Jeremiah

Part of speech: noun, proper noun

Definitions

1. A figure from the Bible known for his prophecies, particularly concerning the fall of Jerusalem and the impending doom faced by the Israelites
2. An Old Testament prophet recognized for his lamentations over the destruction of the Holy City and the suffering of his people
3. A biblical character who conveyed God's messages of warning, repentance, and hope, serving as a key voice during a tumultuous period in Jewish history

Etymology: The name is a proper noun that came into English by way of Latin and Greek from Hebrew. The Hebrew "yirm'yah" is built from "herim", meaning "to exalt" or "to raise up", combined with a shortened form of YHWH, the divine name, so the name literally means "Yahweh exalts" or "Yahweh raises up." The prophet's name was carried across the Mediterranean world by Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians, who rendered it as "Ieremias," and Latin speakers then adapted it as "Jeremias" and "Jeremius." English took the name as a learned borrowing, which is why it keeps the Latin shape of its ending rather than being smoothed into a native English name. The Greek and Latin forms also survive as a doublet, "Jeremias," which English keeps for the Latinized biblical spelling. Because the name is a borrowing from a sacred text, it arrived in English through scholarly and religious channels rather than everyday speech.

Synonyms: prophet, weeping prophet