English

Proper noun

Linus

1. A male given name.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV):: 2 Timothy 4: 21:

     Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

   • 2011 Lisa Genova, Left Neglected, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 1439164630, pages 8-9:

     Yes, my children are Peanuts characters. Charlie, seven, and Lucy, five, were given their names without thought or reference to the comic strip. Charlie was named after Bob's grandfather and we both just liked the name Lucy. Then, when I was unexpectedly expecting again, - - -

     "I'd go with Schroeder," a work colleague offered. "No, definitely Linus. Or Woodstock," said another. It was only then that I realized the pattern we'd started with our first two kids. And I liked the name Linus.

Derived terms

• Linian

Translations

German

Proper noun

Linus

1. A male given name, cognate to Linus.

Latin

Alternative forms

• Linos

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek Λῖνος ‎(Lînos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.nus/, [ˈlɪ.nʊs]

Proper noun

Linus m ‎(genitive Linī); second declension

1. Linus (a chiefly male given name), famously held by:
   1. A son of Apollo and Psammate, daughter of Crotopus, king of the Argives; he was given by his mother to the care of shepherds, and one day, being left alone, was torn to pieces by dogs; whereupon Apollo sent into the land a monster which destroyed everything, until slain by Chorœbus.
   2. The son of Apollo and Terpsichore, instructor of Orpheus and Hercules, the latter of whom killed him by a blow with the lyre. (Sextus Propertius confounds him with the preceding. According to others, he was a son of Mercury and Urania, and was killed by Apollo in Eubœa.)
   3. A fountain in Arcadia.

Declension

Second declension.

Descendants

• English: Linus

References

• (-os) Lĭnus (-os) in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “Lĭnus ou Lĭnŏs”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, page 914/1.
• “Linus (⁓os)” on page 1,034 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Swedish

Proper noun

Linus

1. A male given name, cognate to Linus.