Lynne

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine given name, an alternative spelling of Lynn, borne by many women in English-speaking countries
2. A female first name of English origin, often regarded as a variant form of the name Lynn
3. A woman's given name commonly used in English-speaking countries, derived from the same root as Lynn

Etymology: In Scots and northern English, a "linn" is a deep pool at the foot of a waterfall, or the waterfall itself. The spelling "lynne" is an older variant of this sense, and it is the one that makes the word a noun here. The Scots word appears to come from Scottish Gaelic "linn", meaning pool, which is probably related to Old Irish "linn" with the same sense. The exact dates of the Scots spellings are uncertain. The same root turns up in place names far from Scotland. The Norfolk town of King's Lynn takes its name from a related word for a pool or mere, which seems to have been used in the region, and the Old English "cyninges" ("of the king") was added to it. Lynne as a personal name is a later development, taken from these place-name uses and given a feminine form, rather than a direct survival of the noun.