“Um, Actually…” #9: The Correct Correction

Okay, this one was too hard. Sorry, guys. ? You almost got it, though. (I was hoping Google would help.)

This post is longer than usual, so I won’t include the whole statement this time. I’ll just show you the part that was wrong:

Finally, “Helia”, the only feminine name among the guys….

You figured that much out. Helia isn’t the only Winx boyfriend with a feminine name. Is the other one Sky? It’s true that name is given to girls, too, but that doesn’t make it specifically feminine.

NerdyPrincesses2 Mollz‘s second correction was closer. “Nex” and “Riven” are just words, so technically, they can be used as names for boys or girls. RuneScape has a female Zarosian general (whatever that means) named Nex, and League of Legends has a swordswoman named Riven. There you go.

But NerdyPrincesses2 Mollz said the words “nex” and “riven” have “no inherent gender”. That’s not true. You know how in some languages, words have grammatical gender? For example, the French word “printemps” (the spring season) is masculine, and “pomme” (apple) is feminine.

That was the key to solving this mystery. One of those two words, “nex” or “riven”, is considered feminine in its native language. I’m sure you’ve guessed which one by now. ?

The Latin word “nex” is a feminine noun.

That’s right. Nex, the guy some Winx fans see as “Mr. Macho”, has a girly name. No wonder he seems close to Helia! ?

Surprised? I was. Even if Nex had never been introduced in Winx Club, I would have thought that word was masculine. It feels harsh and forceful because of the “x” at the end. Plus, as a name, it sounds like traditionally-male names like Alex, Dex (short for Dexter), and Rex (which some fans accidentally call Nex sometimes).

Maybe that’s why Rainbow felt it was fine to use “nex” as the name of a male character. Besides, grammatical gender doesn’t always match the appearance, sound, or connotation of the word. (Why do concepts and inanimate objects need genders anyway?)

So the correction I was looking for was:

Um, actually, you could say Nex has a feminine name, too, since the word “nex” is a feminine noun in Latin.

But since that’s stupidly hard (and technical), I’ll count the answer that “Sky” can also be a girl’s name. The first person to say that was NerdyPrincesses2 Mollz, so she’s the winner!

Congratulations, NerdyPrincesses2 Mollz! Tune in next week for another “Um, Actually”! (I promise it won’t be as hard as this one.)