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ArchivesI need help with the origin of 'Lydiam'
I need help because I'm encountering a lot of trouble
in my research to find the origin of my name 'Lydiam'. It's a name that has been passed down from my grandmother to me, and was taken from the protagonist of a novel my great grandmother read.
Sometime ago I read that it was the Welsh version of the name Lydia. But I do not remember where I found such information, and there is nothing online that actually has the name 'Lydiam'.
I would really appreciate any help you can give me. I am lost.
Lydiam
in my research to find the origin of my name 'Lydiam'. It's a name that has been passed down from my grandmother to me, and was taken from the protagonist of a novel my great grandmother read.
Sometime ago I read that it was the Welsh version of the name Lydia. But I do not remember where I found such information, and there is nothing online that actually has the name 'Lydiam'.
I would really appreciate any help you can give me. I am lost.
Lydiam
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Replies
I don't know about Welsh -- did your greatgrandmother know French, though? There is a novel written by the French author Nicolas des Escuteaux in 1605 titled Les amours de Lydiam et Floriande.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_des_Escuteaux
Lydiam may also simply be a name that arose when someone did not know how to understand Latin records, because the name Lydia becomes Lydiam when it is "declined" in Latin in certain parts of speech, as in marriage records written in Latin:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/LatinNotes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_des_Escuteaux
Lydiam may also simply be a name that arose when someone did not know how to understand Latin records, because the name Lydia becomes Lydiam when it is "declined" in Latin in certain parts of speech, as in marriage records written in Latin:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/LatinNotes.html
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Oh thank you... I'll look into that novel. What do you mean by "declined", do you mean minamized? The equal of calling someone little Lydiam? Thank you again for your help.
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No, this would refer to a different part of speech, not a diminutive. I am afraid I don't know Latin or grammatical terms well enough to be sure I'm using the correct language, but the form of the name (as well as other nouns) would change depending on what part of speech it was in the sentence -- subject, object, etc.
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Decline is correct for nouns and adjectives. The Romans (and for all I know the Greeks) imagines the basic form - the nominative, used for the subject of a sentence (ANNA bit Lucia) at the top of a perpendicular stick like a shadow stick. The other grammatical cases (accusative for the direct object, genitive for the possessive, dative for the indirect object, ablative for various prepositional meanings) were then said to decline or fall over in sequence! Very visual ...
ANNA bit Lucia - nominative
ANNA, stop biting your sister! (Vocative)
Anna bit LUCIAM (Accusative. You can also say: Luciam bit Anna, with no ambiguity but with added emphasis - maybe Anne usually chomps Martha instead ...)
Anna gave a bite LUCIAE (to Lucy = Dative = indirect object)
Anna took the doll LUCIA (Ablative = by, with or in this case - from Lucy. In Latin it would actually need a separate preposition but the principle is the same. And the A in Lucia here is a long sound!)
Same in the plural; same in all five declensions. Aren't we lucky to live when we do!
ANNA bit Lucia - nominative
ANNA, stop biting your sister! (Vocative)
Anna bit LUCIAM (Accusative. You can also say: Luciam bit Anna, with no ambiguity but with added emphasis - maybe Anne usually chomps Martha instead ...)
Anna gave a bite LUCIAE (to Lucy = Dative = indirect object)
Anna took the doll LUCIA (Ablative = by, with or in this case - from Lucy. In Latin it would actually need a separate preposition but the principle is the same. And the A in Lucia here is a long sound!)
Same in the plural; same in all five declensions. Aren't we lucky to live when we do!
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"Lydia" English of Greek origin meaning woman from Lydia (an area of Asia Minor), also has enjoyed a steady rise in popualrity since the 17th cen proably from about the time "Les amours de Lydiam et Floriande" was published.
Cognates French: Lydie, Polish : Lidia, Czech: Lida.
The other possibility is it is from the place name LYDHAM in Shropshire,Possibly meaning "at the Gates or the slopes"
Source:TONC
Cognates French: Lydie, Polish : Lidia, Czech: Lida.
The other possibility is it is from the place name LYDHAM in Shropshire,Possibly meaning "at the Gates or the slopes"
Source:TONC
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