Stephen
proper nouncommon in dialogue
- //ˈstiːvən//
The first Christian martyr.
proper noun
- 1
The first Christian martyr.
And Steuen full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
- 2
A male given name from Ancient Greek.
I, for my part, ask any candid reader if it was not bad enough to be called Broadfoot, without having it aggravated into Stephen Broadfoot? I feel confident I will here get a tear of sympathy from all unhappy Andrews and Peters, and Aarons and Samuels, with a smile of disdainful compassion from thrice-happy Franks and Charleys and Bills.
It is doubtless true that American English lacks a tradition for the pronunciation of Anthony, a name which was not often bestowed upon American males until the comparatively recent craze for supposedly swank "British" Christian names, like Stephen, Peter, Michael, etc., in this country.
I thought that ideally it should be a name which could work whether he was serious and reserved or butch, a name like Stephen which could be Steve or David which could be Dave.
As part of the listing, the company is seeking to create a third class of shares that would give Thiel, Karp and fellow cofounder Stephen Cohen “49.999999%” of the total voting power.
- 3
A female given name.
Even in her fourteenth year Miss Stephen Norman gave promise of striking beauty; beauty of a rarely composite character.
- 4
A surname originating as a patronymic.
- 5
A minor city in Marshall County, Minnesota, United States, named after George Stephen.
Etymology
From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”). From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).