Ernest

English

Etymology

Borrowed in the 18th century from Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust "vigor, strife", only remotely related to modern German ernst or English earnest.

Proper noun

Ernest

1. A male given name; popular in the 19th century.
   • 1895 Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest:

     GWENDOLEN. --, and my ideal has always been to love someone in the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.

   • 1980 P.D.James: Innocent Blood:

     "What's his name, your boyfriend?" "Ernest. Ernest Hemingway." The name was received in disparaging silence. Marlene said: "You wouldn't get me going out with a feller called Ernest. My granddad was Ernest."

Related terms

• pet form: Ernie
• female given name: Ernestine

Translations

given name

Bengali: আর্নেস্ট (bn) Czech: Arnošt (cs) m. Danish: Ernst (da) Dutch: Ernst (nl) Finnish: Ernesti (fi), Erno (fi) French: Ernest (fr)

German: Ernst (de) Hungarian: Ernő (hu) Italian: Ernesto (it) Latvian: Ernests (lv) Norwegian: Ernst (no) Spanish: Ernesto (es) Swedish: Ernst (sv)

Anagrams

• enters, entres, nester, resent, tenser

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French

Proper noun

Ernest

1. A male given name, equivalent to English Ernest.

Anagrams

• entres, entrés
• rentes, rentés
• sterne
• ternes