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HelpOriginal Pronunciation
in reply to a message by Perrine
Old English was kind of... well, weird - at least by our present standards. The G seems to have taken on a quality it sometimes has in Nordic languages in that it sometimes acted as a Y (see the Norse name Dagny), or was skipped over altogether.
This means that, in the Middle Ages and before, Magdalene was pronounced in English as... Maudelen, or Maudlin. (Though the actual medieval name Maud was derived from Matilda, not Magdalene.) Maudlin eventually entered English as a word for something overly weepy or sentimental, due to artistic depictions of Penitent Magdalene. Meanwhile, as a name, Maudlin eventually developed into Madeline (MAD-uh-lin) / Madeleine, and then Madeline developed the MAD-uh-lien pronunciation later (probably around the Enlightenment).
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/91835
http://greens-end.myminicity.com
This means that, in the Middle Ages and before, Magdalene was pronounced in English as... Maudelen, or Maudlin. (Though the actual medieval name Maud was derived from Matilda, not Magdalene.) Maudlin eventually entered English as a word for something overly weepy or sentimental, due to artistic depictions of Penitent Magdalene. Meanwhile, as a name, Maudlin eventually developed into Madeline (MAD-uh-lin) / Madeleine, and then Madeline developed the MAD-uh-lien pronunciation later (probably around the Enlightenment).
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/91835
http://greens-end.myminicity.com
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Thank you so much! This was really interesting. I didn't know maudlin was an expression. I had no idea Gs were pronounced differently at that time. I love reading about the history of names, so fascinating! :) I love Matilda, by the way.
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