[HPforGrownups] Meaning of Arabella

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 44334

In a message dated 22/09/2002 12:41:21 GMT Standard Time, ronale7 at yahoo.com 
writes:


> According to this pamphlet, the name Arabella has two derivations.  
> First, there's the Latin one: fair altar; sweet refuge.  (Should we 
> count that as one or two?  I'm treating it as one.)  And then it 
> gives a source I haven't seen in the posts: the Teutonic one which 
> means Eagle heroine.
> 
> This derivation leaves me confused.  Can anyone add to this Teutonic 
> bit?  
> 

Fair altar, sweet refuge are pretty much the same thing, it just depends how 
literally or how figuratively we translate the Latin, which has both literal 
and figurative meanings.

But, oh dear....am I going to have to eat my words? I referred yesterday to a 
website derivation which was unfounded - and the Teutonic, 'Eagle Heroine' 
one was just that.

The reason I concluded that it was unfounded on the following grounds
(quoting my original post on the subject):

>Catlady
>>Eloise<< However, the site also says that Annabel is *Hebrew*. >>
>
>>Maybe that site understands "Annabelle" as I did before I read your 
>>information: as a fancied-up form of "Anna", which does come from the 
>>Hebrew name Hannah, which IIRC means 'grace'. A portmanteau of 
>>Hebrew-derived "Anna" and Latin-derived "Bella".
>
>Eloise:
>Which would be quite logical, only they give "Anna" as Hebrew for "grace", >
"Annabel" as Hebrew for "eagle heroine" and "Arabella" as Teutonic for "eagle 
>heroine".

Not very convincing....
*But* there obviously is a pre-internet tradition that Arabella has a 
Teutonic origin.

Is there an *old* Teutonic name rediscovered and adapted? Perhaps a 
mythological figure? I can't find one.

I've been scouting around various sites getting very confused, but it does 
seem as if the 'ar' part has old Norse/Teutonic 'eagle' connotations.

For instance, Arnold means 'eagle power', from 'arn' = eagle and 'wald' = 
power (Grindel*wald*? Anyone know what the Grindel bit may mean?).

Arabella doesn't sound at all germanic to me, but I have just realised that 
it is, of course, the name of one of Richard Strauss's operas and the 
eponymous heroine is Viennese. OTOH, it could have been imported into that 
part of the world from Scotland on the same wave of sentiment that led 
earlier Viennese composers to write 'Scottisches' and arrange Scottish folk 
songs.

If we did go with (or add onto the others) the 'Eagle heroine' definition, 
then I suppose that we could suggest that perhaps Arabella's a Ravenclaw?

Eloise


ARILDA, ARILDE: hearth maiden

ARMILDA, ARMILDE: armored battle-maiden

ARNOLDINE, ARNOLDINA: strong like an eagle
    
    








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