Dictionary.com
definitions

Jeremiah

[jer-uh-mahy-uh]
noun
  1. a Major Prophet of the 6th and 7th centuries b.c.
  2. a book of the Bible bearing his name. Abbreviation: Jer.
  3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “God is high.”
Related formsJer·e·mi·an, Jer·e·mi·an·ic [jer-uh-mahy-an-ik] /ˌdʒɛr ə maɪˈæn ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for jeremiah

Contemporary Examples of jeremiah

Historical Examples of jeremiah

  • It may be feared that the letter met with the fate of Jeremiah's roll.

  • My husband, Jeremiah Flintwinch, can conquer even your mother.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • Jeremiah, the captain deserts the ship, but you and I will sink or float with it.'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • If she had had any doubt which was her own Jeremiah, it would have been resolved by his impatience.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • It seemed to her that she awoke after sleeping some hours, and found Jeremiah not yet abed.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for jeremiah

Jeremiah

noun
  1. Old Testament
    1. a major prophet of Judah from about 626 to 587 bc
    2. the book containing his oracles
  2. a person who habitually prophesies doom or denounces contemporary society
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 jeremiah

Jeremiah

masc. proper name, Old Testament prophet (see jeremiad) who flourished c.626-586 B.C.E., from Late Latin Jeremias, from Hebrew Yirmeyah, probably literally "may Jehovah exalt," but Klein suggests it also might be short for Yirmeyahu "the Lord casts, the Lord founds," and compares the first element in Jerusalem. The vernacular form in English was Jeremy.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
jeremiah in Culture

Jeremiah

A major Israelite prophet; also, a book of the Old Testament that chronicles his life and records his angry lamentations about the wickedness of his people.

Note

A “jeremiad” is any long lamentation or angry denunciation.
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.