Oswald

O1S1W4A1L1D2
/ˈɒzwəld/

proper noun

Oswald of Northumbria, 7th century Northumbrian King and Saint.

OriginOld English Ōsweald ← Proto-West Germanic *Ansuwald ← Proto-Germanic *Ansuwaldaz →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A male given name from Old English.
    1. historicalOswald of Northumbria, 7th century Northumbrian King and Saint.
    2. historicalOswald of Worcester, 10th century Archbishop of York and English Saint.
  2. A surname originating as a patronymic.
  3. A place name:
    1. A suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.
    2. A ghost town in Atchison County, Missouri, United States.
    3. An unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ems-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂émsus
  3. Proto-Germanic*ansuz
  4. Proto-Germanic*waldą
  5. Proto-Germanic*Ansuwaldaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*Ansuwald
  7. Old EnglishŌsweald
  8. EnglishOswald

Inherited from Old English Ōsweald, from ōs (“god, deity”) + weald (“power”). Cognate with German Answald, Faroese and Icelandic Ásvaldur, and Norwegian Nynorsk Åsvald.

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 奧斯瓦爾德 /奥斯瓦尔德
  • 奧斯瓦爾德 /奥斯瓦尔德 (Àosīwǎ'ěrdé)male given name
Danish Osvald
  • Osvaldmale given name
Esperanto Osvaldo
  • Osvaldomale given name
French Oswald
  • Oswaldmale given name
Greek Όσβαλντ
  • Όσβαλντ (Ósvalnt)male given name
Hungarian Osvát
  • Osvátmale given name
Italian Osvaldo
  • Osvaldomale given name
Latvian Osvalds
  • Osvaldsmale given name
Polish Oswald
  • Oswaldmale given name
Portuguese Osvaldo
  • Osvaldomale given name
Russian Освальд
  • Освальд (Osvalʹd)male given name
Spanish Oswaldo
  • Oswaldomale given name
Swedish Osvald
  • Osvaldmale given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

dowlas
Cite this entry
APA

Oswald. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Oswald

MLA

“Oswald.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Oswald. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Oswald,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Oswald.

Source: Oswald on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.