Jonah
[joh-nuh]
- a Minor Prophet who, for his impiety, was thrown overboard from his ship and swallowed by a large fish, remaining in its belly for three days before being cast up onto the shore unharmed.
- a book of the Bible bearing his name.
- any person or thing regarded as bringing bad luck.
- Also Jo·nas [joh-nuh s] /ˈdʒoʊ nəs/. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “dove.”
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for jonah
Contemporary Examples
Jonah Edelman is the co-founder and CEO of Stand for Children.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are justifiable movie stars in that movie.
Poor Jonah has been hearing about that bet over and over again.
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill on ‘22 Jump Street,’ Penis Kissing, and Julie Andrews’s BoobsKevin Fallon
June 10, 2014
At the table-read for Sarah Marshall, Jonah and Russell had such amazing chemistry.
I saw the same with Jonah and Russell and their chemistry, and I immediately conceived of the film right there.
Historical Examples
The history of Jonah and the whale, I read at least twenty times.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
I 'guess Jonah wa'n't more tickled when he set foot on dry land.
Meadow GrassAlice Brown
So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging.'
StoryologyBenjamin Taylor
"I suppose Jonah cal'lated he didn't need to be swallowed," he mused.
ShavingsJoseph C. Lincoln
"I know how Jonah felt after the whale unloaded him," he drawled.
ShavingsJoseph C. Lincoln
Jonah
Jonas (ˈdʒəʊnəs)
- Old Testament
- a Hebrew prophet who, having been thrown overboard from a ship in which he was fleeing from God, was swallowed by a great fish and vomited onto dry land
- the book in which his adventures are recounted
- a person believed to bring bad luck to those around him; a jinx
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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 jonah
Jonah
masc. proper name, biblical prophet, from Hebrew Yonah, literally "dove, pigeon."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper