Greek derivation of CARINA/KARINA?
In a name book I read, that one possible derivation of KARINA was the Greek word "karinos,' meaning "witty."As I don't have my books with me, I tried a few online dictionaries, but no results. So can anybody confirm that there is a Greek word "karinos" with that meaning?
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Carina is also the Latin name of a constellation that means "hull" or "keel."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carina_(constellation)
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I've spent years looking for meanings and have never found this one, Andy :)
The most common meanings I have found are Karina (Ka-REE-nah) as a form of Katherine, meaning pure, or Carina (ka-REEN-ah) (sometimes changed to Karina in Australia and America), as a derivative of the Italian expression "Che carina!" meaning "how cute!" or "how darling!" Hope this helps!
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I have been doing a project on my name this helps.Thanks
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Note though, that Katherine doesn't mean "pure". The original Greek form is Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē) or Ἑκατερίνη (Hekaterine), a name probably borrowed from Anatolia (just as we took it from the Greeks) where the goddess Hekate was originally venerated (a number of similar names were recorded there in ancient times). Since in the Greek pantheon she became the goddess of witchcraft, it was a name people later found distasteful, so a fabricated origin was devised relating it to Greek καθαρός/κόθᾰρος (katharos/kotharos depending on dialect). Note that the vowels are all wrong, and the dental as well (although to a Romance speaker who couldn't say θ anyway, that probably wasn't noticeable).

This message was edited 6/24/2020, 3:36 AM

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I doub t it, Andy.My references point Karine (KAPINH), meaning "woman from Karia," and used to signify "professional wailer" at funerals - nothing witty about that.Also there is "Karinos" , the month of November in the Eastern Rolam (Byzantine) Empire - again unrelated.Maybe there is some oblique connection with the word Charis meaning grrace, but I doubt it.
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These names look more like derivatives of Katherine ("pure").
I like them and wish Karelia was a name.
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Thank, you, Pavlos!
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