Meanings
alternative obsolete Josue
- The sixth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and a book of the Tanakh.
Synonyms: Josh.
- biblicalThe son of Nun, Judge of Israel following Moses; author of the Book of Joshua; Quranic figure.
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 11:23 - A male given name from Hebrew.
The shooter believed to be responsible for the incident was identified as Joshua Jahn, according to three sources familiar with the case.
2025 September 25, Amanda Musa, Priscilla Alvarez, Leigh Waldman, “A detainee is dead after officials say a shooter fired ‘indiscriminately’ at a Texas ICE facility. Here’s what we know”, in CNN1 more example
"His father had a notion," observes Malone, on the authority of Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, "that it might at some future period of his life be an advantage to a child to bear an uncommon Christian name, - - - Hence our author derived the scriptural name of Joshua, which, though not very uncommon, occurs less frequently than many others." But another biographer has suggested, with more appearance of reason, that it was probably given to him because an uncle, who was one of his godfathers, bore the same name,
1835, “The Literary Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds. To Which is Prefixed a Memoir by H.W.Beechey”, in Strand, London: T. Cadell, page 33 - A surname, transferred from the given name
Dakota Joshua
name of an American hockey player
1 more example
Anthony Joshua
name of a British boxer
- A city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, named after the biblical Joshua.
plural Joshuas · alternative obsolete Josue
- A Joshua tree.
Isolated Joshua trees appear at 75.1 m. among the mesquite and sage, increasing rapidly in number until they form a forest on both sides. […] The age of the Joshuas is popularly compared to that of the Sequoias.
2011, United States Federal Writers Project, WPA Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration, Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels, Southern California
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe sixth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and a book of the Tanakh.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewיְהוֹשֻׁעַ
- EnglishJoshua
From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ), akin to Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshúa'), a variant of Yehoshúa'. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament consistently render the two Hebrew names Yehoshúa' (whence Joshua) and Yeshúa' (whence Jeshua) into Koine Greek as Iēsoûs (whence Jesus).
More words from Biblical Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Josua, Josua
- Josuabook of the Bible
- Josuamale given name
Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς, Ἰησούς
- Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs)book of the Bible
- Ἰησούς (Iēsoús)male given name
Arabic يَشُوع, يُوشَع
- يَشُوع (yašūʕ)book of the Bible
- يُوشَع (yūšaʕ)male given name
- يَشُوع (yašūʕ)male given name
Basque Josue, Josue
- Josuebook of the Bible
- Josuemale given name
Catalan Josuè, Josuè
- Josuèbook of the Bible
- Josuèmale given name
Chinese Cantonese 約書亞記 /约书亚记, 若蘇厄書 /若苏厄书
- 約書亞記 /约书亚记 (joek³ syu¹ aa³ gei³)book of the Bible
- 若蘇厄書 /若苏厄书 (joek⁶ sou¹ ak¹ syu¹)book of the Bible
- 約書亞 /约书亚 (joek³ syu¹ aa³)male given name
- 若蘇厄 /若苏厄 (joek⁶ sou¹ ak¹)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 約書亞記 /约书亚记, 若蘇厄書 /若苏厄书
- 約書亞記 /约书亚记 (Yuēshūyàjì)book of the Bible
- 若蘇厄書 /若苏厄书 (Ruòsū'èshū)book of the Bible
- 喬舒亞 /乔舒亚 (Qiáoshūyà)male given name
- 約書亞 /约书亚 (Yuēshūyà)male given name
- 若蘇厄 /若苏厄 (Ruòsū'è)male given name
Czech Kniha Jozue, Jozue
- Kniha Jozuebook of the Bible
- Jozuemale given name
Danish Josva, Josva
- Josvabook of the Bible
- Josvamale given name
Dutch Jozua, Jozua
- Jozuabook of the Bible
- Jozuamale given name
Esperanto Josuo, Joŝuo
- Josuobook of the Bible
- Joŝuobook of the Bible
Estonian Joosua raamat, Joosua
- Joosua raamatbook of the Bible
- Joosuamale given name
Finnish Joosua, Joosua
- Joosuabook of the Bible
- Joosuamale given name
French Josué, Josué
- Josuébook of the Bible
- Josuémale given name
German Josua, Josua
- Josuabook of the Bible
- Josuamale given name
Greek Ιησούς του Ναυή, Ιησούς του ναυή
- Ιησούς του Ναυή (Iisoús tou Naví)book of the Bible
- Ιησούς του ναυή (Iisoús tou naví)male given name
Hawaiian Iosua, Iokua
- Iosuabook of the Bible
- Iokuamale given name
Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
- יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (yehoshúa)book of the Bible
- יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (yehoshúa)male given name
Hindi यहोशू, यहोशू
- यहोशू (yahośū)book of the Bible
- यहोशू (yahośū)male given name
Hungarian Józsué, Józsua
- Józsuébook of the Bible
- Józsuamale given name
- Józsuémale given name
Icelandic Jósúa, Jósúa
- Jósúabook of the Bible
- Jósúamale given name
Indonesian Josua
- Josuabook of the Bible
Irish Leabhar Iósua, Iósua
- Leabhar Iósuabook of the Bible
- Iósuabook of the Bible
- Iósuamale given name
Italian Giosuè, Giosuè
- Giosuèbook of the Bible
- Giosuèmale given name
Japanese ヨシュア記, ヨシュア
- ヨシュア記 (Yoshua ki)book of the Bible
- ヨシュア (Yoshua)male given name
Korean 여호수아, 여호수아
- 여호수아 (Yeohosua)book of the Bible
- 여호수아 (Yeohosua)male given name
Latin Iosūe, Iosūe
- Iosūebook of the Bible
- Iosūemale given name
Latvian Jozuas grāmata, Jozua
- Jozuas grāmatabook of the Bible
- Jozuamale given name
- Džošuamale given name
Lithuanian Jozuė, Jozuės knyga
- Jozuėbook of the Bible
- Jozuės knygabook of the Bible
- Jozuėmale given name
Malay Yosua, Yosua
- Yosuabook of the Bible
- Yosuamale given name
Māori Hōhua, Hōhua
- Hōhuabook of the Bible
- Hōhuamale given name
Norwegian Bokmål Josva, Josva
- Josvabook of the Bible
- Josvamale given name
Persian یوشع, یوشع
- یوشع (yuša')book of the Bible
- یوشع (yuša')male given name
Polish Księga Jozuego, Jozue
- Księga Jozuegobook of the Bible
- Jozuemale given name
Portuguese Josué, Josué
- Josuébook of the Bible
- Josuémale given name
Punjabi یُوشَع
- یُوشَع (yūśaʻ)book of the Bible
Romanian Iosua, Iosua
- Iosuabook of the Bible
- Iosuamale given name
Russian Иису́с На́вин, Иису́с
- Иису́с На́вин (Iisús Návin)book of the Bible
- Иису́с (Iisús)male given name
- Джо́шуа (Džóšua)male given name
- Иису́с На́вин (Iisús Návin)male given name
Scottish Gaelic Iosua, Iosua
- Iosuabook of the Bible
- Iosuamale given name
Slovak Jozue, Jozue
- Jozuebook of the Bible
- Jozuemale given name
Spanish Josué, Josué
- Josuébook of the Bible
- Josuémale given name
Swahili Yoshua, Yoshua
- Yoshuabook of the Bible
- Yoshuamale given name
Swedish Josua, Josua
- Josuabook of the Bible
- Josuamale given name
Tagalog Josue, Josue
- Josuebook of the Bible
- Josuemale given name
Tamil யோசுவா, யோசுவா
- யோசுவா (yōcuvā)book of the Bible
- யோசுவா (yōcuvā)male given name
Turkish Yuşa
- Yuşamale given name
Urdu یوشع, کِتابِ یُوشَع
- یوشع (yūśaʻ)book of the Bible
- کِتابِ یُوشَع (kitāb-e yūśaʻ)book of the Bible
- یشوع (yaśū')male given name
Welsh Josua, Josua
- Josuabook of the Bible
- Josuamale given name
Cite this entry
Joshua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Joshua
“Joshua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Joshua. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Joshua,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Joshua.
Source: Joshua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.