Gretchen

Gretchen (German: [ˈɡʁeːtçən] , English: /ˈɡrɛən/ GRETCH-ən; literal translation: "Little Grete" or "Little Greta") is a female given name of German origin that is mainly prevalent in the United States.

Gretchen
GenderFemale
Language(s)German
Origin
Region of originGermany
Other names
Variant form(s)Greta, Grete, Margaret, Margarete
DerivedA major character in Goethe's Faust

Its popularity increased because a major character in Goethe's Faust (1808) has this name. In German, the Gretchenfrage ("question by Gretchen"), derived from Faust, is an idiom for a direct question that aims at the core of a problem and that should reveal the intentions and mindset of the questioned. The question is usually inconvenient to the questioned since he or she shall confess to something crucial he or she was intentionally or unintentionally vague about before.

In German-speaking countries, Gretchen is not a common stand-alone given name but rather a colloquial diminutive form of Grete (Greta), which itself is a short form of Margarete. It fell out of use when the popularity of the latter two names declined in the 20th century.[1]

People

Fictional characters

Fictional creatures

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.