From Middle English saint, seint, sainct, seinct, sanct, senct, partly from Old English sanct (“saint”) and confluence with Old French saint, seinte (Modern French saint); both from Latin sanctus (“holy, consecrated”, in Late Latin as a noun, “a saint”), past participle of sancire (“to render sacred, make holy”), akin to sacer (“holy, sacred”). Displaced native Middle English halwe (“saint”) from Old English hālga (“saint, holy one”) (> Modern English hallow (“saint”)).
saint (plural saints)
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From Middle English saynten, seinten, sonten, partly from Anglo-Norman saintir and partly from the noun Middle English seint, seynt (see above).
saint (third-person singular simple present saints, present participle sainting, simple past and past participle sainted)
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From the pattern of naming various parishes and other places for Christian saints.
saint
May be used for either male or female names. May be combined with the other word using a hyphen, particularly following French examples.
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saint m (plural saints, feminine sainte)
saint (feminine sainte, masculine plural saints, feminine plural saintes)
- in Belgian toponyms:
- in Canadian toponyms:
- In French toponyms:
- In toponyms of French Guiana:
- In Guadeloupean toponyms:
- In Italian toponyms:
- In toponyms of Martinique:
- In toponyms of Réunion:
- In Swiss toponyms:
From Old Irish sant, of uncertain origin; cognate with Manx saynt and Scottish Gaelic sannt. Possibly borrowed from Proto-Brythonic *hwant (the source of Welsh chwant (“desire”)), from Proto-Celtic *swantos, provided the borrowing happened before *s became *h in Brythonic but after *ant became *ēdd in Goidelic, as the inherited Old Irish descendant of *swantos is sét (whence séad (“a valuable”) and seoid (“jewel”)). Against this hypothesis is the fact that Old Irish sét and Welsh chwant are masculine, while Old Irish sant and its descendants are feminine.
saint f (genitive singular sainte)
Bare forms (no plural form of this noun)
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Forms with the definite article
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Irish mutation | ||
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Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
saint | shaint after an, tsaint |
not applicable |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
From Old French saint, from Latin sanctus (“holy”).
Audio (Jersey) | (file) |
saint m
saint m (plural saints)
saint oblique singular, m (oblique plural sainz or saintz, nominative singular sainz or saintz, nominative plural saint)
saint m (oblique and nominative feminine singular sainte)
saint m pl (not mutable)