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Kevin

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Kévin

English

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Etymology

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Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally dear birth/person). It first became popular outside Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Kevin (plural Kevins)

  1. A male given name from Irish.
  2. (British, derogatory, slang) A working-class male.
    Synonym: Kev

Quotations

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  • 1990, Ruth Rendell, Going Wrong, →ISBN, page 157:
    "Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."
    He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence.
  • 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, Harper Collins Publishers., →ISBN, page 203:
    They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.
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Descendants

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  • Breton: Kevin
  • Cebuano: Kevin
  • Danish: Kevin
  • Dutch: Kevin
  • Estonian: Kevin
  • French: Kevin, Kévin m
  • German: Kevin
  • Lithuanian: Kevinas
  • Norwegian: Kevin
  • Polish: Kewin
  • Portuguese: Kevin
  • Spanish: Kevin
  • Swedish: Kevin
  • Tagalog: Kevin

Translations

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See also

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Anagrams

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Breton

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Proper noun

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The template Template:br-proper noun does not use the parameter(s):
1=m
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.

Kevin

  1. a male given name

References

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  • Alain Stéphan, Tous les Prénoms bretons, 1996, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, →ISBN, page 63

Cebuano

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Etymology

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From English Kevin, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally comely birth).

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: Ke‧vin
  • IPA(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈki.bɪn̪]

Noun

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Kevin

  1. a male given name from English

Danish

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Etymology

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Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

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Kevin

  1. a male given name

Estonian

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Etymology

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Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

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Kevin

  1. a male given name

French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Kevin m

  1. a male given name; masculine of Kevine

Usage notes

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The name Kevin has come to be an undesirable name after its period of popularity in the 1990s. It has come to represent lower-class low-intellect uncouth boorish behaviour.[1]

Coordinate terms

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Noun

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Kevin m (plural Kevins)

  1. (slang, France) A boorish lower-class person of low intellect

Synonyms

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References

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  1. ^ Lauren Collins (2022 August 9) “How Kevins Got A Bad Rap In France”, in The New Yorker[1], New York City: Condé Nast

German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English Kevin. First popularised in the late 1970s after footballer Kevin Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Kevin m (proper noun, strong, genitive Kevins, plural Kevins)

  1. a male given name

Usage notes

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  • In recent decades, Kevin has become rather stigmatised in German-speaking Europe as a name typical of the uneducated classes. To a lesser degree the same is also true of other English given names (an interesting contrast to the otherwise high prestige of the English language).

Derived terms

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Norwegian

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Etymology

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Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

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Kevin

  1. a male given name

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Kevin m

  1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

Derived terms

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Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈke.β̞ĩn]
  • Rhymes: -ebin
  • Syllabification: Ke‧vin

Proper noun

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Kevin m

  1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

Swedish

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Etymology

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Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

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This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Proper noun

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Kevin c (genitive Kevins)

  1. a male given name

Anagrams

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