joseph
/ˈd͡ʒəʊsəf//ˈd͡ʒoʊsəf/
joseph noun: a woman's riding habit worn in the 18th century with a long cape and buttons running down the front.
Noun (1)
joseph (plural josephs)
- A woman's riding habit worn in the 18th century with a long cape and buttons running down the front.
- 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...1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC
Proper noun capitalized: Joseph
Joseph (countable and uncountable, plural Josephs)
- Eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel.
- 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 37:3
- 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.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
- The husband of Mary, mother of Jesus.
- Meronym: Holy Family
- 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 3:23
- Synonyms:
- Saint Joseph
- The 12th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
- Joseph of Arimathea; man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus.
- A male given name from Hebrew.
- 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. /...1998, Steven Herrick, A Place Like This, Univ. of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 86
- Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting.2025 January 9, Tamara Qiblawi, “US-backed army chief elected Lebanon’s president, ending years-long stalemate”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 Jan 2025
- An English surname originating as a patronymic.
- A French surname originating as a patronymic.
- A city in Wallowa County, Oregon; named for Nez Perce chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (called "Chief Joseph" in English).
- A town in Sevier County, Utah; named for Mormon apostle Joseph Angell Young.
- A ghost town in Idaho County, Idaho; named for Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (Chief Joseph).
Noun (2) capitalized: Joseph
Joseph (plural Josephs)
- One whose chastity is above temptation.
- And my lady thought you a Joseph!1925, Stanley John Weyman, “XXVII The Return”, in Queen's Folly
- You're a kid Casanova, you're no Joseph
It's a labor of love fucking yourself to death
Orgasm addict, you're an orgasm addict1977, Buzzcocks, Orgasm Addict
- A coat or other garment of many colours.
- When summoned to lecture on the following day, he made his appearance in a morning-coat which had been originally of tartan plaid, but sundry repairs of various patterns gave it at once the name of his "Joseph".1899, Richard William Hiley, Memories of Half a Century, page 38
- Charles Dickens, quoted in 1974, Madeline House & Graham Storey (eds.), Letters
[…] their Josephs again — their coats of many colors.
joseph meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
joseph in Hindi
- जोसेफ, जोसफ, जोसेफ़
joseph in Tamil
- சூசை, சூசையப்பர்
joseph in Marathi
- जोसेफ, जोसफ
joseph in Urdu
- جوزف, جوسف
More languagesFewer languages
- joseph in Bengali
- জোসেফ, যোসেফ
- joseph in Telugu
- జోసెఫ్, యోసేఫ్
- joseph in Malayalam
- ജോസെഫ്, ജോസഫ്
- joseph in Kannada
- ಜೋಸೆಫ್, ಜೋಸೇಫ್
- joseph in Punjabi
- ਜੋਸਫ਼, ਜੋਸੇਫ, ਜੋਸਫ
- joseph in Gujarati
- જોસેફ, જોસેફે
- joseph in Odia
- ଜୋସେଫ, ଜୋସେଫ୍, ଯୋଶେଫ
- joseph in Nepali
- जोसेफ, जोसफ
Examples of joseph in a sentence
- Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist.
- Joseph Locke made a significant contribution to the development of railways in Britain.
- Joseph, standing side by side as if they just happened to stand side by side.
Synonyms of joseph
Forms of joseph
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | josephs |
| plural | Josephs |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Josephs |
| alternative form | Jos. |
Origin of joseph
Probably in allusion to Joseph's coat of many colours in Genesis 37:3.
From Middle English Ioseph, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf, literally “(God) shall add”); a son of Jacob. Doublet of Yusuf. Noun sense 1 (“one whose chastity is above temptation”) is a reference to the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39.
Words formed from joseph
Phrases with joseph
Questions about joseph
- What does joseph mean?
- Joseph means a woman's riding habit worn in the 18th century with a long cape and buttons running down the front.
- What is joseph in Hindi?
- Joseph in Hindi is जोसेफ, जोसफ, जोसेफ़. See Joseph meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is joseph?
- Joseph can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce joseph?
- Joseph is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒəʊsəf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of joseph?
- The plural of joseph is josephs.
Words near joseph in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: joseph (page history and authors); Joseph (page history and authors); joseph (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); joseph (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); joseph (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Joseph.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-JutishMale-Joseph.wav.
Cite this entry: “joseph.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/joseph. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.