Lazarus

See also: lazarus

English

Etymology

The Raising of Lazarus, by Duccio, 1310–11

From Late Latin Lazarus, from Koine Greek Λᾱ́ζᾱρος (Lā́zāros), the given name of Biblical characters found in Luke 16 and John 12, from Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azár), a given name shared by various figures in the Hebrew Bible and literally meaning "God has helped". Doublet of Eleazar.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlæzəɹəs/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Proper noun

Lazarus

1. (biblical) Lazarus of Bethany, a man supposedly raised from the dead by Jesus Christ and later (Christianity) revered as a saint.
2. (biblical) A beggar in a parable by Jesus Christ, traditionally (Christianity) believed to have been a leper and often conflated with Lazarus of Bethany.
3. (rare) A male given name from Hebrew.

Synonyms

• (New Testament character raised from the dead): Lazarus of Bethany, Saint Lazarus, Saint Lazare

Derived terms

• Lazarus effect
• Lazarus layer
• Lazarus sign
• Lazarus species
• Lazarus syndrome
• Lazarus taxon

Related terms

• lazar, lazar house, lazaret, lazaretto, Lazarist, Lazarite

Translations

New Testament characters

• Aghwan: 𐔾𐔰𐔰𐔵𐔰𐕙 (laazar)
• Arabic: لَعَازَر m (laʕāzar)
• Armenian: Ղազարոս (Ġazaros), Ղազար (Ġazar)
• Catalan: Llàtzer m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拉匝祿／拉匝禄 (zh) (Lāzālù), 拉撒路 (zh) (Lāsālù)

• Czech: Lazar (cs) m
• Danish: Lazarus
• Dutch: Lazarus
• Esperanto: Lazaro
• Estonian: Laatsarus
• Finnish: Lasarus
• French: Lazare (fr)
• Georgian: ლაზარე (lazare)
• German: Lazarus
• Greek: Λάζαρος (el) m (Lázaros)

  Ancient: Λάζαρος (Lázaros)

• Hawaiian: Lazaro
• Hebrew: אֶלְעָזָר m (ʼelʻāzār), לַעְזָר (la'zár) (used in the Franz Delitzsch translation of the New Testament)
• Italian: Lazzaro
• Japanese: ラザロ (Razaro)
• Korean: 나사로 (nasaro)
• Latin: Lazarus
• Maltese: Lazzru
• Maore Comorian: Lazaro
• Ngazidja Comorian: Lazaro
• Norwegian: Lasarus
• Polish: Łazarz (pl) m
• Portuguese: Lázaro (pt) m
• Russian: Ла́зарь (ru) m (Lázarʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: Лазар m (Lazar), Lazar m
• Spanish: Lázaro (es) m
• Swedish: Lasaros
• Turkish: Lazarus
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

male given name

• Armenian: Ղազարոս (Ġazaros), Ղազար (Ġazar)
• Catalan: Llàtzer
• Hawaiian: Lakalo
• Hungarian: Lázár (hu)
• Italian: Lazzaro
• Portuguese: Lázaro (pt) m
• Romanian: Lazăr m
• Russian: Ла́зарь (ru) m (Lázarʹ)
• Spanish: Lázaro (es)
• Turkish: Lazarus

Noun

Lazarus (plural Lazaruses)

1. (usually figurative) A person who was dead and has been resurrected; a dead person who could potentially be resurrected.
   • 1855, The New Monthly Magazine, volume 105, page 302:

     This was the classic age of all the various exhumations, restorations, and resurrections; it was a retrospective time — a time of ghosts and Lazaruses, more or less decomposed.

   • 1870, Edmond de Pressensé, Annie Harwood Holmden (translator), The Early Years of the Christian Church, Book 3: First Century, page 462,

     Those who hear the voice of the Son of man and live, are so many Lazaruses called to the life divine.

   • 2010, Ippolito Desideri, translated by Michael J Sweet, Mission to Tibet: The Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Account of Father Ippolito Desideri, page 598:

     Finally, in whatever state or condition of life the faithful may find themselves, even if they cannot, like the apostles, assist the Lazaruses to rise from their tombs […] .

2. A poor person, a beggar.
   • 1706, George Fox, Gospel Truth Demonstrated, in a Collection of Doctrinal Books, volume 2, published 1831, page 273:

     And do you not think, that all these poor Lazaruses, that you have persecuted, and do persecute, that when they die, they will not be carried into Abraham's bosom?

   • 2002, Stephen W. Plunkett, This We Believe: Eight Truths Presbyterians Affirm, page 109:

     These are the Lazaruses who lie prostrate at the gates of our cities and neighborhoods, and these are the needs that affluent Americans have conditioned themselves not to see because reaching out in any significant way would be far too costly.

   • 2008, Charles McCollough, The Art of Parables, page 126:

     Do we respond to the poor Lazaruses in our midst with charity (scraps from our table), or do we seek to change the economic conditions that set up these extremes of rich and poor?

Synonyms

• (poor person): see Thesaurus:pauper
• (beggar): see Thesaurus:beggar

Verb

Lazarus (third-person singular simple present Lazaruses, present participle Lazarusing, simple past and past participle Lazarused)

1. (African-American Vernacular) To rescue a dying person.
2. (African-American Vernacular) To raise from the dead.

Danish

Proper noun

Lazarus

1. Lazarus

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaːtsaʁus/

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Lazarus m (proper noun, strong, genitive Lazarus' or Lazari)

1. Lazarus

Latin

Etymology

From Koine Greek Λᾱ́ζᾱρος (Lā́zāros), the given name of the Biblical character found in Luke 16, from Biblical Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר (“Eleazar”), a given name shared by various figures in the Hebrew Bible and literally meaning "God has helped".

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /laːzˈzaː.rus/, [ɫ̪äːz̪ˈd̪͡z̪äːrʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ladˈd͡za.rus/, [läd̪ˈd̪͡z̪äːrus]

Proper noun

Lāzārus m (genitive Lāzārī); second declension

1. Lazarus

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	Lāzārus	Lāzārī
Genitive	Lāzārī	Lāzārōrum
Dative	Lāzārō	Lāzārīs
Accusative	Lāzārum	Lāzārōs
Ablative	Lāzārō	Lāzārīs
Vocative	Lāzāre	Lāzārī

Derived terms

• (Late Latin) lazarus

Descendants

• English: Lazarus, lazar
• French: Lazare
• Italian: lazzaro

Old Saxon

Proper noun

Lazarus

1. Lazarus

Declension

Declension of Lazarus (irregular)

	singular	plural
nominative	Lazarus	—
accusative	Lazarusan, Lazarus	—
genitive	Lazaruses	—
dative	Lazaruse	—
instrumental	—	—