Etymology -- Amanda

In Latin amare means "to love." What given name means "she who is worthy of love" in Latin?

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Answer: Amanda

Similarly, in Latin the name Festus means "festive" and Octavius means "the eighth."

Note: according to mre-@-xtra.co.nz, a better translation of the name would be "she who must be loved" - the gerundive, along the same lines as agenda, what ought to be done, and propaganda, what ought to be disseminated.

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http://www.behindthename.com/nm/a3.php says the name Amanda was "Created in the 17th century by the playwright Colley Cibber, who based it on Latin amanda meaning "lovable"."

foo at fire.com

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H'm, my Latin is pretty basic, but as far as I know, the gerundive is not a case but a grammatical form: future passive participle. And by itself "amanda" (feminine gerundive of "amare," to love) literally means simply "is about to be loved." But in an extended sense it does mean what the question said: "she who is worthy of love."

If the gerundive is used with the verb to be, the result has the sense of obligatory action. So "amanda est" would mean not simply "she is about to be loved," but "she must be loved." Without the "est," however, I don't think it necessarily means "she who must be loved."

psurajit at netscape.net

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