Theophilus

English

Etymology

Ancient Greek Θεόφιλος (Theóphilos), meaning "love of God" or "friend of God".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θiːˈɒfɪləs/

Proper noun

Theophilus

1. (biblical) The addressee of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC:
     : Luke 1:3:

     It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus.

2. A male given name from Ancient Greek; rare in English.
   • 1948, Enid Blyton, The Mystery of the Hidden House:

     'That's a good one, that is!' said Ern. 'Lovaduck, I'd like to see Uncle Theophilus when I tell him that!'

   • 1973, Thornton Wilder, Theophilus North, page 118:

     "Call me Ted, will you, Rip? 'Theophilus' is unmanageable and 'Theo' is awkward. Everybody calls me Ted or Teddie, now."

Translations

biblical character

• Albanian: Teofíl, Theofíl
• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: Թեոփիլոս (Tʻeopʻilos)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 提阿非羅／提阿非罗 (Tí'āfēiluó), 提阿非羅／提阿非罗 (Tí'āfēiluó) (Protestant), 德敖斐羅／德敖斐罗 (Dé'áofěiluó) (Catholic)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: Theofilus m
• French: Théophile (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Theophilus
• Greek: Θεόφιλος (el) m (Theófilos)
• Italian: Teofilo (it)
• Norwegian: Teofilos m
• Polish: Teofil (pl) m
• Portuguese: Teófilo m
• Russian: Феофи́л (ru) m (Feofíl)
• Spanish: Teófilo (es) m
• Swedish: Theofilus

male given name

• Albanian: Teofíl, Theofíl
• Armenian: Թեոփիլոս (Tʻeopʻilos)
• French: Théophile (fr)
• Greek: Θεόφιλος (el) m (Theófilos)

  Ancient: Θεόφιλος m (Theóphilos)

• Italian: Teofilo (it)
• Polish: Teofil (pl) m
• Russian: Феофи́л (ru) m (Feofíl)
• Spanish: Teófilo (es) m

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Theophilus m (proper noun, strong, genitive Theophilus', plural Theophilusse or Theophilus or (colloquial) Theophilus')

1. (biblical) Theophilus (biblical figure)
2. a male given name of rare usage

Declension

Declension of Theophilus [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Theophilus	die	Theophilusse, Theophilus, Theophilus'1
genitive	eines	des	Theophilus'	der	Theophilusse, Theophilus, Theophilus'1
dative	einem	dem	Theophilus	den	Theophilussen, Theophilus, Theophilus'1
accusative	einen	den	Theophilus	die	Theophilusse, Theophilus, Theophilus'1

¹Colloquial.

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Θεόφιλος (Theóphilos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /tʰeˈo.pʰi.lus/, [t̪ʰeˈɔpʰɪɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /teˈo.fi.lus/, [t̪eˈɔːfilus]

Proper noun

Theophilus m sg (genitive Theophilī); second declension

1. Theophilus

Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Theophilus
genitive	Theophilī
dative	Theophilō
accusative	Theophilum
ablative	Theophilō
vocative	Theophile

Descendants

• → Dutch: Theofilus
• → English: Theophilus
• → French: Théophile
• → German: Theophil
• → Italian: Teofilo
• → Polish: Teofil
• → Portuguese: Teófilo
• → Spanish: Teófilo
• → Turkish: Tiofaylas

References

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