Bethany

B3E1T1H4A1N1Y4
/ˈbɛθəni/

proper noun

The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.”

OriginAncient Greek Βηθανία ← Aramaic בית עניא →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. biblicalThe village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.
  2. biblicalThe village where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived (Bible, John 11 v. 1)

    Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

  3. biblicalMary of Bethany, sometimes identified as Mary Magdalene.
  4. A female given name from Aramaic, transferred use of the biblical place name.
  5. Other places named Bethany elsewhere:
    1. A town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States.
    2. A city, the county seat of Harrison County, Missouri, United States.
    3. A town in Genesee County, New York, United States.
    4. A rural town in Barossa Council, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, formerly known as Bethanien.

Origin

  1. Aramaicבית עניא“house of wretchedness”
  2. Ancient GreekΒηθανία
  3. EnglishBethany

From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany.

More words from Ancient Greek, Aramaic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek Βηθανία
  • Βηθανία (Bēthanía)Translations
French Béthanie
  • BéthanieTranslations
Hindi बैतनिय्याह
  • बैतनिय्याह (baitniyyāh)Translations
Latin Bēthania
  • BēthaniaTranslations
Spanish Betania
  • BetaniaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

Bethany. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bethany

MLA

“Bethany.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bethany. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bethany,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bethany.

Source: Bethany on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.