Jump to content

Katherine: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 196: Line 196:
*[[Special:Allpages/Katherine|The list of all Wikipedia pages that begin with "Katherine"]]
*[[Special:Allpages/Katherine|The list of all Wikipedia pages that begin with "Katherine"]]
*[[Catherina (and similar spellings)]]
*[[Catherina (and similar spellings)]]
*[http://www.rar.gr/A450 Katherine Gomez Gaviria, Dra.] Médico Colombiano
*[http://www.gomezgaviria.blogspot.com Katherine Gomez Gaviria, Dra.] Médico Colombiano


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 07:40, 29 June 2009

Note: This article deals with the history of the name Katherine. To find people usually known only by the name Katherine, see Katherine (disambiguation). To find people with the given name Katherine who are also known by another name, see All pages with titles beginning with Katherine, All pages with titles beginning with Katharine, and All pages with titles beginning with Catherine.
Katherine
Catherine of Alexandria, by Carlo Crivelli. The name Catherine became famous in Christian communities because of this early saint
Genderfemale
Origin
Word/nameGreek
Meaningpure/purity of emotion
Other names
Nickname(s)Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Cat, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Kaity, and Cathy
Related namesKatheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, Cathryn, Katheryne,Catherine, Katharine, Katharina,

Katherine is a feminine name, which is popular in historically Christian countries, owing to its having been the name of one of the first Christian saints, Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Origin and meaning

The name is derived from the Greek name Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), of debated origin and meaning. Theories include:

  • from the Greek (catharsis) see Aristotle's Poetics, meaning to purge or to cleanse - pure/purity of emotion[1]
  • from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros), meaning each of the two, singly[2]
  • from the goddess Hecate.
  • from the Greek word αἰκία (aikía) injurious treatment [3]

The Romans, through folk etymology, associated the name with the Greek καθαρός (katharós) pure which led to the variant spelling Katharine/Katharina. The spelling Katharine is more popular in the United States than in Britain and also more popular in the past [citation needed]. The form Catherine, corresponding with the French version, is also common in English.

Less common variants in English include Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, and Cathryn. The form Karen, of Danish origin, is now often considered an English name in its own right. Diminutives include Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kayt, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Katheryne, Kaitie, Kady, Kaity, Cat and Cathy.

Variants

also known as Fern, from the form of Kafern.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine
  2. ^ View Name: Katherine
  3. ^ Liddell, H.G. Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katherine&oldid=299269047"