English
Gilchrist
Gilchrist comes from Scottish Gaelic Gillechrìosd ‘servant of Christ’, and goes back to Middle Irish gilla.
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200gilla‘messenger, page, servant’
- Scottish Gaelicmoderngille‘servant, follower’
- Scottish Gaelic, derivedmodernGillechrìosd‘servant of Christ’
- EnglishtodayGilchrist
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200gilla‘messenger, page, servant’
- Scottish Gaelicmoderngille‘servant, follower’
- Scottish Gaelic, derivedmodernGillechrìosd‘servant of Christ’
- EnglishtodayGilchrist
The story
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Gillechrìosd (‘servant of Christ’), from gille + Crìosd.
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *geldaną ‘to pay, have value’
through Proto-Germanic *gildiz ‘valuable, wholesome, precious’
Today it means
name A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Irish gilla / Gilchrist