Godiva

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. An 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode unclothed through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband had imposed on his tenants.

Pronunciation

/ɡəˈdaɪ.və/

Word forms

Godiva Goodeve

Etymology

From Middle English Godiva, a Latinised form of Old English Godġifu (literally “God gift”), from god (“god”) + ġifu (“gift”). Doublet of Goody, Goodey.

Related words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.