Comments (Meaning / History Only)
Name of a 6th century saint who was said to have died of a tumor of the neck. She felt it a punishment for her love of fine necklaces as a young woman.
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A perfect name for an old goat. Reminds me of the word tawdry:
tawdry
"cheap, showy, gaudy," 1676, adjective use of noun tawdry "silk necktie for women" (1612), shortened from tawdry lace (1548), an alteration of St. Audrey's lace, a necktie or ribbon sold at the annual fair at Ely on Oct. 17 commemorating St. Audrey (queen of Northumbria, died 679), whose name was worn down from O.E. Æðelðryð "noble might," from æðele "noble" (from P.Gmc. *athala-, from PIE *at-al- "race, family," from *at(i)- "over, beyond, super" + *al- "to nourish") + ðryð "might." Her association with cheap lace necklaces is that she supposedly died of a throat tumor, which she considered God's punishment for her youthful fondness for showy necklaces [Bede].
Also: But fell from favour during the medieval period through its association with the ordinary vocabulary word "tawdry"( which itself presented With the ordinary vocabulary word "tawdry" (which itself presented
a contraction of "St Audrey" and was first applied to the low quality A contraction of "St Audrey" and was first applied to the low quality trinkets sold at medieval fairs held in her name.)
It was not until the early years of the 20th century that the name It was not until the early years of the 20th century that the name became popular in its modern form. Became popular in its modern form.
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tawdry
"cheap, showy, gaudy," 1676, adjective use of noun tawdry "silk necktie for women" (1612), shortened from tawdry lace (1548), an alteration of St. Audrey's lace, a necktie or ribbon sold at the annual fair at Ely on Oct. 17 commemorating St. Audrey (queen of Northumbria, died 679), whose name was worn down from O.E. Æðelðryð "noble might," from æðele "noble" (from P.Gmc. *athala-, from PIE *at-al- "race, family," from *at(i)- "over, beyond, super" + *al- "to nourish") + ðryð "might." Her association with cheap lace necklaces is that she supposedly died of a throat tumor, which she considered God's punishment for her youthful fondness for showy necklaces [Bede].
Also: But fell from favour during the medieval period through its association with the ordinary vocabulary word "tawdry"( which itself presented With the ordinary vocabulary word "tawdry" (which itself presented
a contraction of "St Audrey" and was first applied to the low quality A contraction of "St Audrey" and was first applied to the low quality trinkets sold at medieval fairs held in her name.)
It was not until the early years of the 20th century that the name It was not until the early years of the 20th century that the name became popular in its modern form. Became popular in its modern form.
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My name :) The original name "ÆÐELÞRYÐ" was also modernized to Ethel as well as Audrey. Ethel is actually more accurate, but it drops the stem "dred," or "council," which is the same as names like Alfred and Mordred.
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In several books I have researched including 20,001 baby names, Audrey means "noble, strength".
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Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.
After her death, a fair was created in her honor. At this fair, one could find cheap lace necklaces not at all like the ones worn by St. Audrey. As lace necklaces became less fashionable, they were labeled "Tawdry" due to their origin at the fair of St. Audrey.
St. Audrey herself has literally zero connection with being cheap or trashy. She was a lifelong virgin worthy of Sainthood. People need to understand that the fair itself and the goods sold there do not represent the actual character or St. Audrey.