Esther
[es-ter]
- the wife of Ahasuerus.
- a book of the Bible bearing her name. Abbreviation: Esth.
- a number of prayers, visions, interpretations of dreams, etc., that are included in the Douay Bible as chapters 10–16.
- a female given name.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for esther
Contemporary Examples
In her struggle to find her daughter, Esther becomes one of the founders of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
Esther Choi of Mokbar said she has made Korean potato pancakes called gam ja jun, and Charles Rodriguez of PRINT.
The name Easter may, or may not, be derived from the Sumerian goddess Inanna, or Ishtar—the source of the Hebrew name Esther.
I started to think of these sections in part as being the interior place where the characters of Jane and Esther perhaps overlap.
Susan Minot on Africa, Joseph Kony, and the Limits of Writing About LoveLea Carpenter
February 10, 2014
Esther Williams, 91 From 1945-49 a Williams film was one of the top 20 box office grossers each year—clearly, swimming sells.
The Deaths You Missed This YearMalcolm Jones, Jimmy So, Michael Moynihan, Caitlin Dickson
December 30, 2013
Historical Examples
Needless to say, it was "not equal to Mr. Handel's oratorio of Esther or Deborah."
HandelEdward J. Dent
"Nowhere on earth, Esther," replied David, unknowing why he said so.
An Old Woman's TaleNathaniel Hawthorne
Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman."
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IFrancis Augustus Cox
Now then, "Eccles enters breathless, Esther and Polly rise."
The Eldest Son (Second Series Plays)John Galsworthy
See Lossing, see Esther and Maggie, and remember about tea-set.
Stories of a Western TownOctave Thanet
Esther
- a beautiful Jewish woman who became queen of Persia and saved her people from massacre
- the book in which this episode is recounted
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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 esther
Esther
fem. proper name, Old Testament wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus, from Greek Esther, from Hebrew Ester, from Persian sitareh "star," related to Avestan star- (see star (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Esther
A book of the Old Testament that tells the story of a beautiful Jewish woman named Esther who is chosen by the king of Persia (now Iran; see Persian Empire) to be his queen. Esther, with the aid of her cousin Mordecai, stops a plot to massacre the Jews (see also Jews) in Persia, and Mordecai becomes the king's chief minister.
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Note
This event is celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim.
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.