Agnes
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈæɡ.nɪs/
Origin
From Ancient Greek á¼Î³Î½ÏŒÏ‚ ("pure, chaste"), ἀγνεία ("purity, chastity").
Full definition of Agnes
Proper noun
Agnes
(plural Agness)- .
- 1876 Annie Howells Fréchette, Reuben Dale, Galaxy, W.C. and F.P.Church, 1876, page 394"Why do you call Mrs. Stone Aggie? Agnes is such a beautiful name, it is a shame to nick it in that way." Then, quickly regretting his impatience, he added, "You would not have been jealous, would you, Jenny?"
- 1977 Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds, Gramercy Books 1998, ISBN 0517201658, pages 3,5Right then and there in her mind she had christened it Agnes, the only name she knew elegant enough for such a peerless creature. - - - She held the doll so her brothers could see. "Look, isn't she beautiful? Her name is Agnes.""Agnes? Agnes?" Jack gagged realistically. "What a soppy name! Why don't you call her Margaret or Betty?"
- 1995 Elizabeth Wurtzel: Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America, Riverhead Books, 1995, ISBN 1573225126, page 14I found myself wanting to explain it to her, this middle-aged woman with the kind of haircut you call a hairdo, which needed to be set in rollers every night, who had a name like Agnes or Harriet, a name that even predated my mother's generation.
Usage notes
Name of one of the four great virgin martyrs, by folk etymology associated with Latin agnus "lamb". Popular in the Middle Ages and again at the turn of the 20th century.
In Ireland Agnes has been used as an Anglicization of Úna.