Evangeline

/ɪˈvændʒəliːn/ noun, proper noun

Definition

A female given name, or in literature, a young woman devoted to spreading religious teachings, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem about a girl searching for her lost love.

Etymology

From Late Latin 'evangelina,' derived from Greek 'evangelion' meaning 'good news' (the root of 'evangel'). Longfellow's 1847 poem 'Evangeline' made this a beloved literary name throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Kelly Says

Longfellow's 'Evangeline' was the first American epic poem to achieve widespread popularity, and the poem's protagonist became so iconic that the name itself became associated with romantic, melancholic heroines in the Victorian imagination.

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