/ˈɑs.kɚ/, /ˈɒs.kə/
OriginExact origin uncertain. Resuscitated by James Mcpherson in The Works of Ossian (1765). Napoleon, an admirer of the Ossianic poems, chose it for his godson Oscar Bernadotte, who became a king of Sweden.
The modern given name is a conflation of two unrelated names: first, Middle Irish Oscar (the name of Fionn Mac Cumhaill's grandson in Irish mythology), from Middle Irish os (“deer”) + cara (“friend”); and second, Old English Ōscār, Ōsgār (personal name, literally “spear of the gods/spear of God”), from Old English ōs (“god”) and gār (“spear”) (see Oswald). Compare German Ansgar (personal name), Danish Asker, Asger (personal name), Norwegian Asgeir (personal name), Icelandic Ásgeir (personal name).
(Academy Award): Disputed. Said to have been named by actress Bette Davis after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, or by secretary Margaret Herrick after her cousin Oscar Pierce.
- A male given name from Irish or Old English.
“My son, though alone, is brave. Oscar is like a beam of the sky: he turns around, and the people fall.”
“Had a funny first name, like Oscar or maybe - no! I remember now. It was Felix. Felix Tanner.”
- A surname from Irish in turn originating as a patronymic, a rare anglicization of Mac Oscair (literally “son of Oscar”) (McCusker).
- An unincorporated community in Kentucky; named for Kentucky Representative Oscar Turner.
- An unincorporated community in Louisiana.
- An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for early settler Oscar Bradford.
- An unincorporated community in Oklahoma; named for local rancher Oscar W. Seay.
- An unincorporated community in Pennsylvania.
- An unincorporated community in West Virginia.
- abbreviation, alt-of, initialismInitialism of Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio.
- informalAn Academy Award.
“Primarily seen as a publicity vehicle for late-year releases, the awards show and its promoters have lately made pretensions to Oscar oracling: Jamie Foxx won the “breakthrough actor of the year” priz”
“The gulf between cinephiles and the public has grown wide. There are pictures that make a lot of money, but seldom win big Oscars or attract young people to the show”
- A statuette awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- Australia, New-Zealand, slang, uncountablecash; money.
- A cichlid fish of species Astronotus ocellatus, native to South America, sometimes kept in aquariums.
- alt-ofAlternative letter-case form of Oscar from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
FormsOscars(plural) · oscars(plural)