Oswin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A masculine given name of Old English origin, borne by several English saints and kings of the early medieval period
2. A traditional English male first name derived from Old English elements that together suggest a friend of the gods
3. A personal name for a man, long used in England and borne by a seventh-century Northumbrian king and saint

Etymology: Oswin is a personal name, and its meaning is built from two Old English elements: "ōs", meaning "god" or "deity", and "wine", meaning "friend". Together they make a name that means something like "god-friend" or "friend of the gods," the kind of compound that Anglo-Saxon families commonly used when naming children. The name was inherited into English directly from Old English "Oswine", so it has been in use in the British Isles since the Anglo-Saxon period rather than arriving later through French or Latin. The second element, "wine", is the same word that gives modern English "friend" in its older sense, which is why the name reads as a statement of companionship with the divine.