Alexander
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌælɪɡˈzændɚ/
note: æ-tensing, rhotic
ipa: [ˌælɪɡˈzeəndɚ]
note: æ-tensing, non-rhotic
ipa: [ˌælɪɡˈzeəndə]
ipa: /ˌalɪɡˈzɑːndə/
rhymes: -ɑːndə(ɹ)
rhymes: -ændə(ɹ)
Forms: form: Alexanders
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). Doublet of Alastair, Alejandro, Iskandar, Sikandar, Alessandro, and Alexandre.
Senses: examples: text: Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole?
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
text: And for my own part, said my uncle Toby, though I should blush to boast of myself, Trim - yet had my name been Alexander, I could have done no more at Namur than my duty.
ref: 1765, Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy, Book IV, Chapter 18:
text: "My son's name is Alexander," Muriel said. "Did I tell you that? I named him Alexander because it sounded high-class.
ref: 1985, Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist, →ISBN, page 170:
glosses: A male given name from Ancient Greek, most famously held by Alexander the Great.
glosses: A Scottish surname originating as a patronymic, anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Mac Alasdair (“son of Alexander”).
glosses: A place in the United States:
A city in Pulaski County and Saline County, Arkansas.
glosses: A place in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Burke County, Georgia; named for early settler Hugh Alexander.
glosses: A place in the United States:
A minor city in Franklin County, Iowa.
glosses: A place in the United States:
A minor city in Rush County, Kansas; named for early settler Alexander Harvey.
glosses: A place in the United States:
A town in Washington County, Maine; named for British politician and financier Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton.
glosses: A place in the United States:
A town and village therein, in Genesee County, New York; named for early settler Alexander Rea.
glosses: A place in the United States:
A minor city in McKenzie County, North Dakota; named for early North Dakota politician Alexander McKenzie.
glosses: A place in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia; named for local lumber businessman John M. Alexander.
glosses: A rural municipality in eastern Manitoba, Canada.
glosses: A community in the Rural Municipality of Whitehead, Manitoba, Canada; named for early settler Alexander Speers.
Derived terms: word: Al
word: Alec
word: Aleck
word: Alex
word: Alexander Archipelago
word: Alexander Archipelago wolf
taxonomic: Megadromus antarcticus
word: Alexander beetle
word: Alexander County
word: Alexander Hamilton
word: Alexander horned ball
word: Alexander horned sphere
word: Alexander I Island
word: Alexander Island
word: Alexandrian
word: Alexandrine
word: alexandrine
word: Alistair
word: Gates of Alexander
word: Lex
word: Mount Alexander
word: Sandro
word: Sandy
word: Sasha
word: Xan
word: Xander
Related terms: Alexandra and its variants
shorter forms such as Alex
Sandy
Xander