Etymology Word of the Week – As some of you know, in addition to working in the Admissions Office, I also teach Latin at Saint Ignatius and am something of a "word nerd." Thus, each week, I’ll sneak a vocabulary word (sometimes derived from Latin, sometimes not) into the e-blast. Here then is this week’s edition of the Etymology Word of the Week.
Patrick - “masculine proper name meaning ‘of noble or high rank’.” From Irish name/noun Padraig via the Latin noun/name Patricius meaning “a patrician.” Related to the Latin nouns pater meaning “father” and patria meaning “fatherland, country, homeland.” (All information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com)
RELATED WORDS/PHRASES – Pater Noster (“Our Father”), paterfamilias (for all of you O Brother, Where Art Thou? fans out there), patriarch, patriot, Patricia, paternal, paternity, patron, patronage, repatriate, ex-pat, etc.