Kevin
English edit
Etymology edit
Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “homely birth”). It first became popular outside Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.
Pronunciation edit
- enPR: kĕ'vĭn, IPA(key): /ˈkɛvɪn/, enPR: kĕ'vən, IPA(key): /ˈkɛvən/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛvɪn, -ɛvən
Proper noun edit
Kevin (plural Kevins)
- A male given name from Irish.
- (British, derogatory, slang) A working-class male.
- Synonym: Kev
Quotations edit
- 1990, Ruth Rendell, Going Wrong, →ISBN, page 157:
- "Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."
He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence.
- 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, Harper Collins Publishers., →ISBN, page 203:
- They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Breton: Kevin
- → Cebuano: Kevin
- → Danish: Kevin
- → Dutch: Kevin
- → Estonian: Kevin
- → French: Kevin, Kévin m
- French: Kevine f
- → German: Kevin
- → Norwegian: Kevin
- → Polish: Kewin
- → Portuguese: Kevin
- → Spanish: Kevin
- → Swedish: Kevin
- → Tagalog: Kevin
Translations edit
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See also edit
Anagrams edit
Breton edit
Proper noun edit
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Kevin
- a male given name
References edit
- Alain Stéphan, Tous les Prénoms bretons, 1996, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, →ISBN, page 63
Cebuano edit
Etymology edit
From English Kevin, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “comely birth”).
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: ke‧vin
Noun edit
Kevin
- a male given name from English
Danish edit
Etymology edit
Recently borrowed from English Kevin.
Proper noun edit
Kevin
- a male given name
Estonian edit
Etymology edit
Recently borrowed from English Kevin.
Proper noun edit
Kevin
- a male given name
French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Recently borrowed from English Kevin.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Kevin m
- a male given name; masculine of Kevine
Usage notes edit
The name Kevin has come to be an undesirable name after its period of popularity in the 1990s. It has come to represent lower-class low-intellect uncouth boorish behaviour.[1]
Coordinate terms edit
- Kevine (f)
Noun edit
Kevin m (plural Kevins)
Synonyms edit
References edit
German edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from English Kevin. First popularised in the late 1970s after footballer Kevin Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Kevin m (proper noun, strong, genitive Kevins, plural Kevins)
- a male given name
Usage notes edit
- In recent decades, Kevin has become rather stigmatised in German-speaking Europe as a name typical of the uneducated classes. To a lesser degree the same is also true of other English given names (an interesting contrast to the otherwise high prestige of the English language).
Derived terms edit
Norwegian edit
Etymology edit
Recently borrowed from English Kevin.
Proper noun edit
Kevin
- a male given name
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English Kevin.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Kevin m
- a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin
Derived terms edit
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Kevin m
- a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
Recently borrowed from English Kevin.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Proper noun edit
Kevin c (genitive Kevins)
- a male given name