Catherine Howard

1 7.2

A queen of England who was Henry VIII's fifth wife and was executed for having sex with another man

proper noun

: Catalina Howard

At the young age of 19, Catherine Howard became the fifth wife of Henry VIII.

Examples

Did you know that Catherine Howard was only 19 when she married Henry VIII?
The tragic fate of Catherine Howard has inspired numerous books and films.
Catherine Howard was only a teenager when she married Henry VIII.
Many historians debate how much Catherine Howard understood about the allegations against her.
The tragic story of Catherine Howard fascinates many historians.
Catherine Howard was executed for adultery, making her one of the most notorious queens in history.
Historians often discuss the life and reign of Catherine Howard, highlighting her tragic end.

Surface Forms

Catherine Howard main

Morphology

Catherine + Howard

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person (a Tudor queen) whose biographical status cannot be inferred from the constituent names. Knowing the words 'Catherine' and 'Howard' as names gives no information that she was a queen or was executed; the meaning requires encyclopedic/cultural knowledge rather than compositional word knowledge, so it is not predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Catherine Howard was a young English queen, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was accused of 'adultery' and 'executed' for it, so her name is an easy memory hook: a very young queen whose short life and rule ended in scandal.