Ghislain

French Alternative forms fr Ghyslain Etymology From fr la Gislenus (variant la Ghislenus), the Latinized name of Saint Ghislain (a seventh-century anchorite in Hainaut), from fr gmw-pro *Gīslīn, a hypocoristic personal name derived from gmw-pro *gīsl hostage, pledge + the diminutive suffix gmw-pro *-īn. Cognate with de Geisel hostage. The insertion of the fr h originated as a Picard and Walloon orthographic device to indicate the preservation of the hard fr /ɡ/ sound before a front vowel, preventing the regular palatalization to fr /ʒ/ that occurred in Central French (compare the standard French variant fr Guislain). Pronunciation Guîlain Gislain Proper noun m Ghislaine fr male, fr Ghislaine Related terms female given names fr Ghislaine, fr Giselle, fr Gisèle male given name fr Gilbert