Griselda

English

Alternative forms

• Grissel, Grizel

Etymology

From the Old English elements *grīs (“gray”) +‎ hild (“battle”), meaning “gray battle-maid”.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun

Griselda

1. The long-suffering wife of a nobleman in a medieval tale.
2. A female given name from the Germanic languages used in Middle Ages, but rather rare today.

Noun

Griselda (plural Griseldas)

1. A woman of exemplary gentleness and patience.
   • 1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, “Chaucer's Envoy to the Clerk's Tale”, in Nevill Coghill, transl., The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977:

     Husbands, be not so hardy as to assail
     The patience of your wives in hope to find
     Griseldas, for you certainly will fail.

Derived terms

• Zelda

Anagrams

• glaresid

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɾiˈselda/ [ɡɾiˈsel̪.d̪a]
• Rhymes: -elda
• Syllabification: Gri‧sel‧da

Proper noun

Griselda f

1. a female given name