Everyday LifeGreek → English
Timothy
/ˈtɪməθi/proper noun
A male given name, and a grass grown for hay.
The Greek roots
τιμή
timḗ
honour, worth
θεός
theós
god
Literally: “honouring god”
The story of the word
Τιμόθεος was a working Greek name centuries before Christianity; a fourth-century BC Athenian general carried it. Two New Testament letters addressed to Paul's young companion turned it into a standard European name. The hay grass owes nothing to the Greek: it takes its name from Timothy Hanson, who promoted the seed in the American colonies around 1720.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
theologyatheistpantheonDorothy
In a sentence
Timothy signs everything with both initials.
The horses were on timothy and oats all winter.