Linus

English

Etymology

From the name of the second pope, Latin Linus, Ancient Greek Λῖνος (Lînos), of uncertain meaning.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪnəs/
• Rhymes: -aɪnəs

Proper noun

Linus

1. A male given name from Latin.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC:
     , 2 Timothy 4:21:

     Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

   • 2011, Lisa Genova, Left Neglected, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, pages 8–9:

     Yes, my children are Peanuts characters. Charlie, seven, and Lucy, five, were given their names without thought or reference to the comic strip. Charlie was named after Bob's grandfather and we both just liked the name Lucy. Then, when I was unexpectedly expecting again, […]
     "I'd go with Schroeder," a work colleague offered. "No, definitely Linus. Or Woodstock," said another. It was only then that I realized the pattern we'd started with our first two kids. And I liked the name Linus.

Derived terms

• Linian

Translations

male given name

• Bulgarian: Ли́нус m (Línus)
• Esperanto: Lino
• Finnish: Linus (fi)
• German: Linus (de)
• Greek: Λίνος (el) m (Línos)
• Italian: Lino (it)
• Polish: Linus (pl) m
• Portuguese: Lino m
• Russian: Лин (ru) (Lin)
• Swedish: Linus (sv)
• Vietnamese: Linô

Anagrams

• Nilus, Sunil

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈliːnʊs]

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Linus

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Linus

Latin

Alternative forms

• Līnos

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek Λῖνος (Lînos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.nus/, [ˈlʲiːnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.nus/, [ˈliːnus]

Proper noun

Līnus m sg (genitive Līnī); second declension

1. Linus (a chiefly male given name from Ancient Greek), famously held by:
   1. A son of Apollo and Psammate, daughter of Crotopus, king of the Argives; he was given by his mother to the care of shepherds, and one day, being left alone, was torn to pieces by dogs; whereupon Apollo sent into the land a monster which destroyed everything, until slain by Chorœbus.
   2. The son of Apollo and Terpsichore, instructor of Orpheus and Hercules, the latter of whom killed him by a blow with the lyre. (Sextus Propertius confounds him with the preceding. According to others, he was a son of Mercury and Urania, and was killed by Apollo in Eubœa.)
   3. A fountain in Arcadia.

Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Līnus
genitive	Līnī
dative	Līnō
accusative	Līnum
ablative	Līnō
vocative	Līne

Descendants

• English: Linus

References

• “Lĭnus (-os)”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Lĭnus ou Lĭnŏs in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette: “914/1”
• “Linus (⁓os)” on page 1,034 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Linus c (genitive Linus)

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Linus