James

American  

[jeymz] / dʒeɪmz /

noun

1. Also called James the Great.  one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, the son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle John.

2. a person identified in the Christian scriptures as a brother of Jesus.

3. Also called James the Less.  James the son of Alphaeus, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.

4. Alice, 1848–92, U.S. diarist, sister of Henry and William James.

5. C(yril) L(ionel) R(obert), 1901–89, Trinidadian author, historian, and political activist.

6. Daniel, Jr. Chappie, 1920–78, U.S. Air Force officer: first Black general.

7. Henry, 1811–82, U.S. philosopher and author (father of Henry and William James).

8. Henry, 1843–1916, U.S. novelist and critic in England (brother of William James).

9. Jesse (Woodson) 1847–82, U.S. outlaw and legendary figure.

10. Will, 1892–1942, U.S. author and illustrator.

11. William, 1842–1910, U.S. psychologist and pragmatist philosopher (brother of Henry James).

12. a river flowing east from the western part of Virginia to Chesapeake Bay. 340 miles (547 km) long.

13. a river flowing south from central North Dakota through South Dakota to the Missouri River. 710 miles (1,143 km) long.

14. one of the books of the New Testament. Jas.

15. a male given name.

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James British  

/ dʒeɪmz /

noun

1. Clive. born 1939, Australian journalist, critic and broadcaster. His books include the memoirs Unreliable Memoirs (1980) and North Face of Soho (2006) and the novel Brilliant Creatures (1983)

2. Henry 1843–1916, British novelist, short-story writer, and critic, born in the US Among his novels are Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904)

3. Jesse ( Woodson ). 1847–82, US outlaw

4. P ( hyllis ) D ( orothy ), Baroness James of Holland Park. born 1920, British detective novelist. Her books include Death of an Expert Witness (1977), Original Sin (1994), and Death in Holy Orders (2001)

5. William , brother of Henry James. 1842–1910, US philosopher and psychologist, whose theory of pragmatism is expounded in Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912). His other works include The Will to Believe (1897), The Principles of Psychology (1890), and The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)

6. New Testament

   1. known as James the Great. one of the twelve apostles, a son of Zebedee and brother to John the apostle (Matthew 4:21). Feast day: July 25 or April 30

   2. known as James the Less. one of the twelve apostles, son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). Feast day: May 3 or Oct 9

   3. known as James the brother of the Lord. a brother or close relative of Jesus (Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:19). Feast day: Oct 23

   4. the book ascribed to his authorship (in full The Epistle of James )

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Etymology

Origin of James

Middle English Jame(s), from Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin Jacomus, for unattested Jacobus, alteration of Late Latin Jacōbus Jacob; compare Spanish Jaime, Italian Giacomo

Example Sentences

The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, then scored two runs on a wild pitch and added a third on James Clark’s single.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Beatrice McCosh, director of the awards, said the competition aimed to set the bar for "rock solid British standard marmalade, the type which has been eaten for centuries from Elizabeth I to James Bond".

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

That was “not taken well by investors” concerned about fiscal creep, says James Lim, portfolio manager for Korea at Dalton Investments.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The five novels here, published between 1954 and 1964 as paperback originals, stand in the noir tradition of James M. Cain, Chester Himes and David Goodis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Or maybe Russell had told one of his friends and somehow it had gotten to James?

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu