Geoffrey
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English Geffrey, from an Old French aristocratic name, Geoffroi [dʒɔfreʲ] (> West Middle French Geoffrey, East Middle French Geoffroy), itself from Proto-French forms (latinized in -us) Jotfredus, Jozsfredus, Josfredus (10th century) and Jof[f]redus, Jofridus, Jaufredus, Geffredus (11th century),[1] and ultimately of Proto-Germanic origin. The second element is *friþuz (“peace, sanctuary”). The first element may be *gautaz (“a Geat, a Goth”) [making the Proto-Germanic term *Gautafriþu], as opposed to *gōdaz (“good”) or *gudą (“god”) in Godfrey; this would also make it related to Jocelyn.[2] The name was introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century.
Pronunciation
editProper noun
editGeoffrey
- A male given name from the Germanic languages. Popular in the U.K. in the 20th century.
- 1879, Mary Elizabeth Shipley, Looking Back, page 98:
- "Were you not aware mamma had a son as well as three daughters?"
"Yes, but I didn't know his name. I like Geoffrey; there's some sound in it."
- 1996, Mary Higgins Clark, Let me Call You Sweetheart, →ISBN, page 207:
- Geoff grimaced, then smiled back, reminding himself that when his mother wasn't riding this horse, she was a very interesting woman who had taught medieval literature at Drew University for twenty years. In fact, he had been named Geoffrey because of her great admiration for Chaucer.
- 2011, Sophie Hannah, Lasting Damage, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, pages 77–78:
- His full name is Benji Duncan Geoffrey Rigby-Monk. 'You're joking,' Kit said, when I first told him. 'Benji? Not even Benjamin?' Duncan and Geoffrey are his two granddads'names ― both unglamorous and old-dufferish, in Kit's view, and not worth inflicting on a new generation ― and Rigby-Monk is a fusion of Fran's surname and Anton's.
Related terms
editTranslations
edita male given name
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References
edit- ^ Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (du 1er à la fin du Ve siècle), éditions Klincksieck, 1982.
- ^ Albert Dauzat, Noms et prénoms de France, 1951; édition revue et commentée par Marie-Thérèse Morlet Librairie Larousse 1980, p. 287b - 288a.
Middle English
editProper noun
editGeoffrey
- Alternative form of Geffrey
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *preyH-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English given names
- English male given names
- English male given names from Germanic languages
- English terms with quotations
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English proper nouns