Linda

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A feminine given name of Spanish and Portuguese origin meaning "pretty" or "beautiful" used to identify a person; a common personal name in many cultures
2. Used as a female first name meaning attractive or lovely, often given to girls in countries with Romance languages; serves as an individual identifier
3. A personal proper name signifying beauty or charm, typically assigned to females; found widely in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions as a common choice for naming girls

Etymology: Linda is a name, and its most surprising link is to a word most English speakers would never connect with it: "lithe." The name comes from Germanic compounds ending in -lind or -linde, meaning "tender" or "soft," so its root is the same as Old English "līþe," meaning "gentle, mild, pliable." Short forms such as Linda were Latinised from names like Sieglinde and Dietlinde, which means the name's original sense was closer to "gentle" than to "beautiful." The Spanish word "linda," meaning "pretty," looks identical and was later associated with the name, so the two meanings merged in many people's minds. The name's wide spread came mainly through nineteenth-century literature and the opera "Linda di Chamounix" (1842), which made it fashionable across Europe.

Synonyms: pretty, beautiful, lovely

Antonyms: ugly, unattractive, plain