Ethel
[eth-uh l]
- a female given name: from a Germanic word meaning “noble.”
Show More
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ethel
Contemporary Examples
In 1919, Ethel Parsons and Telfor Paullin made a painting that lifts hearts and souls, just by being fine art.
So welcome back, Edna and Ethel; come on down, Gertrude and Percy; walk right in, Wilhelmina and Wolfgang.
The elevator descended with a draft," he writes, "chilling Ethel in all the damp spots.
In 1960, she made her Broadway debut in Gypsy, opposite Ethel Merman.
June Squibb, the Curse-Happy Elderly Mom In ‘Nebraska,’ Delivers the Year’s Funniest TurnMarlow Stern
November 15, 2013
Lucy and Ethel wish to go to a nightclub, while Ricky and Fred would rather go see a fight.
The Week in Nostalgia: ‘Fight Club’ Hits Theaters, Cyndi Lauper’s Album Drops, and More (VIDEO)Chancellor Agard
October 19, 2013
Historical Examples
It was hard to meet Ethel—and Milly and Mrs. Baker afterwards.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
I would have been glad, for Ethel is a dear child, and I had given you sorrow enough.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
They all belonged to the dream, even Ethel, and now he had got back to the reality.
People of PositionStanley Portal Hyatt
"Vera and I are going for a run round the country," Ethel wrote.
People of PositionStanley Portal Hyatt
There was no hurry, Ethel had told him so frankly, no other suitor being in the running.
People of PositionStanley Portal Hyatt
Word Origin and History for ethel
Ethel
fem. proper name, originally a shortening of Old English Etheldred, Ethelinda, etc., in which the first element means "nobility."
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper