Cordelia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine personal name of Latin or Celtic origin ; the youngest and most loyal daughter of King Lear in Shakespeare's tragedy ; a small inner moon orbiting the planet Uranus
2. A woman's first name ; the honest, devoted daughter of the aging king in Shakespeare's play King Lear ; one of the small satellites circling the planet Uranus
3. A given name often borne by women ; the faithful youngest princess in Shakespeare's King Lear ; a tiny natural satellite that travels around the planet Uranus

Etymology: Shakespeare did not invent the name. It belongs to a figure from British legend, a princess who appears in the chronicles as Cordeilla, the youngest daughter of the king Leir. Shakespeare kept the old story but gave the name the spelling that most English readers now know. Some scholars link the legendary name to Cordula, the name of a Christian saint, though the connection is uncertain. The play made the name famous. In King Lear, Cordelia is the youngest daughter whose refusal to flatter her father sets the tragedy in motion, and her steady loyalty stands against the cruelty of her sisters. Her name then travelled well beyond the stage and became a given name borne by many women. The name later lent itself to a modern astronomical discovery. A tiny moon of Uranus was named Cordelia after the Shakespearean princess, continuing the habit of naming Uranian moons after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.