Etymology
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- one of the most common and widespread of English surnames, either a nickname for someone who was fond of dressing in this color (Old English grēne) or who had played the part of the "Green Man" in the May Day celebrations, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a village green, Middle English grene (a transferred use of the color term). In North America this name has no doubt assimilated cognates from other European languages, notably German Grün (see Gruen).
- Jewish (American): Americanized form of German Grün or Yiddish Grin, Ashkenazic ornamental names meaning ‘green’ or a short form of any of the numerous compounds with this element.
- Irish: translation of various Irish surnames derived from glas "gray", "green", "blue". See also Fahey.
- North German: short form of a habitational name from a place name with Gren- as the first element (for example Greune, Greubole).
- Swedish: a quite common Swedish surname, which also can be spelled Gren. The surname comes from the Swedish word for (tree) branch, "gren".
Read more about this topic: Green (surname)
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)