Geoffrey

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English[edit]

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Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From 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[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Geoffrey

  1. 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[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (du 1er à la fin du Ve siècle), éditions Klincksieck, 1982.
  2. ^ Albert Dauzat, Noms et prénoms de France, 1951; édition revue et commentée par Marie-Thérèse Morlet Librairie Larousse 1980, p. 287b - 288a.

Middle English[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Geoffrey

  1. Alternative form of Geffrey