Meanings
proper noun
- biblicalThe father of the Apostles James and John in the Bible.
And going from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 4:21 - rareA male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
Origin
- Hebrewזְבַדְיָה
- Ancient GreekΖεβεδαῖος
- EnglishZebedee
Ultimately from Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos), from Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebadiah.
More words from Ancient Greek, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος
- Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos)biblical character
Arabic زَبَدِي
- زَبَدِي (zabadī)biblical character
Dutch Zebedeüs
- Zebedeüsbiblical character
Esperanto Zebedeo
- Zebedeobiblical character
French Zébédée
- Zébédéebiblical character
German Zebedäus
- Zebedäusbiblical character
Greek Ζεβεδαίος
- Ζεβεδαίος (Zevedaíos)biblical character
Hebrew זְבַדְיָה
- זְבַדְיָה (Z'badiyá)biblical character
Hindi ज़ब्दी
- ज़ब्दी (zabdī)biblical character
Italian Zebedeo
- Zebedeobiblical character
Japanese ゼベダイ
- ゼベダイ (Zebedai)biblical character
Latin Zebedaeus
- Zebedaeusbiblical character
Polish Zebedeusz
- Zebedeuszbiblical character
Portuguese Zebedeu
- Zebedeubiblical character
Russian Зеведе́й
- Зеведе́й (Zevedéj)biblical character
Spanish Zebedeo
- Zebedeobiblical character
Swahili Zebedayo
- Zebedayobiblical character
Cite this entry
APA
Zebedee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zebedee
MLA
“Zebedee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zebedee. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Zebedee,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zebedee.
Source: Zebedee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.