Sebald

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A German surname and given name, most famously borne by a late novelist known for melancholy prose that mixes memory, history and photographs
2. A personal name of German origin, best known as the surname of a twentieth-century writer whose books blend travelogue, memoir and archival images
3. The name of German origin carried by a celebrated author of reflective, elegiac fiction that explores loss, memory and the wars of the past century

Etymology: Sebald is a given name rather than a common English word, and its roots are Germanic. The first element, "sigi" or "sige," meant "victory," and the second, "bald," meant "bold." Together they formed a name that was popular among the Germanic peoples of the early Middle Ages, and it was especially associated with the Franconian region of Germany, where Saint Sebald of Nuremberg became a major local patron. The name survived in German and was carried into English largely through its use in German-speaking lands. Its most famous modern bearer is the novelist and critic W. G. Sebald, whose surname is the same name, showing how a saint's name can become a family name over the centuries.