Winfrey

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An American television host, actress and media executive best known for her long-running daytime talk show
2. A famous American broadcaster who rose to fame hosting a popular daytime television talk program and later founded a media company
3. The surname of an American talk show host and philanthropist who became one of the most influential figures in television

Etymology: Winfrey is a surname, and its history is a matter of name-making rather than word-making. It descends from "Winfred," an Old English personal name built from the elements "wine" (friend) and "frith" (peace), so the name means something like "friend of peace." Over the Middle Ages, the name was reshaped into a medieval variant, and that variant is what survives as the surname. Because it began as a given name that hardened into a family name, the surname is best understood as a fossilised first name. Many English surnames arose this way, when a father's name was passed down as the family's identifier. The surname is therefore older than the familiar modern usage most people associate with it.