Joseph

American  

[joh-zuhf, -suhf] / ˈdʒoʊ zəf, -səf /

noun

1. (in the Bible) Jacob's eleventh son, the first of Jacob and his second wife, Rachel: sold into slavery by his brothers.

2. (in the Bible) the husband of Mary who was the mother of Jesus.

3. Hinmaton-yalaktit, c1840–1904, leader of the Nez Perce: led 1,000-mile (1,600-km) retreat from U.S. forces in an attempt to reach Canada in 1877.

4. joseph, a long coat buttoning in the front, worn especially by women as part of their riding habit in colonial America.

5. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “increaser.”

---

Joseph ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒəʊzɪf /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. the eleventh son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel (Genesis 30:2–24)

   2. either or both of two tribes descended from his sons Ephraim and Manasseh

2. New Testament the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:16–25). Feast day: Mar 19

---

joseph ² British  

/ ˈdʒəʊzɪf /

noun

1. a woman's floor-length riding coat with a small cape, worn esp in the 18th century

---

Etymology

Origin of joseph

perhaps from the story of Joseph and his long coat (Genesis 37:3)

Example Sentences

Family patriarch Joseph Guinnip joined the throngs of people who headed west to take hold of America’s Manifest Destiny, leaving Steuben County, N.Y., in the 1830s.

From The Wall Street Journal

At one point in the show, actor Matthew Patrick Davis, who plays Emperor Joseph II, steps through the doors.

From Los Angeles Times

“This move is a fundamental betrayal of EPA’s responsibility to protect human health,” said Joseph Goffman, former assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation.

From Los Angeles Times

Her husband, Joseph Hougebe, remembers whistling into the night, eagerly waiting to hear a paddle tapping against the hull of a dugout canoe -- coded signals in the darkness.

From Barron's

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore on Wednesday noted that Micron looks poised to continue benefiting from soaring memory prices.

From MarketWatch