Bethany

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine first name of Hebrew origin ; a village on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, mentioned in the New Testament as home of Lazarus
2. A woman's given name ; an ancient village just east of Jerusalem, associated with Mary, Martha and Lazarus in the Gospels
3. Common female first name ; a biblical settlement near Jerusalem where Jesus is said to have raised Lazarus from the dead

Etymology: Bethany is a place name first. In the Gospels, it is the village near Jerusalem where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived, and it appears in Greek as "Bēthanía," which Greek writers took from an Aramaic phrase usually rendered "house of wretchedness" or "house of affliction." Scholars strongly dispute that meaning, and other proposals, such as "house of figs" or "house of the poor," have been put forward, so the sense of the name is best treated as uncertain. The name passed into English through Christian scripture and Latin-influenced religious usage, where it was heard as a place of friendship and hospitality rather than of misery. That gentler association, rather than the Aramaic etymology, is what most English speakers encountered, and it is why the name became a common given name for girls.