cyril

Everyday

1. (a name) Cyril is a man's first name. tree →
2. (a name, church) Saint Cyril was a Christian missionary of the 800s who, with his brother Methodius, brought the Christian faith and writing to Slavic peoples. tree →

In the lessons

As a name it was popular in Britain in the early 1900s and is less common now. In history, Saint Cyril is honoured by many churches; the Cyrillic alphabet, used for Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian and other languages, is named after him, though it was probably made by his followers.

Examples

• Cyril is my great-grandad's name. tree →
• Saint Cyril and his brother Methodius were missionaries. tree →
• The Cyrillic alphabet is named after Saint Cyril. tree →
• Uncle Cyril told us stories about the war. tree →
• Ukrainian is written in Cyrillic letters. tree →
• The book was by an author called Cyril. tree →

Note

A name, so it takes a capital C: Cyril. Pronounced «SIR-il». Adjective: Cyrillic (the alphabet).