View Message

Note though, that Katherine doesn't mean "pure". The original Greek form is Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē) or Ἑκατερίνη (Hekaterine), a name probably borrowed from Anatolia (just as we took it from the Greeks) where the goddess Hekate was originally venerated (a number of similar names were recorded there in ancient times). Since in the Greek pantheon she became the goddess of witchcraft, it was a name people later found distasteful, so a fabricated origin was devised relating it to Greek καθαρός/κόθᾰρος (katharos/kotharos depending on dialect). Note that the vowels are all wrong, and the dental as well (although to a Romance speaker who couldn't say θ anyway, that probably wasn't noticeable).

This message was edited 6/24/2020, 3:36 AM