Gillespie

//ɡɪˈlɛspi// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Scottish and Irish Gaelic.
  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
  3. 3
    A city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States.
  4. 4
    A neighbourhood of Sayreville borough, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.

Synonyms

All synonyms
john birks gillespie

Example

More examples

"Maynard Ferguson was born on May 4, 1928, in Montreal, Canada. He began playing piano and violin at age four. At age nine, he discovered the trumpet. Four years later, he won a scholarship with the French Conservatory of Music, and was invited to perform with the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra. As a student in Montreal, he was the leader of a warm-up band for some of the era's best-known orchestras, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman and Dizzy Gillespie. In a 1996 interview, Ferguson said Dizzy Gillespie was second only to Louis Armstrong as his favorite horn player."

Etymology

Anglicization of Scottish Gaelic Gilleasbuig and Irish Giolla Easpaig, both meaning "servant of the bishop", with the second element of the names being derived from Latin episcopus.

Related phrases

Gillespie CountyGillespie syndrome

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.