Winfred

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A masculine first name of Old English origin, meaning roughly friend of peace, used for men and boys
2. A male given name of Anglo-Saxon origin, combining elements meaning friend and peace
3. An Old English masculine personal name that people have carried across English-speaking countries for centuries

Etymology: Winfred is a personal name whose parts are plain Old English. Its first element, "wynn", meant "joy", and its second, "friþ", meant "peace" or "protection", so the name as a whole carried the sense of joyful peace. Names of this type were built by joining two meaningful elements, a habit that gave Anglo-Saxon England many names of this pattern. The name was a compound from the start, so there is no hidden story of a word changing its meaning. What makes it interesting is that a name built from such plain ingredients survived the centuries at all, and its parts still show their original sense when read aloud.