Cecilia

proper nounattested in dialogue

//sɪˈsiːli.ə//
//sɪˈsɪli.ə//

A female given name from Latin.

proper noun

1
A female given name from Latin.
Hark how the flutes and trumpets raise / At bright Cecilia's name, their lays!
‘Sissy is not a name,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Don’t call yourself Sissy. Call yourself Cecilia.’ ‘It’s father as calls me Sissy, sir,’ returned the young girl in a trembling voice, and with another curtsey. ‘Then he has no business to do it,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Tell him he mustn’t. Cecilia Jupe. Let me see. What is your father?’
Because they had named her Cecilia, her parents fancied that the matter of her life and character had been fairly well settled. She would, of course, be quiet and pale and mystical, like the saint whose picture hung above the old upright piano in the Kirby living-room.

Etymology

From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila.

cecil · A fried ball of minced meat, breadcrumbs, onions, etc.Cecil · A unisex given name from Latin. A male given name from Latin.Cecile · A female given name from Latin.

Cecilia · A female given name from Latin.

cedar · A coniferous tree of the genus Cedrus in the family Pinaceae.Cedar · A surname.Cedric · A male given name from Welsh.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.