messiah
/məˈsaɪ.ə/ noun, proper noun
Forms messiahs the Messiah
- noun (Abrahamism) The one who is ordained by God to lead the people of Israel, believed by Christians and Muslims to be Jesus Christ.
- noun (religion, loosely) A similar religious figure or awaited divine ruler, such as the Islamic Mahdi.
- noun (figuratively) An extremely powerful or revered figure.
- proper noun (Judaism) The promised and expected savior or liberator of the Jewish people.
- proper noun A saviour or liberator of a group of people.
- proper noun (Christianity) Jesus Christ.
Synonyms
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Heb. mashiakh anointed, fr. mashakh to anoint. Cf. Messias.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “messiah”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details