Septuagint
[sep-too-uh-jint, -tyoo-, sep-choo-]
- the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request of Ptolemy II: most scholars believe that only the Pentateuch was completed in the early part of the 3rd century b.c. and that the remaining books were translated in the next two centuries.
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Origin of Septuagint
First recorded in 1555–65, Septuagint is from the Latin word septuāgintā seventy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Septuagint
- the principal Greek version of the Old Testament, including the Apocrypha, believed to have been translated by 70 or 72 scholars
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin septuāgintā seventy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for septuagint
Septuagint
n.
"Greek version of the Old Testament," 1630s, earlier as the word for the translators collectively (1570s), from Late Latin septuaginta (interpretes) "seventy (interpreters)," from Latin septuaginta "seventy," from septem "seven" (see seven) + -ginta "tens, ten times," from PIE *dkm-ta-, from *dekm- "ten" (see ten).
So called in reference to the (incorrect) tradition that the translation was done 3c. B.C.E. by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars from Palestine and completed in 70 or 72 days. The translation is believed now to have been carried out at different times by an undetermined number of Egyptian Jews. Often denoted by Roman numerals, LXX. Related: Septuagintal.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper