Israel

English

Alternative forms

• (abbreviation) Isr.
• (misspelling) Isreal
• (surname): Yisrael

Etymology

From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in Genesis 32:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)).

Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr.

Doublet of Yisroel.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĭzʹrā-əl, ĭzʹrē-əl; IPA^(key): /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/, /ˈɪz.ɹi.əl/

  (formal and posh RP) enPR: ĭzʹrā-ĕl; IPA^(key): /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.ɛl/

  (in singing also) enPR: ĭzʹrī-ĕl; IPA^(key): /ˈɪz.ɹaɪ.ɛl/

  (certain Carolina accents) IPA^(key): /ˈɪz.ɹɛəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Proper noun

Israel (plural Israels)

2. A modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.
4. (biblical) A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
6. (historical) An ancient kingdom in Western Asia, roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel and the Land of Israel.
8. (historical) An ancient kingdom that occupied the northern part of the Land of Israel and modern State of Israel, as distinct from Judah.
9. (historical, now proscribed or offensive) The Jews, taken collectively.
10. A male given name from Hebrew,
    1. Another name for Jacob, notably after Genesis 32:28 and in later references.
       • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Genesis 32:28:

         And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

11. A surname.

Usage notes

• (region): The use of Israel to refer to the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea has been, since the latter half of the 20th century, sometimes seen as politically or emotionally charged; indeed, this is true of all terms for this region.

Synonyms

• (State of Israel): the State of Israel (official name), Israhell (derogatory), Jewsrael (derogatory), Zionistan (derogatory), Isn'treal (derogatory), Zionist entity (derogatory)
• (Land of Israel): the Land of Israel, Palestine, the Holy Land, Canaan
• (the Jews): the Children of Israel, the Israelites, Jewry, Zion

Derived terms

Related terms

• Israelite
• Israelitic
• Israelitish

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Countries of the world
• (countries of Asia) country of Asia; Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, East Timor, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
• Irving (surname used to anglicize Israel)
• Zion, Judea

References

Further reading

• Israel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Alires, Isreal, Lieras, Sailer, Sal Rei, ariels, railes, realis, relais, resail, sailer, serail, serial

Afrikaans

Afrikaans Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^af

Etymology

Inherited from Dutch Israël, from Middle Dutch israel, from Old Dutch israel, from Latin Isrāēl, from Ancient Greek Ἰσρᾱήλ (Isrāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל.

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Related terms

Asturian

Asturian Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^ast

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /israˈel/,

Proper noun

Israel m

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Related terms

• israelín

Catalan

Catalan Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^ca

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

• Audio (Valencian)

  (file)

Proper noun

Israel m

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)
2. a male given name, equivalent to English Israel

Related terms

• israelià

Central Huasteca Nahuatl

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Central Nahuatl

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^da

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Derived terms

• israeler
• israelsk

Related terms

• israelit
• israelitisk

Finnish

Finnish Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^fi

Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈisrɑel/,
• Rhymes: -isrɑel
• Syllabification^(key): Is‧ra‧el

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Declension

Derived terms

• israelilainen

Anagrams

• laseri

German

Alternative forms

• Israël (obsolete)

Etymology

Latin Israel, Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• IPA^(key): (less common)

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Is‧ra‧el

Proper noun

Israel

1. (biblical) Israel, another name of the patriarch Jacob
   • 1912, Lutherbibel 1912, 1.Mose 32, 29 (Luther Bible 1912, Genesis 32:29):

     Er sprach: Du sollst nicht mehr Jakob heißen, sondern Israel; denn du hast mit Gott und mit Menschen gekämpft und bist obgelegen.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Proper noun

Israel n (proper noun, genitive Israels or (optionally with an article) Israel)

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean; official name: Staat Israel)

Derived terms

• israelisch
• Israeli
• israelisieren
• israelfeindlich
• israelfreundlich
• israelkritisch
• antiisraelisch
• proisraelisch

Related terms

• Israelit
• israelitisch

Further reading

• “Israel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Israel” in Duden online

Iban

Etymology

Borrowed from English Israel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /israel/

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Adjective

Israel

1. Israeli

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^id

Etymology

From Dutch Israël, from Middle Dutch israel, from Old Dutch israel, from Latin Isrāēl, from Ancient Greek Ἰσρᾱήλ (Isrāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל. Doublet of Israil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: Is‧ra‧él

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel:
   1. A modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
   2. (biblical) A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people
   3. (biblical, biblical, historical) An ancient kingdom in Western Asia, roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel and the Land of Israel
   4. (biblical, , biblical, , historical, biblical, historical) An ancient kingdom that occupied the northern part of the Land of Israel and modern State of Israel, as distinct from Judah
   5. The Jews, taken collectively.

      Synonym: Yahudi

Further reading

• “Israel” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /israˈel/

Proper noun

Israel

1. (all senses) Israel

Latin

Alternative forms

• Isrāhēl, Isdrāhēl, Istrāhēl
• Israël

Etymology

Borrowed from Koine Greek Ἰσρᾱήλ (Isrāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yiśrāʾēl). The spelling Istrāhēl, from Ἰστρᾱήλ (Istrāḗl), was predominant until the dissemination of Jerome’s Vulgate (5th century CE), which popularized Isrāhēl. The h was gradually lost thereafter.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /isˈraː.eːl/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /isˈra.el/,

Proper noun

Isrāēl m sg (variously declined, genitive Isrāēl or Isrāēlis); indeclinable, third declension

1. (Late Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin) Israel, another name of the patriarch Jacob
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.32.28:

     At ille: Nequaquam, inquit, Iacob appellabitur nomen tuum, sed Israhel: quoniam si contra Deum fortis fuisti quanto magis contra homines praevalebis.

2. (New Latin) Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Declension

Indeclinable noun or third-declension noun, singular only.

Derived terms

• Isrāēlīta, Isrāēlītēs
• isrāēlīticus, Isrāēlīticus

References

• “Israel”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^no

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Derived terms

• israeler
• israelsk

Related terms

• israelitt
• israelittisk

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Proper noun

Israel

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Derived terms

• israelar
• israelsk

Related terms

• israelitt
• israelittisk

Plautdietsch

Noun

Israel n

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). Displaced Old Galician-Portuguese Irrael.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: Is‧ra‧el

Proper noun

Israel m

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)
2. (biblical) Israel (A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people)
3. a male given name, equivalent to English Israel

Usage notes

Israel is never indicated by an article; see usage notes for Portugal.

Derived terms

• israelense
• israelita

Romanian

Romanian Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^ro

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew ישראל.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is.ra.ˈel/

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Israel n

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Declension

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^es

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /israˈel/
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: Is‧ra‧el

Proper noun

Israel m

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)
2. Jacob
   • 1602, Casiodoro de Reina, La Santa Biblia, rev., Genesis 32:28

     Y él dijo: No se dirá más tu nombre Jacob, sino Israel: porque has peleado con Dios y con los hombres, y has vencido.

     And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

     (KJV)

3. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Israel

Derived terms

Related terms

Anagrams

• liarse, raíles

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^sv

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²iːsˌrɛːl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Is‧rael

Proper noun

Israel n (genitive Israels)

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Related terms

• israel
• israelit

References

• Israel in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Israel (“Israel”), from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔisɾaˈʔel/,
• Hyphenation: Is‧ra‧el

Proper noun

Israél (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜐ᜔ᜇᜁᜎ᜔)

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)
2. (biblical) (biblical) Israel (A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people)
3. a male given name, equivalent to English Israel

Related terms

Further reading

• “Israel”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Welsh

Welsh Wikipedia has an article on:

Israel

Wikipedia ^cy

Etymology

Latin Israel, from Koine Greek Ἰσρᾱήλ (Isrāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yiśrāʾēl).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈɪsraɨ̯l/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈɪzrai̯l/

Proper noun

Israel f

1. Israel (a modern country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean)

Coordinate terms

• (countries of Asia) gwledydd Asia; Affganistan, Armenia, Aserbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhwtan, Brwnei, Cambodia, Casachstan, Catar, Coweit, Cirgistan, Cyprus, De Corea, Dwyrain Timor, yr Emiradau Arabaidd Unedig, Fietnam, Georgia, Iemen, India, Indonesia, Irac, Iran, Israel, Japan, Gwlad Tai, Gwlad yr Iorddonen, Laos, Libanus, Maleisia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Gogledd Corea, Oman, Pacistan, Palesteina, y Philipinau, Rwsia, Sawdi Arabia, Singapôr, Sri Lanca, Syria, Taiwan, Tajicistan, Tsieina, Twrci, Tyrkmenistan, Wsbecistan

Derived terms

• Gwladwriaeth Israel (“State of Israel”)
• Israelaidd (“Israeli (adjective)”)
• Israeliad (“Israelite; Israeli (noun)”)

Mutation