Percival

American  

[pur-suh-vuhl] / ˈpɜr sə vəl /

noun

1. Arthurian Legend. Also Percivale a knight of King Arthur's court who sought the Holy Grail: comparable to Parzival or Parsifal in Teutonic legend.

2. a male given name.

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Percival British  

/ ˈpɜːsɪvəl /

noun

1. German equivalent: Parzival.  (in Arthurian legend) a knight in King Arthur's court

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Etymology

Origin of Percival

From Old French Perceval, of disputed origin; perhaps literally “pierce the valley” ( pierce ( def. ), vale ( def. ) ) or “through this valley” (from par “through” + cel “this” + val “valley”; per ( def. ) ); alternatively, an alteration of Welsh Peredur

Example Sentences

Mr. Percival is general counsel for the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

And Percival Everett’s novel “James,” a retelling of Huckleberry Finn, took the lion’s share of the literary prizes in 2024, including the Pulitzer.

From Los Angeles Times

Nice as Troy Percival working for Long Beach’s independent Pioneer League team all sounds, it is curious that a four-time All-Star with coaching experience is not working for the Angels.

From Los Angeles Times

When we talked the other day, Percival wore a T-shirt with a cartoon image of a bull, with the word “PEN’’ stenciled on it.

From Los Angeles Times

The Pioneer League extends into Idaho, Montana and Utah, and Percival managed the Idaho Falls team for the past two summers.

From Los Angeles Times