale of Geraint and Enid.[2]

Enid drifted into popular use in Britain in the 1890s, becoming most popular in the 1920s. Then it was the greatest possible compliment to be called a "second Enid", since the original was a legendary romantic figure of spotless perfection and courage in life. Enid was the quiet, brave, steadfast character of Tennyson's poem, loved deeply by many, yet her love or loyalty to her husband was unwavering, even at his worst.[3]

People

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Fictional characters

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Places

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  • Enid, city in Oklahoma
  • Enid Lake, lake in Mississippi
  • Enid Lake, small lake in Oregon on Mount Hood, popular with snowshoers

References

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  1. ^ "Enid". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  2. ^ Dunkling, Leslie; Gosling, William (1984) [1983]. The Facts on file dictionary of first names. New York: Facts on File Publications. ISBN 0871962748. OCLC 10533041.
  3. ^ "Geraint and Enid". Robbins Library Digital Projects. Retrieved 2018-09-04.