NICHOLAS CONTE

English form of the post-classical Greek personal name Nikolaos, derived from nikē ‘victory’ + laos ‘people’. The spelling with -ch- first occurred as early as the 12th century, and became firmly established at the time of the Reformation, although Nicolas is still occasionally found. St Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Lycia, about whom virtually nothing factual is known, although a vast body of legend grew up around him, and he became the patron saint of Greece and of Russia, as well as of children, sailors, merchants, and pawnbrokers. His feast day is 6 December, and among the many roles which legend has assigned to him is that of bringer of Christmas presents, in the guise of ‘Santa Claus’ (an alteration of the Dutch form of his name, Sinterklaas).

Italian: from the title of rank conte ‘count’ (from Latin comes, genitive comitis ‘companion’). Probably in this sense (and the Late Latin sense of ‘traveling companion’), it was a medieval personal name; as a title it was no doubt applied ironically as a nickname for someone with airs and graces or simply for someone who worked in the service of a count.