English

Proper noun

Theresa

1. A female given name, an alteration of Teresa, first used in Spain, supposedly derived from the Ancient Greek name of the island of Thera in Greece.
   • 1810, Tales of real life: forming a sequel to miss Edgeworth's Tales of fashionable life (Henry Colburn, London), volume 1, page 72:

     "Theresa!" exclaimed the stranger, "is your name Theresa?" asked she, a death-like paleness at the same time overspreading her countenance.

     "Is this name so frightful to you?" enquired the recluse.

     "Frightful!" rejoined the stranger, "O, no, I venerate it, like the name of a saint. I had once an unknown friend, whose name was Theresa.

   • 1976, Anne Tyler: Searching for Caleb (Berkley Books, New York, 1983, ISBN 0-425-09876-1), page 7:

     "Theresa,", he said. "I never cared for that name."

     Justine nodded, chewing.

     "I don't like difficult names. I don't like foreignness."

     "Perhaps they're Catholic," Justine said.

Translations

Anagrams

• aethers, æthers
• ash tree
• hearest
• heartes
• heaters
• reheats
• sethera
• thereas

German

Alternative forms

• Teresa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [teˈʀeːza]
• Hyphenation: The‧re‧sa

Proper noun

Theresa

1. A female given name, cognate to Teresa.

Related terms

• variants Theres, Therese, Theresia, Marie-Theres, Marie-Therese