Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Samuel

noun Sam·u·el \ ˈsam-yə-wəl , -yəl \

Definition of Samuel

1 : the early Hebrew judge who successively anointed Saul and David king
2 : either of two narrative and historical books of canonical Jewish and Christian Scriptures — see Bible Table

See Samuel defined for kids

Origin and Etymology of samuel

Late Latin, from Greek Samouel, from Hebrew Shĕmū'ēl

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Samuel? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

adulation

play

excessive admiration or flattery

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. hogwash 'nonsense, balderdash'

  2. probity 'adherence to the highest principles and ideals'

  3. sequacious 'intellectually servile'

  4. inadmissible 'not capable of being allowed'

  5. oligarch, pejorative 'a member a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Samuel

Test Your Vocabulary

Difficult Spelling Words Quiz

  • alphabet-pasta-spelling-help
  • Which is the correct spelling?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games