Wiktionary

Kevin

See also: Kévin

English

edit

Etymology

edit

Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “dear birth/person”). It first became popular outside Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.

Pronunciation

edit

Proper noun

edit

Kevin (plural Kevins)

  1. A male given name from Irish.
    • 2021 January 28, Chandelis Duster, quoting David Hogg, “Parkland shooting survivor calls for House GOP leader to denounce Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene”, in CNN‎[2]:
      “My message to Kevin McCarthy is, take all of her committee assignments away … also, don’t support her when she runs for re-election again and try to get her primaried. If you say this is not your party, actually call it out and hold her accountable,” Hogg told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day.”
  2. (UK, derogatory, slang) A working-class male.
    Synonym: Kev

Quotations

edit
  • 1990, Ruth Rendell, Going Wrong, →ISBN, page 157:
    "Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."
    He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence.
  • 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, Harper Collins Publishers., →ISBN, page 203:
    They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.
edit

Descendants

edit
  • → Breton: Kevin
  • → Cebuano: Kevin
  • → Chinese: 凱文 / 凯文 (Kǎiwén) (transliteration)
  • → Danish: Kevin
  • → Dutch: Kevin
  • → Estonian: Kevin
  • → French: Kevin, Kévin m
  • → German: Kevin
  • → Lithuanian: Kevinas
  • → Norwegian: Kevin
  • → Polish: Kewin
  • → Portuguese: Kevin
  • → Spanish: Kevin
  • → Swedish: Kevin
  • → Tagalog: Kevin

Translations

edit

See also

edit

Anagrams

edit

Albanian

edit

Proper noun

edit

Kevin m

  1. a male given name

Declension

edit
Declension of Kevin
singular
indefinite definite
nominative Kevin Kevini
accusative Kevinin
dative/ablative Kevini Kevinit

Breton

edit

Proper noun

edit

Kevin m

  1. a male given name

References

edit
  • Alain Stéphan, Tous les Prénoms bretons, 1996, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, →ISBN, page 63

Cebuano

edit

Etymology

edit

From English Kevin, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “comely birth”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • Hyphenation: Ke‧vin
  • IPA(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈki.bɪn̪]

Noun

edit

Kevin

  1. a male given name from English

Danish

edit

Etymology

edit

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

edit

Kevin

  1. a male given name

Estonian

edit

Etymology

edit

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

edit

Kevin

  1. a male given name

French

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

edit

Proper noun

edit

Kevin m

  1. a male given name; masculine of Kevine

Usage notes

edit

The name Kevin has come to be an undesirable name after its period of popularity in the 1990s. It has come to represent lower-class low-intellect uncouth boorish behaviour.[1]

Coordinate terms

edit

Noun

edit

Kevin m (plural Kevins)

  1. (slang, France) A boorish lower-class person of low intellect

Synonyms

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Lauren Collins (9 August 2022), “How Kevins Got A Bad Rap In France”, in The New Yorker‎[1], New York City: Condé Nast

German

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from English Kevin. First popularised in the late 1970s after footballer Kevin Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980.

Pronunciation

edit

Proper noun

edit

Kevin m (proper noun, strong, genitive Kevins, plural Kevins)

  1. a male given name

Usage notes

edit
  • In recent decades, Kevin has become rather stigmatised in German-speaking Europe as a name typical of the uneducated classes. To a lesser degree the same is also true of other English given names (an interesting contrast to the otherwise high prestige of the English language).

Derived terms

edit

Norwegian

edit

Etymology

edit

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

edit

Kevin

  1. a male given name

Portuguese

edit

Etymology

edit

    Unadapted borrowing from English Kevin.

    Pronunciation

    edit
     

    Proper noun

    edit

    Kevin m

    1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

    Derived terms

    edit

    Spanish

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

      Borrowed from English Kevin.

      Pronunciation

      edit
      • IPA(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈke.β̞ĩn]
      • Rhymes: -ebin
      • Syllabification: Ke‧vin

      Proper noun

      edit

      Kevin m

      1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

      Swedish

      edit

      Etymology

      edit

      Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

      Pronunciation

      edit
        This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

      Proper noun

      edit

      Kevin c (genitive Kevins)

      1. a male given name

      Anagrams

      edit
      Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin&oldid=91247718"