Miriam
/ˈmɪɹi.əm/
Miriam proper noun: the sister of Moses and Aaron and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed. Also the alternative spelling of Meriam.
Proper noun
Miriam
- The sister of Moses and Aaron and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed.
- And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 15:20
- Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus, chiefly in contexts emphasizing her historical or Jewish identity.
- Synonyms:
- Mary, mother of Jesus, chiefly in contexts emphasizing her historical or Jewish identity
- A female given name from Hebrew.
Also used as
Miriam is also the alternative spelling of Meriam.
Miriam meaning in Hindi, Gujarati, Arabic and Indonesian
Miriam in Hindi
- sister of Moses and Aaron
- मरियम mariyam
- female given name
- मरियम mariyam
Miriam in Gujarati
- sister of Moses and Aaron
- મરિયમ mariyam
Miriam in Arabic
- sister of Moses and Aaron
- مَرْيَم maryam
- female given name
- مَرْيَم maryam
Miriam in Indonesian
- female given name
- Mariam
Synonyms of Miriam
- Mary
- mother of Jesus
- chiefly in contexts emphasizing her historical or Jewish identity
Forms of Miriam
| alternative form | Miryam |
|---|
Origin of Miriam
From Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), possibly from Aramaic מרים (Maryām, “bitter”), from a root מר (m-r) meaning "to be bitter". The meaning of this name which is the Old Testament equivalent of Mary has been debated for centuries. Some other explanations are mutiny / rebellion / disobedience from a root מרי (m-r-y).
Words formed from Miriam
Phrases with Miriam
Questions about Miriam
- What does Miriam mean?
- Miriam means the sister of Moses and Aaron and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed.
- What is Miriam in Hindi?
- Miriam in Hindi is मरियम (mariyam). See Miriam meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is Miriam?
- Miriam is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Miriam?
- Miriam is pronounced /ˈmɪɹi.əm/.
Words near Miriam in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Miriam (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Miriam.wav.
Cite this entry: “Miriam.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/miriam. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.