Wiktionary

Elizabeth

English Edit

Alternative forms Edit

Etymology Edit

From Middle English Elizabeth, from the Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of the Old Testament Biblical Hebrew אלישבע‎ (Elisheva, “my God is an oath”). See El and שבועה‎. Doublet of Elisheba.

Pronunciation Edit

  • IPA(key): /əˈlɪzəbəθ/
  • Audio (CA)(file)

Proper noun Edit

Elizabeth (countable and uncountable, plural Elizabeths)

  1. A female given name from Hebrew, popular since the 16th century.
    • 1595, Edmund Spenser, Amoretti, section LXXIV:
      Most happy letters! framed by skilful trade, / With which that happy name was first designed, - - - / Ye three Elizabeths! for ever live, / That three such graces did unto me give.
    • 1988 Barbara Vine ( =Ruth Rendell ), The House of Stairs, p.21:
      "Because if you say it over and over to yourself, darling, it really is a quite strange-sounding name, isn't it? It's just as strange as any other from the Old Testament, Mehetabel or Hepsibah or Shulamith, and any of them might have got to be as fashionable as Elizabeth if a queen had been called by them.
    • 1993, Phillip Margolin, Gone But Not Forgotten, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 25:
      No one ever called Elizabeth Tannenbaum stunning, but most men found her attractive. Hardly anyone called her Elizabeth, either. An "Elizabeth" was regal, cool, an eyecatching beauty. A "Betsy" was pleasant to look at, a tiny bit overweight, capable, but still fun to be with.
  2. A surname originating as a matronymic.
  3. A suburb of Adelaide, Australia; named for Elizabeth II.
  4. A locale in the United States.
    1. A city, the county seat of Union County, New Jersey; named for Elizabeth de Carteret, wife of George Carteret, one of two original Lords Proprietor of the Colony New Jersey.
    2. A city in Minnesota; named for early settler Elizabeth Niggler.
    3. A town in Colorado; named for a family member of John Evans, 2nd Governor of the Territory of Colorado.
    4. A town in Indiana; named for Elizabeth Lemmon Zenor, daughter-in-law of early landowner Jacob Zenor.
    5. A town in Louisiana.
    6. A town, the county seat of Wirt County, West Virginia; named for early settler Elizabeth Woodyard Beauchamp.
    7. A village in Illinois; said to be named for three early settlers all named Elizabeth.
    8. A borough of Pennsylvania; named for early settler Elizabeth Mackay Bayard.
    9. An unincorporated community in Arkansas.
    10. An unincorporated community in Georgia; named for Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Georgia senator Joseph E. Brown.

Derived terms Edit

Related terms Edit

variations and nicknames

Translations Edit

Statistics Edit

  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Elizabeth is the 38439th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 576 individuals. Elizabeth is most common among White (60.94%) and Hispanic/Latino (25.17%) individuals.

See also Edit

Further reading Edit

Cebuano Edit

Etymology Edit

From English Elizabeth, from the Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of the Old Testament Biblical Hebrew אלישבע‎ (Elisheva, “my God is an oath”).

Proper noun Edit

Elizabeth

  1. a female given name from Hebrew

Middle English Edit

Proper noun Edit

Elizabeth

  1. The mother of John the Baptist
  2. Elisheba, the wife of Aaron.

Descendants Edit

  • English: Elizabeth
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