Turpin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The surname of Dick Turpin, the famous 18th-century English highwayman who became a folk hero of the roads
2. A name borne by Dick Turpin, the legendary outlaw and highwayman of eighteenth-century England
3. Refers to the notorious English road robber Dick Turpin, celebrated in folklore for his daring escapades

Etymology: "Turpin" is a personal name built from two old Germanic elements. The first, "tur," meant "god" or "divine," and the second, "pin," meant "evergreen tree." Put together, the name carries a sense of something divine growing in the form of a conifer. The name reached English through Old French, the language of medieval France, and it was originally a given name before it became a surname. Its two parts show how early Germanic names often paired a sacred word with a word from the natural world.