Everyday LifeGreek → English
Ophelia
/oʊˈfiːliə/noun
A female given name.
The Greek roots
ὠφέλεια
ōphéleia
help, benefit
Literally: “help, advantage”
Follow a root:ὠφέλεια1 word
The story of the word
The name appears as Ofelia in Jacopo Sannazaro's pastoral Arcadia in 1504, apparently invented from the Greek word for assistance, and there is no ancient Ophelia behind it. Shakespeare took it for Hamlet around 1600 and gave English a name attached permanently to a drowning. Millais painted that scene in 1852, which did more for the name's popularity than the play ever did.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Italian → English
- First recorded
- around 1600
In a sentence
They named the boat Ophelia, which several friends thought was tempting fate.