Delilah

Wikipedia

English

Etymology

Of uncertain Hebrew origin, often defined as meaning "delightful, seductive".

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dɪˈlaɪlə/

Proper noun

Delilah

1. (biblical) The mistress of Samson who betrays him to the Philistines.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)^[1] : Judges 16:6:

     And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

2. A beautiful, cunning and treacherous woman; a femme fatale.

   Though she is something of a Delilah, she is still considered the heroine of the novel.

3. A female given name of biblical origin.
   • 1919, John Galsworthy, Saint's Progress, Echo Library 2006, ISBN 1847020704, page 104:

     "Leila!" she said enigmatically. "Have you seen her?" "I went to her flat last week with Dad - he likes her." "Delilah is her real name, you know. All men like her. And Captain Fort is her lover."

Translations

biblical mistress of Samson

• Danish: Dalila (da)
• Finnish: Delila (fi)
• French: Dalila (fr)
• German: Delila (de)
• Greek: Δαλιδά (el) (Dalidá)

• Italian: Dalila (it) f
• Latin: Dalila (la)
• Norwegian: Dalila (no)
• Russian: Далила (ru) (dalíla) f
• Swedish: Delila (sv)