Madelinde

The story

From a Germanic dithematic personal name composed of madal- + -linde. The first element, madal-, is related to Old High German mahal and cognate Germanic forms associated with an assembly, court, judgment, counsel, decision, or formal speech. The element refers to the setting and functions of the Germanic assembly or court, where matters were spoken, deliberated, judged, and decided. The second element, -linde, is a Germanic feminine name element from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, “gentle, mild, soft”. The name may therefore be interpreted broadly as “one of gentle judgment and speech”. As with other Germanic dithematic names, these are interpretive combinations of the name elements rather than a fixed literal translation. Compare Madalinde. The name is historically attested in forms including Madalinde and the Latinized Madilindis. In later French/English forms -linde was reduced to -line, giving rise to forms such as Madeline.