Magdalene
Meanings
name
- A female given name from Hebrew.
- Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus.
- Ellipsis of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
noun
- A reformed prostitute.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ, “woman from Magdala”), byname of the biblical Mary Magdalene, "Mary of Magdala", from Μαγδαλά (Magdalá), the name of a village on Lake Galilee (the name of which derives from Hebrew מגדל (migdál, “tower”)). Generic use comes from the traditional association of Mary Magdalene with the "woman which was a sinner" mentioned in Luke 7:37. Doublet of Madeleine, Magdalen, Magdalena, and Maudlin.
Related words
Derived words
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.