Everyday LifeGreek → English
Philip
/ˈfɪlɪp/noun
A male given name.
The Greek roots
φίλος
phílos
loving, dear
ἵππος
híppos
horse
Literally: “horse-lover”
The story of the word
Horses were expensive to keep, so horse names marked out the aristocracy: Philip, Hipparchus, Xanthippe. Philip II of Macedon made the name royal and his son Alexander made it known from Egypt to the Indus. Christian Europe took it up on account of the apostle, and it reached England after the Conquest.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
Same family
philosophyphilanthropyhippopotamushippodrome
In a sentence
Philip answers to Pip at home and to nothing at all at work.
Six kings of Spain were called Philip.