Bernard

Part of speech: noun, proper noun

Definitions

1. A masculine given name of Germanic origin, often used as a personal identifier for individuals or historical figures
2. A male first name commonly found in English-speaking countries and derived from elements meaning "bear" and "brave" or "hardy"
3. A traditional name for males originating from ancient Germanic roots, popular in various cultures as a proper noun designating persons or characters

Etymology: Bernard is a name built from two Germanic elements: "bear," as in the animal, and a second element meaning something like "hardy" or "brave." Its ancestor was a Frankish name, reconstructed as "Bernhard," and the same name turns up across the early Germanic languages, in Old High German as Bernhart and in Old English as Beornheard. The animal in the name is a rare case where a name's first element is a common noun most people would recognise instantly. The name passed into Latin as "Bernardus," then into Old French as Bernard and Bernart, and from there into Middle English. Its spread through Europe owed much to medieval saints who bore it, the most famous being Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century Cistercian abbot whose influence reached far beyond his monastery. Their reputations made the name a fixture of Christian Europe for centuries.

Synonyms: bernard (proper noun)