Geraldines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Multiple people named Geraldine, a female given name of Irish origin meaning descendant of Gerald
2. Plural instances of the female name Geraldine, traditionally used in English-speaking countries
3. Several individuals bearing the female given name Geraldine, derived from the Germanic name Gerald

Etymology: In medieval Ireland, the Geraldines were the powerful Anglo-Norman FitzGerald family, who held large estates in Munster and Kildare and grew into one of the island's dominant lordly houses. The family took its name from an ancestor called Gerald, and "FitzGerald" means "son of Gerald," from Old French "fitz," meaning son. The personal name itself is Germanic, built from elements meaning "spear" and "rule," and it spread through Norman France before reaching England and Ireland. The collective "Geraldines" came to be used for the whole clan and its allies, not just a single line. Their rivalry with the Butlers, another Anglo-Norman house, shaped much of Irish politics for centuries. Because "Geraldine" was also a given name, the plural can refer to the family's members in general, and the singular form still turns up in historical writing as a term for an individual member.