Arsinoë
Does any one know the meaning of the girls name Arsinoë?
It's ancient Egyptian. I've been searching for a long time, but I didn't find anything.X Desert Rose
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Meaning of ArsinoëArsinoë is derived from the Greek "arsis," meaning to rise/lift, and "nous," meaning mind.
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Elea is definitely correct that Arsinoe is a Greek or Macedonian name brought to Egypt by the Ptolemies. One of the few sites that gives a meaning for it discusses its use in a Gnostic text and says it originally meant "uplifted mind". Though I'm cautious about the total veracity of that site, it does correspond with Elea's knowledge of Greek so probably has a more than 50% chance of being correct. :)http://pages.sbcglobal.net/zimriel/Mark/salome2.html
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According to LPGN (http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/publications/vol1/fem.html) there is evidence for variations of Arsinoe thoughout the Greek world:*The Aegean Islands* : Cyprus, Cyrenaica: Arsine(F), Arsinoa(F), Arinoe(F), Arsinous (M) *Attica* : Arinoe(F)*The Peloponnese Western Greece, Sicily, Magna Graecia* : Arsinea(F), Arsinoa(F), Arinoe(F)*Central Greece* : Arsinno(F), Arinoe(F), Arsinous(M)*Macedonia* : The data is forcoming.By the way, please note that all classical Macedonian names were Greek, as the Macedonia is a historical region of Greek-speaking Greek-cultured Greeks :) Of course, the region in southern Yugoslavia dubbed as "Macedonia" by the the late Joseph Tito (which is today known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) has its own names and language, which are derived from Bulgarian with a Serbo-Croat influence, and should not be confused with classical Macedonia.
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Arsinoe is the name of a character in Moliere's The Misanthrope. Moliere was a French playwright, so I've always assumed the name was French. Not sure of the meaning, though.
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I don't believe it is an Ancient Egyptian name because the Ptolemies were a Greek dynasty and spoke Greek/used Greek names. Arsinoe was the name of the mother of Ptolemy I -who was a Macedonian general before he became king of Egypt. I don't know what Arsinoe means but I believe according to Greek mythology she was the mother of Asclepios (father Apollo). Asclepios' mother is also listed as Coronis which is either an alternate name or a different person altogether. This is purely a guess but perhaps the first part derives from the Greek word 'arsis' meaning raised/lifted and the second part comes from 'nous' meaning intellect/mind. Therefore Arsinoe could mean something along the lines of "raised intelligence" (?).

This message was edited 2/20/2007, 6:31 AM

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Spot-on!
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It reminds me of Arsenios, but I'm not sure, if there is a connection...
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