John
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
See also john
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Latin Johannes, New Testament Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), contraction from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Jōħānān, Johanan perhaps from a former Jəhôħānān), meaning "God is gracious".
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Alternative spellings
- Jon male given name only
[edit] Proper noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
John
|
|
- A male given name very popular since the Middle Ages.
- (Biblical) Two persons of great importance to early Christianity: John the Baptist and John the Apostle, identified with John the Evangelist.
- (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).
- (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.
[edit] Quotations
-
- There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
- 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: Life and Letters: Essays. Hodder & Stoughton 1920. pages 233-235("Initials"):
- 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.
[edit] See also
Related English names
[edit] Synonyms
name used to address a man whose actual name is not known
- (standard): sir
- (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)
[edit] Translations
male given name- the standard or most popular form
biblical persons
the fourth gospel
|
|
one of the epistles of John
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
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Danish
[edit] Proper noun
John
- A male given name borrowed from English.
[edit] Norwegian
[edit] Proper noun
John
- A male given name borrowed from English.
[edit] Swedish
[edit] Proper noun
John
- A male given name borrowed from English in the eighteenth century, quite popular in Sweden.
