English Explanatory Dictionary

messiah

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The one who is ordained by God to lead the people of Israel, believed by Christians and Muslims to be Jesus Christ.
  2. A similar religious figure or awaited divine ruler, such as the Islamic Mahdi.
  3. An extremely powerful or revered figure.
name
  1. The promised and expected savior or liberator of the Jewish people.
  2. A saviour or liberator of a group of people.
  3. Jesus Christ.

Pronunciation

mə-sī'ə /məˈsaɪ.ə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-messiah.wav

Word forms

messiah messiahs the Messiah

Etymology

Etymology tree Aramaic ܡ ܫ ܚder. Aramaic ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ (məšīḥā)bor. Hebrew מָשַׁח Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (māšîaḥ)der. Ancient Greek Μεσσῑ́ᾱς (Messī́ās)bor. Latin Messīāsbor. Middle English Messyasder. English messiah From Middle English Messyas, Messy, Messie, from Latin Messīās, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek Μεσσίας (Messías), from Aramaic ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ (məšīḥā), from Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (māšîaḥ, “anointed”). Doublet of Masih and Moshiach.

Synonyms

Christ

Related words

de-messianisation de-messianise de-messianization de-messianize messianic messianical messianically messianisation messianise messianism messianist messianistic messianistical messianistically messianity messianization messianize Christ

Derived words

messiah complex messiahless messiahlike messiahship pseudomessiah
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