Joseph

See also: joseph

English

Alternative forms

• Jos.

Etymology

From Middle English Ioseph, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf, literally “(God) shall add”); a son of Jacob.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒəʊzəf/
• enPR: jō'səf, jō'zəf, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒoʊsəf/, /ˈd͡ʒoʊzəf/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US) -oʊsəf

Proper noun

Joseph

1. (biblical) Eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 37:3:

     Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

   • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:

     A few shocks of corn in a corner of the fallow stood up as if alive; she imagined them bowing; perhaps her son would be a Joseph.

2. The husband of Virgin Mary.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 3:23:

     And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

3. The 12th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
4. (Christianity) Joseph of Arimathea; man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus.
5. A male given name from Hebrew
   • 1998 Steven Herrick, A Place Like This, Univ. of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 86:

     I'm going to call him Joseph / or Josephine if it's a girl. / Why? / Because it's a strong name, / Joe, Joseph. / You give a kid a name like Cameron / or Alfred, or something like that, / and they end up wearing glasses / and looking at computers for the rest of their life. / - - - So Joe it is. / He'll turn out strong. Strong and smart.

6. An English surname originating as a patronymic.
7. A French surname originating as a patronymic.
8. A locale in the United States.
   1. A city in Oregon; named for Nez Perce chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (called "Chief Joseph" in English).
   2. A town in Utah; named for Mormon apostle Joseph Angell Young.
   3. A ghost town in Idaho; named for Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it.

Derived terms

• St. Joseph
• Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Related terms

• (diminutives): Joe, Joey
• (feminine equivalent): Josephine
• (English surname): Josephs, Josephson
• Jos.

Descendants

• → Maori: Hohepa

Translations

favorite son of Jacob

• Aghwan: 𐔺𐕒𐕚𐔴𐕢 (yosep)
• Amharic: ዮሴፍ (yosef)
• Arabic: يُوسُف (ar) m (yūsuf)

  Egyptian Arabic: يوسف m (yūsef)

• Aragonese: Chusé m
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ (yausef)

• Armenian: Հովսեփ (Hovsepʻ)

  Old Armenian: Յովսէփ (Yovsēpʻ)

• Belarusian: Іо́сіф m (Iósif)
• Bengali: ইঊসুফ (yūsuf)
• Bulgarian: Йо́сиф m (Jósif)
• Catalan: Josep (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 約瑟夫／约瑟夫 (zh) (Yuēsèfū), 约瑟夫 (zh) (Yuēsèfu)

• Danish: Josef
• Dutch: Jozef (nl) m
• Estonian: Joosep
• Faroese: Jósef m
• Finnish: Joosef (fi)
• French: Joseph (fr) m
• Georgian: იოსები (iosebi)
• German: Josef (de) m, Joseph (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: Ἰωσήφ m (Iōsḗph)

• Hawaiian: Iosepa
• Hebrew: יוֹסֵף (he) (yoséf)
• Hindi: यूसुफ m (yūsuph)
• Hungarian: József (hu)
• Icelandic: Jósef (is) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: Seosamh m
• Italian: Giuseppe (it)
• Japanese: ヨセフ (Yosefu)
• Kazakh: Жүсіп (Jüsıp)
• Korean: 요셉 (Yosep)
• Latvian: Jāzeps m
• Macedonian: Јосиф m (Josif)
• Malay: Yusuf
• Maore Comorian: Yusufu
• Maori: Hōhepa
• Maranao: Yosop
• Ngazidja Comorian: Yusufa
• Northern Sami: Jovsset
• Norwegian: Josef
• Ottoman Turkish: یُوسُف‎ (Yusuf)
• Persian: یوسف (fa) (yusof, yusef)
• Polish: Józef (pl) m
• Portuguese: José (pt) m
• Russian: Ио́сиф (ru) m (Iósif)
• Scottish Gaelic: Eòsaph m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Јосип m

  Roman: Josip m

• Sicilian: Giuseppi m
• Somali: Yuusuf
• Spanish: José (es) m
• Swedish: Josef (sv)
• Telugu: యోసేపు (yōsēpu)
• Turkish: Yusuf (tr), Yûsuf (tr), Yusuflar (tr) pl, Yûsuflar (tr) pl
• Ukrainian: Йо́сип m (Jósyp)
• Vietnamese: Giuse (Catholicism), Giô-sép, Yuse (rare)
• Welsh: Joseff m

husband of Virgin Mary

• Aghwan: 𐔺𐕒𐕚𐔶𐕢 (yosēp)
• Arabic: يُوسُف (ar) m (yūsuf)
• Aragonese: Chusé m
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ (yausef)

• Armenian: Հովսեփ (Hovsepʻ)

  Old Armenian: Յովսէփ (Yovsēpʻ)

• Catalan: Josep (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 約瑟／约瑟 (zh) (Yuēsè), 约瑟 (zh) (Yuēsè), 若瑟 (Ruòsè)

• Danish: Josef
• Dutch: Jozef (nl) m
• Estonian: Joosep
• Faroese: Jósef m
• Finnish: Joosef (fi)
• French: Joseph (fr)
• German: Josef (de), Joseph (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph)

• Hawaiian: Iosepa
• Hungarian: József (hu)
• Irish: Iósaf m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: Giuseppe (it)
• Latvian: Jāzeps m
• Macedonian: Јосиф (Josif)
• Malay: Yusuf
• Manchu: ᡳᠣᠰᡳᠪ (iosib)
• Maore Comorian: Yusufu
• Maori: Hōhepa
• Northern Sami: Jovsset
• Norwegian: Josef
• Polish: Józef (pl) m
• Portuguese: José (pt) m
• Russian: Ио́сиф (ru) m (Iósif)
• Scottish Gaelic: Eòsaph m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Јосип m

  Roman: Josip m

• Sicilian: Giuseppi m
• Spanish: José (es) m
• Swedish: Josef (sv)
• Vietnamese: Giuse (Catholicism), Giô-sép, Yuse (rare)
• Welsh: Joseff m

12th sura of the Qur'an

• Albanian: Suretu Jusuf
• Amharic: ሱራ ዩሱፍ (sura yusuf)
• Arabic: سورة يوسف
• Armenian: սուրա Յուսուֆ (sura Yusuf)
• Avar: Сура Йусуф (Sura Jusuf)
• Azerbaijani: Yusif surəsi
• Bashkir: Йософ сүрәһе (Yosof sürəhe)
• Bengali: সূরা ইঊসুফ (sūra yūsuf)
• Bulgarian: сура Юсуф f (sura Jusuf)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苏拉·优素福 (sūlā Yōusùfú)

• Finnish: Joosefin suura
• French: sourate Youssouf
• Georgian: სურა იუსუფ (sura iusup)
• Gujarati: સૂરા યુસુફ (sūrā yusuph)
• Hebrew: סורה יוסוף (surah Yusuf)
• Hindi: सूरह यूसुफ (sūrah yūsuph)
• Indonesian: surah Yusuf
• Kannada: ಸುರಾ ಯೂಸುಫ್ (surā yūsuph)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kazakh: Юсуф сүресі (Üsuf süresı)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: Yûsuf sûre

• Kyrgyz: Юсуф сүрөсү (Yusuf sürösü)
• Macedonian: сура Јусуф f (sura Jusuf)
• Malay: surah Yusuf
• Malayalam: സൂറ യൂസുഫ് (sūṟa yūsuphŭ)
• Ottoman Turkish: یۈسۈپ‎ (Yusub)
• Persian: سورهٔ یوسف
• Russian: сура Юсуф (sura Jusuf)
• Serbo-Croatian: sura Jusuf
• Sinhalese: සූරා යූසුෆ් (sūrā yūsuf)
• Somali: suurad Yuusuf
• Tagalog: surah Yusuf
• Tajik: сураи Юсуф (sura-yi Yusuf)
• Tamil: சூரா யூசுப் (cūrā yūcup)
• Tatar: Йосыф сүрәсе (Yosıf süräse)
• Telugu: సురా యూసుఫ్ (surā yūsuph)
• Turkish: Yusuf suresi, Sûre-i Yûsuf
• Urdu: سورہ یوسف (sūrā Yūsaf)
• Uyghur: يۈسۈپ (yüsüp)
• Uzbek: Yusuf surasi
• Yiddish: סוראַ יוסוף (sura yusuf)

Joseph of Arimathea

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ (yausef)

• Catalan: Josep d'Arimatea m
• Faroese: Jósef úr Arimateu m
• Finnish: Joosef Arimatialainen
• German: Josef von Arimathäa m, Joseph von Arimathia m
• Irish: Iósaf ó Aramatáia m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: Јосиф од Аритматеја (Josif od Aritmateja)
• Malay: Yusuf
• Polish: Józef z Arymatei m (biblical, Christianity)
• Portuguese: José de Arimateia
• Russian: Ио́сиф Аримафе́йский m (Iósif Arimaféjskij)
• Spanish: José de Arimetea m
• Welsh: Joseff o Arimathea m

male given name

• Afrikaans: Joesoef, Josef
• Albanian: Jozef, Josef, Jusuf
• Amharic: ዮሴፍ (yosef), ዩሱፍ (yusuf)
• Arabic: يُوسُف (ar) (yūsuf), جوزيف (jozēf)
• Aragonese: Chusé m
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ (yausef)

• Armenian: Հովսեփ (Hovsepʻ), Ջոզեֆ (J̌ozef), Յուսուֆ (Yusuf), Իոսիֆ (Iosif) (Russian)

  Old Armenian: Յովսէփ (Yovsēpʻ)

• Asturian: Xosepe, Xosé m
• Azerbaijani: Yusif, Yusuf, Usub
• Basque: Joseba (eu)
• Belarusian: Іо́сіф (Iósif), Джо́зэф m (Džózef), Юсу́ф m (Jusúf)
• Bengali: ইঊসুফ (yūsuf), জোসেফ (jōśeph)
• Breton: Jozef, Jozeb
• Bulgarian: Йо́сиф m (Jósif), Юсу́ф m (Jusúf), Джо́узеф m (Džóuzef)
• Burmese: ယောသပ်သည် (yau:sapsany)
• Catalan: Josep (ca) m
• Chichewa: Yosefe, Yusufu
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 約瑟夫／约瑟夫 (zh) (Yuēsèfū), 约瑟夫 (zh) (Yuēsèfu), 优素福 (Yōusùfú)

• Corsican: Ghjuseppe m, Ghjiseppe m, Ghjiseppu m
• Czech: Josef (cs) m
• Danish: Josef
• Dutch: Jozef (nl), Josef (nl)
• Esperanto: Jozefo
• Estonian: Joosep
• Faroese: Jósef, Jósup m
• Fijian: Josefa
• Finnish: Jooseppi (fi)
• French: Joseph (fr), José (fr) m

  Middle French: Iosephe

• Galician: Xosé (gl)
• Georgian: იოსები (iosebi), იუსუფ (iusup)
• German: Josef (de), Joseph (de) m
• Greek: Ιώσηπος (Iósipos), Ιωσήφ (el) (Iosíf), Γιουσούφ (el) (Giousoúf)
• Greenlandic: Joorsi
• Gujarati: યુસુફ (yusuph), જોસેફ (joseph)
• Hausa: Yusufu
• Hawaiian: Iokepa
• Hebrew: יוֹסֵף (he) (yoséf), ג'וזף
• Hindi: जोसफ़ m (josaf), यूसुफ़ m (yūsuf), जोसेफ़ m (josef)
• Hungarian: József (hu)
• Icelandic: Jósef (is)
• Indonesian: Yusuf
• Irish: Seosamh m
• Italian: Giuseppe (it)
• Japanese: ジョセフ (Josefu), ジョゼフ (Jozefu)
• Javanese: Yusuf
• Kannada: ಜೋಸೆಫ್ (jōseph), ಯೂಸುಫ್ (yūsuph)
• Kazakh: Жүсіп (Jüsıp), Юсуф (Üsuf), Иосиф (İosif) (Russian)
• Khmer: យ៉ូសែប (yousaep)
• Kildin Sami: Юсӯф (Jusūf)
• Korean: 조셉 (Josep), 유수프 (Yusupeu)
• Kyrgyz: Жусуп (Jusup), Юсуп (Yusup), Иосиф (İosif) (Russian)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Lao: ໂຈ​ເຊັບ (chō sep)
• Latin: Iosephus
• Latvian: Jāzeps
• Lithuanian: Juozapas (lt) m, Jouzas m
• Macedonian: Јосиф m (Josif), Јусуф (Jusuf), Џозеф (Džozef)
• Malagasy: Josefa
• Malay: Yusuf, Usup, Ucup
• Malayalam: ജോസഫ് (jōsaphŭ), യൂസഫ് (yūsaphŭ)
• Maltese: Ġużepp m, Ġużeppi m
• Manx: Joseph m, Josee m
• Maori: Hōhepa
• Marathi: योसेफ (yoseph), यूसुफ (yūsuph)
• Mongolian: Иосеф (Iosef), Юсуф (Jusuf)
• Neapolitan: Giuseppe
• Nepali: यूसुफ (yūsuph)
• Northern Sami: Jovsset
• Norwegian: Josef
• Occitan: Jausèp m, Josèp m
• Persian: یوسف (fa) (yusef), جوزف (jozef)
• Polish: Józef (pl)
• Portuguese: José (pt)
• Punjabi: ਯੂਸੁਫ਼ (yūsuf), ਯੂਸਫ਼ (yūsaf)
• Romanian: Iosif
• Russian: Ио́сиф (ru) m (Iósif) (cognate), О́сип (ru) m (Ósip) (cognate), Джо́зеф (ru) m (Džózɛf) (transliteration), Юсу́п (ru) m (Jusúp)
• Samoan: Iosefa
• Scottish Gaelic: Seòsaidh, Eòsaph m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Јосиф, Јосип

  Roman: Josif, Josip

• Sicilian: Giuseppi m
• Sindhi: يوسف (sd)
• Sinhalese: ජෝසප් (jōsap), යූසුෆ් (yūsuf)
• Shona: Josefa
• Slovak: Jozef, Josif m
• Slovene: Jóžef (sl) m, Jóže (sl) m, Jóža f, Jóžko m, Josip m
• Somali: Yuusuf
• Spanish: José (es)
• Sundanese: Yusuf
• Swahili: Yusufu
• Swedish: Josef (sv)
• Tagalog: José, Dyosep
• Tajik: Юсуф (tg) (Yusuf), Ҷозеф (Jozef), Иосиф (tg) (Iosif) (Russian)
• Tamil: ஜோசப் (jōcap), யூசுப் (yūcup)
• Telugu: జోసెఫ్ (jōseph), యూసుఫ్ (yūsuph)
• Thai: โจเซฟ
• Tongan: Siosefa
• Turkish: Yusuf (tr)
• Ukrainian: Йо́сип m (Jósyp), Джо́зеф m (Džózef) (transliteration)
• Urdu: جوزف m (jozaf, jozef)
• Uyghur: يۈسۈپ (yüsüp)
• Uzbek: Jozef, Yusuf
• Wallisian: Iosefi
• Walloon: Djôzef (wa)
• Welsh: Joseff m
• West Flemish: Josef
• Yiddish: יוסף m (yoysef)

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Joseph is the 313^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 100,959 individuals. Joseph is most common among Black (54.2%) individuals.

Noun

Joseph (plural Josephs)

1. One whose chastity is above temptation (from the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis xxxix).
   • 1977, Buzzcocks, Orgasm Addict

     You're a kid Casanova, you're no Joseph
     It's a labor of love fucking yourself to death
     Orgasm addict, you're an orgasm addict

See also

• Joseph (Hebrew Bible) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Saint Joseph on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Joseph of Arimathea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Cebuano

Etymology

From English Joseph, from Old Testament Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf).

Proper noun

Joseph

1. a male given name from Hebrew

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Joseph.

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒo.zɛf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Joseph m

1. Joseph (biblical figure)
2. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Joseph

Derived terms

• Jésus, Marie, Joseph
• Josèphe (feminine form)
• Joséphine (diminutive of Josèphe)

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Joseph m (proper noun, strong, genitive Josephs)

1. Alternative spelling of Josef

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Manx

Alternative forms

• Josee

Proper noun

Joseph m

1. a male given name

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
Joseph	Yoseph	N'yoseph
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.