James (name)
The name James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "heel" (in the Genesis narrative, Jacob was born grasping Esau′s heel and later bought his birthright).
The name came into English language from the Old French variation James of the late Latin name Iacomus. This was a dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Hebrew יעקב (Yaʻaqov). The development Iacobus > Iacomus is likely a result of nasalization of the o and assimilation to the following b (i.e., intermediate *Iacombus) followed by simplification of the cluster mb through loss of the b. Diminutives include: Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jamie, Jamey, Jimbo, Jay, Jam, Jem and others.
Famous quotes containing the word james:
“The mind, in short, works on the data it receives very much as a sculptor works on his block of stone. In a sense the statue stood there from eternity. But there were a thousand different ones beside it, and the sculptor alone is to thank for having extricated this one from the rest.”
—William James (1842–1910)