Etymology

Nerissa

N1E1R1I1S1S1A1

Today it means: A female given name from Ancient Greek. Full definition →

Ancient Greek Νηρηΐς
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΝηρηΐς“sea-nymph”
  2. English todayNerissa

Coined by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice, apparently from Ancient Greek Νηρηΐς (Nērēḯs, “sea-nymph”).

Words from the same roots

Ancient GreekΝηρηΐς all →

nereid

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.