Advertisement

Origin and history of Fiona

Fiona

fem. proper name, popularized, by Macpherson (1761). It is identical to a Scots Gaelic word for "wine" (and thus perhaps from the same source as vine), but it is sometimes said to be from Scots Gaelic fionn "white" also "fair" (of complexion or hair), from Old Irish find, from Proto-Celtic *windos "white," which would make it cognate with Welsh gwyn (as in Gwendolyn).

Entries linking to Fiona

Gwendolyn

fem. proper name; the first element is Breton gwenn "white" (source also of Welsh gwyn, Old Irish find, Gaelic fionn, Gaulish vindo- "white, shining," literally "visible"), from nasalized form of PIE root *weid- "to see."

vine(n.)

c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), "climbing or trailing woody-stemmed plant which bears the grapes from which wine is made," from Old French vigne, vin "vine, vineyard" (12c.), from Latin vinea "vine, vineyard," from vinum "wine." This is reconstructed to be from *win-o- "wine," an Italic noun related to words for "wine" in Greek, Armenian, Hittite, and non-Indo-European Georgian and West Semitic (Hebrew yayin, Ethiopian wayn); probably ultimately from a lost Mediterranean language word *w(o)in- "wine."

It is attested from late 14c. in reference to any plant with a long slender stem that trails or winds around. Applied to Christ in echoes of John xv 1, 5.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    find
    Old English findan "come upon, meet with; discover; obtain by search or study" (class III strong verb; past tense fand, past participle funden), from Proto-Germanic *findan "to come upon, discover" (source also of Old Saxon findan, Old Frisian finda, Old Norse finna, Middle Dutch
    picnic
    1748 (in Chesterfield's "Letters"), but the thing itself apparently was rare before c. 1800 as an English institution [OED]; it originally meant "a fashionable social affair (not necessarily out of doors) in which every partaker contributed something to the general table;" from F
    standard
    mid-12c., "distinctive flag or other conspicuous object displayed from a position in battle to serve as a rallying point for a military force," from shortened form of Old French estandart "military standard, banner" (Anglo-French estandard) and in part from Medieval Latin standar
    balance
    early 13c., "scales, apparatus for weighing by comparison of mass," from Old French balance "balance, scales for weighing" (12c.), also in figurative sense; from Medieval Latin bilancia, from Late Latin bilanx, from Latin (libra) bilanx "(scale) having two pans," possibly from La
    acolyte
    early 14c., "inferior officer in the church," from Old French acolite or directly from Medieval Latin acolytus (Late Latin acoluthus), from Greek akolouthos "following, attending on," as a noun, "a follower, attendant," literally "having one way," from a- "together with," copulat
    hectic
    late 14c., etik (in fever etik "hectic fever"), from Old French etique "consumptive," from Late Latin hecticus, from Greek hektikos "continuous, habitual," also used of slow, continued diseases or fevers. The Greek adjective is from hexis "a habit (of mind or body)," from ekhein
    graffiti
    1851, "ancient wall inscriptions found in the ruins of Pompeii," from Italian graffiti, plural of graffito "a scribbling," a diminutive formation from graffio "a scratch or scribble," from graffiare "to scribble," ultimately from Greek graphein "to scratch, draw, write" (see -gra
    mood
    "emotional condition, state of mind as regards passion or feeling," c. 1300, from Old English mod "heart, frame of mind, spirit; courage, arrogance, pride; power, violence" (also used to translate Latin animus, mens), from Proto-Germanic *mōda- (source also of Old Saxon mod "mind
    palate
    late 14c., "roof of the mouth of a human or animal; the parts which separate the oral from the nasal cavity," from Old French palat and directly from Latin palatum "roof of the mouth," also "a vault," which is perhaps of Etruscan origin [Klein], but de Vaan suggests an IE root me
    allegory
    "figurative treatment of an unmentioned subject under the guise of another similar to it in some way," late 14c., allegorie, from Old French allegorie (12c.), from Latin allegoria, from Greek allegoria "figurative language, description of one thing under the image of another," li

    Share Fiona

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near Fiona
    Advertisement