Belinda

Belle +‎ -inda, base from various Romance sources such as French belle, Italian bella (“beautiful”), suffix Latinate form of German linde (“soft”) (English linden, lithe). Popularised by Alexander Pope in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1714). The moon is named after a character in Pope's poem.

• Rhymes: -ɪndə

Belinda

1. A female given name.
   • 1714 Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, Canto V, final verse,

     This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame,

     And 'midst the Stars inscribe Belinda’s Name.

   • 1801, Maria Edgeworth, Belinda, 1835, Tales and Novels, Volume 6, Harper & Brothers, New York, page 65,

     "Good-by, my dear Belinda; I leave you to ruminate sweet and bitter thoughts; to think of the last speech and confession of Lady Delacour, or, what will interest you much more, the first speech and confession of—Clarence Harvey."

   • 2010, Kathryn Casey, Shattered: The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder, back cover,

     The fairy tale ended savagely on January 11, 1999, when Belinda’s lifeless body was discovered in a closet. Her skull had been shattered by a shotgun blast at close range.

2. (astronomy) The ninth satellite of Uranus. [Discovered 1986]
   • 2006, Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the Outer Solar System, page 52,

     This moon's orbit is nearly identical to that of Belinda, about 47,000 miles (75,000 km) from Uranus.

   • 2011, Patrick Moore, Robin Rees (editors), Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy, page 230,

     It belongs to the Portia group, made up of Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita; these satellites have similar orbits and photometric characteristics.

   • 2012, Peter Bond, Exploring the Solar System, page 297,

     Miranda and the more recent discoveries have also been named after Shakespearean characters, with the exception of Belinda (1986 U5), which was named after a character from Pope's “The Rape of the Lock.”

• nail bed, nailbed

From English Belinda.

• Hyphenation: be‧lin‧da

Belinda

1. a female given name
2. (astronomy) the ninth satellite of Uranus

Belinda f

1. A female given name

Matronymics

• son of Belinda: Belinduson
• daughter of Belinda: Belindudóttir