Anne Boleyn

8 7.4

Second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, whom he executed for having an affair

proper noun

: Ana Bolena

Many historians still debate the reasons behind Anne Boleyn's execution.

Examples

Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of Anne Boleyn.
Visiting the Tower of London, we learned about Anne Boleyn's final days.
The story of Anne Boleyn has inspired countless books and films.
Many historians study the life of Anne Boleyn.
Many historians still debate the reasons behind Anne Boleyn's execution.
Visiting the Tower of London, we learned about Anne Boleyn's final days.
The story of Anne Boleyn has inspired countless books and films.

Surface Forms

Anne Boleyn main

Morphology

Anne + Boleyn

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the individual components 'Anne' and 'Boleyn' are personal name parts and do not encode the biographical meaning (second wife of Henry VIII, executed). Proper names are arbitrary referents cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words cannot derive the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII who rose from a lady at court to queen but was later accused of adultery and put to death. She is best remembered as the mother of Queen Elizabeth I and for helping cause the king to split from the Catholic Church, so her name usually brings to mind that dramatic story.