Word.ws English Dictionary

magdalene

Syllables: Mag·de·lin/ˈmeɪ̯ɡdəlin//ˈmæɡdəlin/

magdalene is the alternative form of Magdalene.

Proper noun capitalized: Magdalene

Magdalene

  1. A female given name from Hebrew.
    • October in Orania can be charming. When the sun sets, long ribbons of burnt orange settle on the horizon. The flies and mosquitoes that come with the oppressive summer heat haven’t arrived yet. It is Magdalene Kleynhans’ favourite time of year. “You can sit outside until late into the night,” says...2019 October 24, Dennis Webster, “'An indictment of South Africa': whites-only town Orania is booming”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2022
  2. Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus.
    • and the twelue were with him, And certaine women which had bene healed of euill spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene out of whom went seuen deuils1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 8:1-2
  3. (abbreviation, ellipsis, informal, Cambridge University) Ellipsis of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Noun capitalized: Magdalene

Magdalene (plural Magdalenes)

  1. A reformed prostitute.
    • "Trying to help women who've come to grief." Old Jolyon didn't quite understand. "To grief?" he repeated; then realised with a shock that she meant exactly what he would have meant himself if he had used that expression. Assisting the Magdalenes of London!1906 John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga: The Man of Property: Interlude

Forms of magdalene

pluralmagdalenes
pluralMagdalenes

Origin of magdalene

From Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ, “woman from Magdala”), byname of the biblical Mary Magdalene, "Mary of Magdala", from Μαγδαλά (Magdalá), the name of a village on Lake Galilee (the name of which derives from Hebrew מגדל (migdál, “tower”)). Generic use comes from the traditional association of Mary Magdalene with the "woman which was a sinner" mentioned in Luke 7:37. Doublet of Madeleine, Magdalen, Magdalena, and Maudlin.

Words formed from magdalene

Phrases with magdalene

Questions about magdalene

What does magdalene mean?
Magdalene means a female given name from Hebrew.
What is magdalene the alternative form of?
Magdalene is the alternative form of Magdalene.
What part of speech is magdalene?
Magdalene can be a proper noun or a noun.
How do you pronounce magdalene?
Magdalene is pronounced /ˈmæɡdəlin/ (UK).

Words near magdalene in the dictionary

  1. Magdalen Green
  2. Magdalen Hall
  3. Magdalen hospital
  4. Magdalen hospitals
  5. Magdalena
  6. magdalene
  7. Magdalene asylum
  8. Magdalene asylums
  9. Magdalene hospital
  10. Magdalene hospitals
  11. Magdalene Islands

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: magdalene (page history and authors); Magdalene (page history and authors). 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-Magdalene.wav.

Cite this entry: “magdalene.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/magdalene. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.