Everyday LifeGreek → English
Nicholas
/ˈnɪkələs/noun
A male given name, borne by the fourth-century bishop of Myra.
The Greek roots
νίκη
níkē
victory
λαός
laós
the people, host
Literally: “victory of the people”
The story of the word
The bishop of Myra was remembered for giving in secret, and Dutch settlers brought his name to New York as Sinterklaas, which English reshaped into Santa Claus. Both halves are ordinary Greek: νίκη is the word for victory that a sportswear company later took, and λαός, the common people, gives laity. The name arrived in England after the Norman Conquest and was among the most common by the 13th century.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 12th century
Same family
NikelaityNicodemusNicole
In a sentence
Nicholas signs everything with just the initial.
There were three boys called Nicholas in her class.