Moses

See also: moses, Móses, and Moyses

English

Etymology

From Latin Mōsēs, Mōȳsēs, from Ancient Greek Μωυσῆς (Mōusês), from Biblical Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (mōšê). Further etymology is unclear, but it is sometimes conjectured to derive from Egyptian (msj, “to give birth to”), a common element in Egyptian names of the form ‘[name of deity] is the one who bore him’; or, alternatively, contains Egyptian (mw, “water”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊzɪs/, /ˈməʊzɪz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊzəz/, /ˈmoʊzəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊzɪz, -əʊzɪs

Proper noun

Moses

2. (biblical) The pharaonic patriarch who led the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt, the brother of Aaron and Miriam described in the Book of Exodus and the Quran.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 19:20, column 1:

     And the Lord came downe vpon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moſes vp to the top of the mount, and Moſes went vp.

   • 1952 Singin' in the Rain: Moses supposes (a song):

     Moses supposes his toeses are roses, / But Moses supposes erroneously, / Moses he knowses his toeses aren't roses, / As Moses supposes his toeses to be!

3. A male given name from Hebrew.
4. A surname transferred from the given name.
5. A dialect of the Columbia-Wenatchi language
6. (US, African American culture) pseudonym for Harriet Tubman

Synonyms

(Jewish male given name):

• Moishe
• Moshe

Derived terms

• Moses basket
• Moses Lake
• Moses on a raft
• Moses sole
• suffering Moses
• sweet Moses
• sweet mother of Moses

 

Related terms

• Mosaic
• Mosaism

Translations

the biblical patriarch

• Albanian: Moisiu m, Musa m (Muslim)
• Amharic: ሙሴ (Musse)
• Arabic: مُوسَىٰ (ar) m (mūsā)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܡܘܫܐ

  Samaritan Aramaic: ࠌࠦࠔࠨࠄ (mūši)

• Armenian: Մովսես (Movses)

  Old Armenian: Մովսէս (Movsēs)

• Azerbaijani: Musa (az)
• Bashkir: Муса (Musa)
• Basque: Mois
• Belarusian: Майсе́й m (Majsjéj)
• Bengali: মূসা (bn) (mūsa)
• Bulgarian: Моисе́й m (Moiséj)
• Catalan: Moisès
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 摩西 (mo¹ sai¹), 梅瑟 (mui⁴ sat¹) (Catholic)

  Hakka: 摩西 (Mô-sî)

  Hokkien: 摩西 (zh-min-nan) (Mô͘-se)

  Mandarin: 摩西 (zh) (Móxī), 梅瑟 (zh) (Méisè) (Catholic)

• Coptic: ⲙⲱⲥⲏ (mōsē)
• Czech: Mojžíš (cs) m
• Danish: Moses
• Dutch: Mozes (nl)
• Esperanto: Moseo
• Estonian: Mooses
• Farefare: Mose
• Faroese: Móses m
• Finnish: Mooses (fi)
• French: Moïse (fr) m

  Middle French: Moyse m

  Old French: Moyses

• Georgian: მოსე (mose)
• German: Moses (de) m (Catholic), Mose (de) m (Protestant)
• Greek: Μωυσής (el) m (Moysís)

  Ancient: Μωϋσῆς m (Mōüsês), Μωσῆς (Mōsês)

• Hausa: Musa
• Hawaiian: Mose
• Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה (he) m (moshé), מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ m (moshé rabénu)
• Hindi: मूसा (hi) m (mūsā)
• Hungarian: Mózes (hu)
• Indonesian: Musa
• Irish: Maois m

  Old Irish: Moysi m

• Italian: Mosè
• Japanese: モーセ (Mōse)
• Jarai: Môis
• Kashubian: Mózes
• Kazakh: Мұса (Mūsa)
• Khmer: ម៉ូសេ (mousee)
• Konkani: मूजे (mūje)
• Korean: 모세 (Mose)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: مووسا (mûsa)

  Northern Kurdish: Mûsa (ku)

• Ladino: Moshe
• Lak: Муса идавс (Musa idaws)
• Latin: Mōsēs m, Mōȳsēs
• Latvian: Mozus
• Lithuanian: Mozė m
• Macedonian: Мојсеј (Mojsej)
• Malay: Musa (used by Muslims), Moses (used by Christians)
• Maori: Mohi
• Maranao: Mosa
• Mongolian: Мосе (Mose)
• Navajo: Mózes
• Norwegian: Moses (no)
• Ottoman Turkish: موسی (musa)
• Persian: موسی (fa) (musâ)
• Plautdietsch: Moses
• Polish: Mojżesz (pl) m
• Portuguese: Moisés (pt) m
• Romanian: Moise m
• Russian: Моисе́й (ru) m (Moiséj)
• Scottish Gaelic: Maois m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Мојсије m, Муса m (Muslim)

  Roman: Mojsije m, Musa (sh) m (Muslim)

• Sicilian: Moisès m, Musè m
• Slovak: Mojžíš m
• Slovene: Mójzes (sl) m
• Sogdian: [script needed] (mwšʾ /⁠mušā⁠/)
• Spanish: Moisés (es)
• Swahili: Musa, Mose
• Swedish: Mose (sv)
• Tagalog: Moises
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Tatar: Муса (Musa)
• Tibetan: མོ་ཤི (mo shi)
• Turkish: Musa (tr), Mûsâ (tr), Musalar (tr) pl, Mûsâlar (tr) pl
• Ukrainian: Мойсе́й (uk) m (Mojséj)
• Urdu: موسیٰ m (mūsā)
• Vietnamese: Môi-se, Mô-sê
• Welsh: Moses m
• Yiddish: משה m (moyshe)

male given name

• Arabic: مُوسَى (ar) m (mūsā)
• Armenian: Մովսես (Movses)

  Old Armenian: Մովսէս (Movsēs)

• Bengali: মূসা (bn) (mūsa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 摩西 (zh) (Móxī)

• Galician: Moisés (gl) m
• Hausa: Musa
• Hawaiian: Moke
• Hungarian: Mózes (hu)
• Latvian: Mozus m
• Macedonian: Мојсеј m (Mojsej)
• Malay: Musa
• Maori: Mohi
• Navajo: Mózes
• Portuguese: Moisés (pt) m
• Sicilian: Musè m
• Swahili: Musa
• Swedish: Moses (sv)
• Turkish: Musa (tr), Mûsâ (tr), Musalar (tr) pl, Mûsâlar (tr) pl, Mısa, Mısalar pl
• Ukrainian: Мойсей (uk) m (Mojsej)

Interjection

Moses

1. An exclamation of shock.

See also

• Moses Gate

Anagrams

• Mosse, Somes

Danish

Proper noun

Moses

1. Moses (biblical figure)

German

Etymology

Biblical, cognate with English Moses.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Moses m (proper noun, strong, genitive Moses or Mosis)

1. (biblical) Moses

   Synonym: Moyses

Synonyms

• Mose (Protestant)

Latin

Alternative forms

• Mō̆ȳsēs
• Moisēs

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Μωσῆς (Mōsês), Μωϋσῆς (Mōüsês), from Biblical Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (moshé).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmoː.seːs/, [ˈmoːs̠eːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmo.ses/, [ˈmɔːs̬es]

Proper noun

Mōsēs m sg (genitive Mōsis or Mōsī or Mōseī); third declension

1. Moses (pharaonic patriarch)

Declension

Third-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Mōsēs
genitive	Mōsis Mōsī Mōseī
dative	Mōsī
accusative	Mōsem Mōsēn
ablative	Mōse
vocative	Mōsēs

Derived terms

• Mōsēius
• Mōsēus
• Mōsiticus

Descendants

• → English: Moses
• → Danish: Moses
• → German: Moses, Mose
• → Dutch: Mozes
• → Estonian: Mooses
• → Finnish: Mooses
• → Hungarian: Mózes
• → Italian: Mosè
• → Japanese: モーセ (Mōse)
• → Lithuanian: Mozė
• → Norwegian Bokmål: Moses
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: Moses
• → Scottish Gaelic: Maois
• → Swedish: Moses, Mose

References

• “Mōses”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Moses in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Norwegian Bokmål

Proper noun

Moses

1. Moses (biblical figure)

Related terms

• Mose-
• mosaisk

Norwegian Nynorsk

Proper noun

Moses

1. Moses (biblical figure)

Related terms

• Mose-
• mosaisk

Swedish

Etymology

Biblical, cognate with English Moses, from earlier versions of the Swedish Bible.

Proper noun

Moses c (genitive Moses)

1. a male given name (quite rare)

Related terms

• Mose
• mosaisk