John
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also john
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- (male given name): Jon
Etymology[edit]
From Latin Iōhannēs (variant of Iōannēs), from New Testament Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs), contraction from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Johanan) Jōħānān, perhaps from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yehochanan) Jəhôħānān, meaning "God is gracious".
Pronunciation[edit]
Proper noun[edit]
John
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- A male given name very popular since the Middle Ages.
- 1852 D. H. Jacques, "A Chapter on Names", The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, Volume XL, August 1852, page 114:
- John is a most excellent name, and Smith is a surname which is worthy of respect and honor, but wo to the man on whom they are conjoined! For John Smith to aspire to senatorial dignities or to the laurel of a poet is simply ridiculous. Who is John Smith? He is lost in the multitude of John Smiths, and individual fame is impossible.
- 1920, John Collings Squire, "Initials", Life and Letters: Essays, Hodder & Stoughton, pages 233-235:
- The name I refer to is John. It has been borne by many illustrious men and an innumerable multitude of the obscure. - - - It is as fixed as the English landscape and the procession of seasons. It never becomes wearisome or tarnished. Nothing affects it; nothing can bring it into contempt; it stands like a rock amid the turbulent waves of human history, as fine and noble a thing now as it was when it first took shape on human lips. It is a name to live up to; but if one who bears it sinks into disrepute it falls not with him, but rather stays in the firmament above him, shining down upon him like a reproachful star.
- 1852 D. H. Jacques, "A Chapter on Names", The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, Volume XL, August 1852, page 114:
- (biblical) Two persons of great importance to early Christianity: John the Baptist and John the Apostle, identified with John the Evangelist.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version), John 1:6:
- There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version), John 1:6:
- (biblical) The Gospel of St. John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.
- (biblical) One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).
- A patronymic surname.
- (informal) Used frequently to form an idea personified John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).
- (informal) A name used to address a man whose actual name is not known: John Doe.
Synonyms[edit]
- (name used to address a man whose actual name is not known {standard)): sir
- (name used to address a man whose actual name is not known(colloquial or slang)): boy (especially to a younger man), bro (US, New Zealand), gov or guv (British), guvnor (British), Mac (US), man (especially US), mate (British, Australian), mister, son (to a younger man)
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from John (proper noun)
Related terms[edit]
surnames related to the given name John
Translations[edit]
male given name - the standard or most popular form
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biblical persons
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the fourth gospel
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one of the epistles of John
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name used to address a man whose name is not known
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Statistics[edit]
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Most common English words before 1923: answered · thousand · looking · #365: John · hour · air · reason
Danish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
A contraction of Johannes, later reinforced by the English John.
Proper noun[edit]
John c
- A male given name.
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- [1] Danskernes Navne: 44 136 males with the given name John (compared to 3 492 named Jon) have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on March 20th, 2011.
Norwegian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Medieval contraction of Johannes later reinforced by the English John. Used as a spelling variant of the more traditional Jon.
Proper noun[edit]
John
- A male given name.
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
- [2] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 20 361 males with the given name John (compared to 16 263 named Jon) alive in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on March 29th 2011.
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From English John. First recorded in Sweden in 1729. Used as a spelling variant of the traditional Swedish Jon.
Proper noun[edit]
John
- A male given name.
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
- [3] Statistiska centralbyrån: 66 757 males with the given name John (compared to 5 963 named Jon) alive in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1910s. Accessed on March 29th, 2011.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Hebrew
- English proper nouns
- en:Books of the Bible
- English male given names from Hebrew
- en:Bible
- English surnames
- English surnames from given names
- English informal terms
- en:Individuals
- Danish terms derived from English
- Danish proper nouns
- Danish male given names
- Norwegian terms derived from English
- Norwegian proper nouns
- Norwegian male given names
- Swedish terms derived from English
- Swedish proper nouns
- Swedish male given names
