Cora en · PROPN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɔːɹə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkoɹə/ (General-American)
Etymology
Apparently brought up in English literature by James Fenimore Cooper in The Last of the Mohicans (1826), but compare a female heroine of this name in Jean-François Marmontel's Les Incas (1777) and the Ancient Greek epithet Κόρη (Kórē) for Περσεφόνη (Persephónē). It could also refer directly to κόρη (kórē, “maiden”).
Meanings
-
A female given name from Ancient Greek.
The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora, when the distant sound of horses' hoofs, clattering over the roots of the broken way in his rear, caused him to check his charger; […].
1826, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter 2, in The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC, page 19:"Where are you from originally, Coral?" "Indiana." "Lots of Corals out there, I bet." She hesitated, seemed about to flare, and then smiled instead, showing a little gap between two front teeth. "Well, it was Cora Lucille, I guess, " she said, still smiling, looking very much like a Cora Lucille in that moment. Hawes imagined pigtails tied with polka-dot rags.
1990, Ed McBain, Vespers, Mandarin, published 1991, →ISBN, page 78: