Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

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

Read the Latest from M-W

alt-59e673567065d
The History of the Word 'Terrorism'
alt-59e60c9d3e5ea
Trending: McCain: Half-Baked, 'Spurious' Nationalism
tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Origin and Etymology of samuel

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

Learn More about samuel

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Samuel

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

malign

play

to speak evil of

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  2. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  3. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  4. mike "microphone"

  5. moron “a very stupid person”

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Samuel

Test Your Vocabulary

Forms of Government Quiz

  • knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
  • A gerontocracy is rule by:
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

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

alt-59e673567065d
The History of the Word 'Terrorism'

Noah Webster first entered the term in 1840

alt-59e65152518a6
'Regimen' vs. 'Regiment'

The rule of thumb for words about rules

alt-59e50f5a357b4
'Spox' May Go On The Record

From newsroom lingo to the mainstream

alt-59e506c5c02ae
C'mon, Of Course 'Myriad' Is a Noun

For a myriad of reasons

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
rembrandt-painting-a-young-scholar-and-his-tutor
Original Meanings Quiz

A quiz for the pedantic and those annoyed by them!

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game