View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Facts] Re: Greek derivation of CARINA/KARINA?
I've spent years looking for meanings and have never found this one, Andy :)
The most common meanings I have found are Karina (Ka-REE-nah) as a form of Katherine, meaning pure, or Carina (ka-REEN-ah) (sometimes changed to Karina in Australia and America), as a derivative of the Italian expression "Che carina!" meaning "how cute!" or "how darling!" Hope this helps!
vote up1vote down

Replies

I have been doing a project on my name this helps.Thanks
vote up1vote down
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

vote up1vote down