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Minerva

American  
[mi-nur-vuh] / mɪˈnɜr və /

noun

  1. the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts, identified with the Greek goddess Athena.

  2. a woman of great wisdom.

  3. a female given name.


Minerva British  
/ mɪˈnɜːvə /

noun

  1. Greek counterpart: Athena.  the Roman goddess of wisdom

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Minerva Cultural  
  1. The Roman name of Athena, the Greek and Roman goddess of wisdom.


Etymology

Origin of Minerva

First recorded before 1000 Minerva for def. 1; 1780–85 Minerva for def. 2; from Latin Minerva, earlier Menerva, from unattested Meneswā, perhaps meaning “intelligent, wise (woman),” or “woman who measures (the phases of the moon)”

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Though she may occasionally doubt her merits in this grand tradition of investigators, Minerva proves herself more than up for the challenge.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 12, 2026

Instead they spectacularly turned things around and topped the podium ahead of Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who took silver ahead of overnight leaders Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany.

From Barron's Feb. 17, 2026

To communicate with his partner Minerva Fabienne Hase, he gave himself a crash course in English.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 17, 2026

After cutting the ribbon, Hawkins spent time with A-level musicians as well as one of the school's rock bands, Minerva, which performed for him.

From BBC Feb. 1, 2026

“If you want to know what Minerva tells us, I’ll share.”

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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