English

Proper noun

Mavis

1. A female given name.
   • 1895 Marie Corelli: The Sorrows of Satan: Chapter IX:

     "Rather an odd name, Mavis, isn't it?" I at last ventured to observe. "Yes, - but it suits her wonderfully. She sings quite as sweetly as any thrush, so she merits her designation."

Usage notes

• Fairly popular in the U.K. in the 1930s.

English

Noun

mavis ‎(plural mavises)

1. Song thrush.
   • Alfred Lord Tennyson, Claribel

     At midnight the moon cometh, / And looketh down alone; / Her song the lintwhite swelleth, / The clear voiced mavis dwelleth […]

Latin

Verb

māvīs

1. second-person singular present active indicative of mālō