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Ernest

proper noun

  1. male given name
  2. family name
L481694 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɜː(ɹ)nɪst/

name

Etymology: Borrowed in the 18th century from Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust (“vigor, strife”), only remotely related to modern German ernst or English earnest.

  1. A male given name from the Germanic languages; popular in the 19th century.

    GWENDOLEN. […] and my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.

    "What's his name, your boyfriend?" "Ernest. Ernest Hemingway." The name was received in disparaging silence. Marlene said: "You wouldn't get me going out with a feller called Ernest. My granddad was Ernest."

  2. A surname.

noun

  1. Obsolete form of earnest.