Isabella
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A grape cultivar popular in the former USSR derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca. countable
- 2 A pale grey-yellow, fawn, cream-brown or parchment colour. uncountable
"If it be exposed to heat as soon as it is moderately warm, its dark olive colour changes almost suddenly to an Isabella colour, it becomes cloudy, and an abundant precipitate falls[…]"
- 3 Obsolete form of isabella. alt-of, obsolete, uncountable
"If it be exposed to heat as soon as it is moderately warm, its dark olive colour changes almost suddenly to an Isabella colour, it becomes cloudy, and an abundant precipitate falls[…]"
- 1 A female given name from Hebrew.
"[C]an you ſo ſteed me, / As bring me to the ſight of Iſabella, / A Nouice of this place, and the faire Siſter / To her vnhappie brother Claudio?"
Example
More examples"Christopher Columbus's secret love letters to Queen Isabella - undiscovered for centuries - have been rumored to rival, if not surpass, the Kama Sutra."
Etymology
Latinate and Italian form of Isabel. The grape cultivar is popularly thought to have been discovered by a Mrs Isabella Gibbs of South Carolina in 1816.
Unknown. Anecdotally linked to Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504) or Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566–1633). See discussion at Isabelline (colour).
Related phrases
More for "isabella"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.