Etymology

Archibald

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Today it means: A male given name from the Germanic languages. Full definition →

Anglo-Norman Arcebald ← Old French Archaunbault ← Proto-West Germanic *Erknabalþ
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromArchibaldus
  2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*Erknabalþ
  3. Old French · derived fromArchaunbault
  4. Anglo-Norman · derived fromArcebald
  5. English todayArchibald

From Anglo-Norman Arcebald, Arcenbald or Ercenbald, from Old French Archaunbault, from Proto-West Germanic *Erknabalþ, from *erkn (“pure, holy, genuine, precious”) + *balþ (“strong, bold”). Doublet of Archambault. Compare Latin Archibaldus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.