Methuselah

[ muh-thoo-zuh-luh, -thooz-luh ]

noun
  1. a patriarch who lived 969 years. Genesis 5:27.

  2. an extremely old man.

  1. a very large wine bottle holding 6½ quarts (6 liters).

Origin of Methuselah

1
Ultimately from Hebrew Mĕthūshelaḥ; of uncertain meaning, perhaps “man of (the deity) Shela”

Words Nearby Methuselah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Methuselah in a sentence

  • Now, I should admire to know how long that old codger's going to live; he must be as old as Methuselah's cat by this time.

    A Changed Heart | May Agnes Fleming
  • The vice-president of the Methuselah, the one who attends to all their real estate, is Mr. Carkendale.

    Tales of Fantasy and Fact | Brander Matthews
  • I shall never marry anybody, if I live to be as old as—as you, or Methuselah, or anybody.

    The Doctor's Family | Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
  • Then came the final redactor, who interpolated the groundwork and the Methuselah sections, adding two others from his own pen.

British Dictionary definitions for Methuselah (1 of 2)

Methuselah1

/ (məˈθjuːzələ) /


noun
  1. a wine bottle holding the equivalent of eight normal bottles

British Dictionary definitions for Methuselah (2 of 2)

Methuselah2

/ (mɪˈθjuːzələ) /


noun
  1. Old Testament a patriarch supposed to have lived 969 years (Genesis 5:21–27) who has come to be regarded as epitomizing longevity: Douay spelling: Mathusala

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Methuselah

Methuselah

[ (muh-thooh-zuh-luh) ]


The oldest man mentioned in the Bible (see also Bible); according to the Book of Genesis, he was the grandfather of Noah and lived to be 969 years old.

Notes for Methuselah

Figuratively, a “Methuselah” is an extremely old person.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.