Everyday LifeGreek → English
Philippa
/fɪˈlɪpə/noun
A woman's given name, the feminine of Philip.
The Greek roots
φίλος
phílos
loving, dear
ἵππος
híppos
horse
Literally: “lover of horses”
The story of the word
Φίλιππος was an aristocrat's name in a world where keeping cavalry horses marked a class; Philip of Macedon carried it, and so did one of the apostles. The Latin feminine Philippa entered English use with Philippa of Hainault, Edward III's queen, who is remembered for talking him out of hanging the burghers of Calais. The ἵππος in it is the same horse hiding inside hippopotamus, the river horse.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
Philiphippopotamusphilosophyhippodrome
In a sentence
Philippa signs everything Pippa except her passport.
There were two Philippas in the year and neither answered to it.