Etymology

Guelph

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Today it means: In the politics of medieval Italian city states, any member of a faction that supported the Pope in a long struggle against the Ghibellines and the Holy Roman Emperor. Full definition →

Italian guelfo ← Middle High German Welf
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The story

  1. Middle High German · derived fromWelf
  2. Italian · derived fromguelfo
  3. English todayGuelph

From Italian guelfo, from Middle High German Welf, a Bavarian dynasty. Welf II, Duke of Bavaria, inherited from his Italian wife, the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, possessions including Tuscany, Ferrara, Modena, Mantua and Reggio, which played a role in the Investiture Controversy. The Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, so partisans of the Pope became known in Italy as Guelfi.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.