Meanings
proper noun
- alternativeAlternative spelling of Yeshua (“Jesus” or “Joshua”); a traditional Biblical transliteration, now uncommon among Anglophones as pronunciation of initial Hebrew yodh can be more clearly represented by English grapheme ⟨y⟩ whereas the most common modern English pronunciation of ⟨j⟩ has become [d͡ʒ]. (Compare the related English names Jesus and Joshua; the variants with [d͡ʒ] for ⟨j⟩ have become standard.)
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewיֵשׁוּעַ“Jesus” or “Joshua”
- EnglishJeshua
From Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšū́a, “Jesus” or “Joshua”). Cognate directly equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from nearly identical Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ). Cognate to Joshua from related variant Hebrew form יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yĕhōšúa, “Joshua”).
More words from Biblical Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Jeshua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jeshua
MLA
“Jeshua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jeshua. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jeshua,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jeshua.
Source: Jeshua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.