Adonai

[Sephardic Hebrew ah-daw-nahy; Ashkenazic Hebrew ah-doh-noi]

noun

Hebrew. a title of reverence for God, serving also as a substitute pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.

Also A·do·noy

[ah-doh-noi] /ˌɑ doʊˈnɔɪ/.

Origin of Adonai

literally, my Lord; spoken in place of the ineffable name Yahweh

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for adonai

Adonai

noun

Judaism a name for God

Word Origin for Adonai

C15: from Hebrew: lord; compare Adonis

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

Word Origin and History for adonai

Adonai

Old Testament word for "God," late 14c., from Medieval Latin, from Hebrew, literally "my lord," from adon (see Adonis) + suffix of 1st person.