Stephen

Stephen or Steven /ˈstiːvən/ is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stéfanos), in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece, a wreath was given to the winner of a contest (from which the crown, symbol of rulers derived). The use of the noun was first recorded in Homer's Iliad. The name is significant to Christians: according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death and is regarded as the first Christian martyr. The name has many variants, which include Stephan, Stevan, Stefan and Stevon.

In Middle English, the name Stephen or Stephan was pronounced as a bi-syllabic word — Step-hen or Step-han — much like a Scandinavian surname. Steve was pronounced as it is in Modern English. This etymological usage began a decline in the mid-19th century.

Steve is the common short form, while various diminutives such as Stevie and Ste are also used. Many family names are derived from Stephen: the most common are Stephens/Stevens and Stephenson/Stevenson (others include Stephen, Stephan, Staphan, Stefan, Stevin and Stever).

Wraith (Stargate)

In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the Wraith are the original enemy alien species, first introduced in the pilot episode "Rising". In the series, they are a vampire-like telepathic race who feed on the "life-force" of humans, and are the dominant power in the Pegasus galaxy. The first season of Atlantis is focused on the main characters finding a way to survive an overwhelming attack by the Wraith. Although in the later seasons new enemies have taken some of the attention away from the Wraith, they remain a potent and ever-present threat to the Atlantis Expedition.

All of the named Wraith who have appeared on Stargate Atlantis are named by humans, as it is unknown whether wraith even have names. John Sheppard often gives captured Wraith amusing/generic Earth names. The majority of non-warrior male and female Wraith were played by the same actors, James Lafazanos and Andee Frizzell respectively. James Lafazanos left the show after season 2. Other male Wraith have been played by Christopher Heyerdahl (season 3 onwards), Jeffrey C. Robinson (season 2), Dan Payne (season 3), James Bamford (season 3), Brendan Penny (season 4), Tyler McClendon (season 5) and Neil Jackson (season 5).

Stephen (disambiguation)

Stephen is a masculine given name.

Stephen may also refer to:

People

Geography

Music

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Beers

Beers may refer to:

See also

Beers, North Brabant

Beers (Brabants: Bèèrs) is a village in the Dutch municipality of Cuijk. It is located about 4 km west of Cuijk. Beers has a population of about 1721: 1305 in the village itself, and 416 in the surrounding countryside, including the hamlets De Plaats and Dommelsvoort.

Until 1994, Beers was a separate municipality.

Toponymy

The name Beers might come from bere or baren, which can mean mud or stuff in Dutch.

History

Beers is first noted in a document that was written between 1050 and 1200. In it beers was named Berse. The family Van Beerse was a vassal from the Lord of Cuijk, making Beers belong to the municipality of Cuijk. This vassal however, did own a small castle surrounded by a moat, named De Broekhof.

Around 1814, at the end of the French age and at the beginning of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Beers became a separate municipality. In 1942, Great-Linden and Gassel joined Beers. In 1994 the municipality of Beers was repealed. Gassel joined the municipality of Grave, North Brabant, while Beers and Great-Linden (today Linden, North Brabant) joined Cuijk. This remained to the present day.

Beers (surname)

Beers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

See also