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Gender Feminine

Meaning & History

This name is the named of several Berethnet queens in Samantha Shannon's book ''The Priory of the Orange Tree'', most notably Sabran IX, one of the main characters of the book.

According to Samantha Shannon, the name comes from a version of Saint George's legend, written by the Elizabethan writer Richard Johnson, in which the princess he saves is called Sabra. Where the author of that tale got the name from is unknown, though there is a theory that it comes from the Arabic word sabr (صبر), meaning ''endurance, patience''. In his version, Sabra is Egyptian, and she suffers quite a lot, so the meaning would make sense. Samantha Shannon, however, doubts this, saying that she doesn't ''believe for a minute he had the necessary awareness or sensitivity to choose an appropriate name in Arabic''.
In the world of the Priory of the Orange Tree, Sabran Berethnet and her ancestors are named after the sabra flower, which is the most beautiful flower of the south. No one quite knows where that name came from.
Added 8/11/2019 by JudithGrey
Edited 8/14/2019 by elbowin and JudithGrey