*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Xena

Possibly a variant of Xenia, from Latin Xenia, from Ancient Greek ξενία (xenía, “hospitable”), the assumed name of a fifth-century saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from ξένος (xénos, “foreign, strange”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A female given name from Ancient Greek of modern usage.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly a variant of Xenia, from Latin Xenia, from Ancient Greek ξενία (xenía, “hospitable”), the assumed name of a fifth-century saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from ξένος (xénos, “foreign, strange”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Xenia"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Xenia"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ξενία",
        "t": "hospitable"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ξενία (xenía, “hospitable”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Xenia",
      "Xenia#English"
    ],
    [
      "Xenia",
      "Xenia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ξενία",
      "ξενία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Eastern Orthodox Church",
      "Eastern Orthodox Church"
    ],
    [
      "ξένος",
      "ξένος#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A tough, physical, confident woman.

name

Eris (dwarf planet)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The lead character in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001) was the inspiration for the dwarf planet's nickname and for comparisons to the character.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A tough, physical, confident woman."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 255119
    },
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Eris (dwarf planet)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "41f4fea3b472d26fc4b8ca68af800188396d34088c6342b91b4e678402e677ad",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Xena →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-WGVuYQ