Tillie
August 18, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Tilly“, diminutive of “Matilda“, meaning “strength in battle” or “mighty battle-maid”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Malta, Mathilda, Mathilde, Matilda, Matilde, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Tilda, Tilde, Tilly, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Tillie, Mrs. Rosenfeld’s niece who works in the dining room at Mrs. McKee’s boarding-house, and who is courted by the already-married Mr. Schwitter, in K. by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914).
– Tillie Kronborg, Thea’s eccentric aunt and biggest fan, in The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (written in 1915 and set in the 1890s).
WRITERS:
– Tillie Olsen (1912-2011), American activist and writer.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 
[…] Alternate spelling of “Tillie“, diminutive of “Matilda“, meaning “strength in battle” or “mighty […]
LikeLike