ecce homo
“Behold the man!”: the words with which Pilate presented Christ, crowned with thorns, to his accusers. John 19:5.
ecce homo
American
[ech-ey hoh-moh, ek-ey, ek-see hoh-moh, ek-ey]
/ ˈɛtʃ eɪ ˈhoʊ moʊ, ˈɛk eɪ, ˈɛk si ˈhoʊ moʊ, ˈɛk eɪ /
Latin.
noun
Ecce Homo
British
/ ˈɛkeɪ ˈhəʊməʊ, ˈɛksɪ- /
noun
Etymology
Origin of ecce homo
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin; cf. here ( def. ); Homo ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This flattered Goethe, who called it the inverse "ecce homo," and felt its allusion to his citizenship, not in Germany, but in the world.
From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. III. (of IV.) by William Milligan Sloane
"What are you making such an ecce homo face for?" she said, in her brusquest tone, which now stood her in good stead in concealing her emotion.
From In Paradise A Novel. Vol. II by Paul Heyse
A common term for an emaciated-looking man is to call him an "ecce homo," and a "grippe Jésus" is thieves' slang for a gendarme.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 88, April, 1875 by Various
Only don't make such an ecce homo face; go, rather, and pay your respects to his Excellency, the Governor.
From Tales From J?kai by M?r J?kai
The hero is haunted by the notion that a great misfortune will fall upon his family, whenever a travelling dealer shall offer an ecce homo for sale to any one of its members.
From The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 3, February, 1851 by Various
Cecilia Giménez, an elderly woman from Borja, northeast Spain, became famous 13 years ago after she attempted to restore the century-old painting titled Ecce Homo that was held in her local church.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
The oil-on-canvas work depicts the Biblical passage of the Ecce Homo, in which Jesus Christ is presented to the crowds before being crucified.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2024
Yes, this is the Ecce Homo of China, but only because an utterly insignificant artifact that nobody cared about was raised to artificially high prominence by a mediocre preservation attempt.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2016
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amateur art restorer admits to damaging Ecce Homo mural – video The botched attempt at restoration catapulted Giménez into the public eye.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2015
It does not materially differ from the Ecce Homo of to-day, or from the other works which we shall name, except in its style and composition.
From Ancient Faiths And Modern A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities by Thomas Inman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
