Everyday LifeGreek → English
Agatha
/ˈæɡəθə/noun
A woman's given name, long popular in Christian Europe.
The Greek roots
ἀγαθή
agathḗ
good, noble
Literally: “good”
Follow a root:ἀγαθή1 word
The story of the word
ἀγαθός is the central adjective of Greek ethics, the word behind Plato's highest Form, τὸ ἀγαθόν, the Good itself. As a name it travelled on the reputation of Agatha of Sicily, martyred at Catania and named in the Roman canon of the Mass, which put her in front of congregations across Europe every week. English use is medieval; the twentieth century mostly heard it as Agatha Christie.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
Agathoclesagathism
In a sentence
Her grandmother was an Agatha, and so was the grandmother before her.
Agatha is one of those names that skipped four generations and came back.