Agnes

See also: Agnès and Ágnes

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἁγνή (Hagnḗ), coming from ἁγνός (hagnós, “pure, chaste”), ἁγνεία (hagneía, “purity, chastity”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæɡ.nɪs/

Proper noun

Agnes

  1. A female given name.
    • 1876 Annie Howells Fréchette, Reuben Dale, Galaxy, W.C. and F.P.Church, 1876, page 394
      "Why do you call Mrs. Stone Aggie? Agnes is such a beautiful name, it is a shame to nick it in that way." Then, quickly regretting his impatience, he added, "You would not have been jealous, would you, Jenny?"
    • 1977 Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds, Gramercy Books 1998, →ISBN, pages 3,5
      Right then and there in her mind she had christened it Agnes, the only name she knew elegant enough for such a peerless creature. - - - She held the doll so her brothers could see. "Look, isn't she beautiful? Her name is Agnes."
      "Agnes? Agnes?" Jack gagged realistically. "What a soppy name! Why don't you call her Margaret or Betty?"
    • 1995 Elizabeth Wurtzel: Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America, Riverhead Books, 1995, →ISBN, page 14
      I found myself wanting to explain it to her, this middle-aged woman with the kind of haircut you call a hairdo, which needed to be set in rollers every night, who had a name like Agnes or Harriet, a name that even predated my mother's generation.

Usage notes

  • Name of one of the four great virgin martyrs, by folk etymology associated with Latin agnus "lamb". Popular in the Middle Ages and again at the turn of the 20th century.
  • In Ireland Agnes has been used as an Anglicization of Úna.

Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Proper noun

Agnes

  1. A female given name, cognate to English Agnes.

References

  • Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 20 324 females with the given name Agnes have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1900s decade. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Estonian

Proper noun

Agnes

  1. A female given name, cognate to English Agnes

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈa(ː)k.nəs/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /ˈax.nəs/ (northern and central Germany; chiefly colloquial)

Proper noun

Agnes f (genitive Agnes')

  1. A female given name: Agnes

Norwegian

Proper noun

Agnes

  1. A female given name, cognate to Agnes.

Scots

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaɡnəs/

Proper noun

Agnes

  1. A female given name, cognate to Agnes.

References

Swedish

Proper noun

Agnes c (genitive Agnes)

  1. A female given name, cognate to Agnes.
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