joseph

plural josephs

1. capitalizedsometimesA woman's riding habit worn in the 18th century with a long cape and buttons running down the front.

   1 more example

   Some women, I grant, would not appear to advantage seated on a pillion, and attired in a drab joseph and a drab beaver-bonnet . . . travelling on pillions in snowy weather was unpleasant, though a joseph was a great protection . . . these ladies were so taken by surprise at finding such a lovely face and figure in an out-of-the-way country place, that they began to feel some curiosity about the dress she would put on when she took off her joseph

   1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC

plural Josephs · alternative Jos.

1. countableuncountablebiblicalEleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel.

   A few shocks of corn in a corner of the fallow stood up as if alive; she imagined them bowing; perhaps her son would be a Joseph.

   1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 37:3

2. countableuncountableChristianityThe husband of Mary, mother of Jesus.

   Meronym: Holy Family

   1 more example

   And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 3:23

   Synonyms: Saint Joseph

3. countableuncountableIslamThe 12th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
4. countableuncountableChristianityJoseph of Arimathea; man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus.
5. countableuncountableA male given name from Hebrew.

   Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting.

   2025 January 9, Tamara Qiblawi, “US-backed army chief elected Lebanon’s president, ending years-long stalemate”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 Jan 2025

   1 more example

   I'm going to call him Joseph / or Josephine if it's a girl. / Why? / Because it's a strong name, / Joe, Joseph. / You give a kid a name like Cameron / or Alfred, or something like that, / and they end up wearing glasses / and looking at computers for the rest of their life. / - - - So Joe it is. / He'll turn out strong. Strong and smart.

   1998, Steven Herrick, A Place Like This, Univ. of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 86

6. A surname:
   1. countableuncountableAn English surname originating as a patronymic.
   2. countableuncountableA French surname originating as a patronymic.
7. A locale in the United States:
   1. countableuncountableA city in Wallowa County, Oregon; named for Nez Perce chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (called "Chief Joseph" in English).
   2. countableuncountableA town in Sevier County, Utah; named for Mormon apostle Joseph Angell Young.
   3. countableuncountableA ghost town in Idaho County, Idaho; named for Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (Chief Joseph).

plural Josephs · alternative Jos.

1. One whose chastity is above temptation.

   And my lady thought you a Joseph!

   1925, Stanley John Weyman, “XXVII The Return”, in Queen's Folly

   1 more example

   You're a kid Casanova, you're no Joseph It's a labor of love fucking yourself to death Orgasm addict, you're an orgasm addict

   1977, Buzzcocks, Orgasm Addict

2. attributivehumorousraresometimesA coat or other garment of many colours.

   Charles Dickens, quoted in 1974, Madeline House & Graham Storey (eds.), Letters […] their Josephs again — their coats of many colors.

   2 more examples

   When summoned to lecture on the following day, he made his appearance in a morning-coat which had been originally of tartan plaid, but sundry repairs of various patterns gave it at once the name of his "Joseph".

   1899, Richard William Hiley, Memories of Half a Century, page 38

   […] his Joseph attire of many colours, and ill-matching socks.

   1986, New Society, volumes 75-76, page 14