Dubh Essa (also spelled Dub Essa, Dubhessa, Dubhesa, Dubheasa, Dubh Easa, Duibhessa, Duibheasa) was a medieval Gaelic feminine given name, fairly common in 13th- and 14th-century Ireland.[1]
Pronunciation | approximately "Do-vess-a"[1] |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Meaning | dark beauty of the waterfall |
Other names | |
Related names | Dub Essa, Dubh Easa, Dubheasa, Dubheasa, Dubhesa, Dubhessa, Duibheasa, Duibhessa, Duvessa, |
While the name may be a compound of Gaelic dubh "dark" (probably referring to hair color, hence "black-haired") and eas "waterfall, cascade, rapid" (genitive easa), its meaning is sometimes interpreted as "black nurse" (Latin: nutrix nigra).[2]
Dubh Essa has also been anglicized as Duvessa (e.g., in M. J. Molloy's 1964 comedy The Wooing of Duvessa).
Bearers
edit- Dubh Essa ingen Briain, died 1052.
- Dubh Essa ingen Amhalgadha, died 1078.
- Dubh Essa ingen maic Aedha, died 1115.
- Dubh Essa Níc Eidhin, died 1187.
- Dubh Essa Bean Uí Dubhda, died 1190.
- Dubhessa Ní Diarmata, died 1229.
- Dubhessa Ní hElide, died 1328.
- Dubhessa Ní Fherghail, died 1328.
- Dubhessa Bean Uí Chonchobhair, died 1328.
References
edit- ^ a b Mittleman, Josh (2 February 1999), Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 1446, retrieved 13 December 2012
- ^ Yonge, Charlotte M. (1884). History of Christian Names, p. 254, at Google Books. p. 254.