Lovejoy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name carried by people such as Elijah Lovejoy, the abolitionist newspaper editor ; the central figure of a British television series about a roguish antiques dealer
2. A surname held by figures like the anti-slavery editor Elijah Lovejoy ; the name of the charming antiques trader who stars in a British TV drama
3. Used as a surname for people including the abolitionist publisher Elijah Lovejoy ; also the name of the rogue antiques dealer at the heart of a British series

Etymology: Lovejoy is a surname rather than a common noun, and its two halves come from languages that had been sitting side by side in England for centuries. The first part comes from Old English "lufu", meaning love, while the second comes from Old French "ioie", meaning joy. Put together, the name is a compound of the Germanic and the French words, a pairing typical of the way English absorbed Norman French vocabulary alongside its native stock. The name's transparent meaning is the striking thing about it. Early bearers of the surname would have been recognised at once by anyone who knew both tongues, since the elements announce themselves without any need for etymological detective work. The combination of a native word and a borrowed one is what makes the name feel so English in its mixture.