Minerva
Americannoun
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the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts, identified with the Greek goddess Athena.
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a woman of great wisdom.
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a female given name.
noun
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.
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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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.