English

Proper noun

Joseph

1. (biblical) Eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Genesis 37:3::

     Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 2

     A few shocks of corn in a corner of the fallow stood up as if alive; she imagined them bowing; perhaps her son would be a Joseph.

2. The husband of Virgin Mary.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Luke 3:23::

     And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

3. The 12th sura (chapter) of the Quran
4. (Christianity) Joseph of Arimathea; man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus.
5. A male given name, popular as a middle name.
   • 1998 Steven Herrick, A Place Like This, Univ. of Queensland Press, ISBN 0702229849, page 86:

     I'm going to call him Joseph / or Josephine if it's a girl. / Why? / Because it's a strong name, / Joe, Joseph. / You give a kid a name like Cameron / or Alfred, or something like that, / and they end up wearing glasses / and looking at computers for the rest of their life. / - - - So Joe it is. / He'll turn out strong. Strong and smart.

Related terms

• pet forms: Joe, Joey
• Josephine
• Jos.

Translations

See also

• Joseph (Hebrew Bible) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Saint Joseph on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Joseph of Arimathea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Proper noun

Joseph m

1. Joseph (biblical figure)
2. A male given name, cognate with English Joseph.

Related terms

• (feminine form) Joséphine

German

Proper noun

Joseph ? ‎(genitive Joseph)

1. A male given name, a less common spelling of Josef.

Manx

Alternative forms

• Josee

Proper noun

Joseph m

1. A male given name

Mutation

English

Noun

joseph ‎(plural josephs)

1. (sometimes capitalised) A woman's riding habit worn in the 18th century with a long cape and buttons running down the front.
   • 1861, George Eliot, “Chapter 11”, in Silas Marner:

     Some women, I grant, would not appear to advantage seated on a pillion, and attired in a drab joseph and a drab beaver-bonnet . . . travelling on pillions in snowy weather was unpleasant, though a joseph was a great protection . . . these ladies were so taken by surprise at finding such a lovely face and figure in an out-of-the-way country place, that they began to feel some curiosity about the dress she would put on when she took off her joseph

References

• joseph in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Earl, Alice Morse (1894) Costume of Colonial Times, C. Scribner's Sons, page 144