samuel
/ˈsæmjuːəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.19 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A male given name from Hebrew.
name
One of two books of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "It was quite unnecessary to call Samuel Weller; for Samuel Weller stepped briskly into the box the instant his name was pronounced; and placing his hat on the floor, and his arms on the rail, took a bird’s–eye view of the Bar, and a comprehensive survey of the Bench, with a remarkably cheerful and lively aspect. ‘What’s your name, sir?’ inquired the judge. / ‘Sam Weller, my Lord,’ replied that gentleman. / ‘Do you spell it with a “V” or a “W”?’ inquired the judge. / ‘That depends upon the taste and fancy of the speller, my Lord,’ replied Sam; ‘I never had occasion to spell it more than once or twice in my life, but I spells it with a “V.” ’ / Here a voice in the gallery exclaimed aloud, ‘Quite right too, Samivel, quite right. Put it down a “we,” my Lord, put it down a “we.”’"
- "I went down the dark road between the hawthorn hedges puzzling over the why of like, repeating SAMUEL to myself and aloud and listening to the rolling wonder in its sound that had charmed her soul and led her life in tragic places. SAMUEL! There was a rolling wonder in the sound. Aye, there was!"
- "Samuel Storch, 55, lived in Miami and commuted by air to New York to operate two metalcraft factories with other members of his family."
- "Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD."
Etymology
From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”). Taken to mean a contraction of popular folk etymology שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (“I have asked/borrowed him from God”) (Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl) by way of שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (“asked/borrowed from God”) from 1 Samuel 1:20.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Samuēl, Σαμουήλ, שְׁמוּאֵל