Maccabee

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin Maccabaeus,^[2][3][4][5] from Koine Greek Μακκαβαῖος (Makkabaios), the epithet of the Jewish patriot Judas Maccabaeus;^[2][3][6] the plural came through Late Latin Machabaei and French Machabés.^[7] The Greek name is usually connected with a Hebrew word for "hammer",^[2][4][5][7] perhaps because of the revolt Judas led.^[4] Wiktionary gives its Hebrew source as מַכַּבִּי (makkabbī),^[1] while Klein thought it an inexact transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "general, commander of an army", from a word for "host, army".^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member or supporter of the Jewish family, led by Judas Maccabaeus, that rose in a religious revolt in Judaea against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV:^[2][3] before 1425, in the later version of the Wycliffite Bible, in the title of the books of the Maccabees.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Old English had already used the Latin form Machabeus as a proper name, often with Latin case endings, in biblical translations and religious writing.^[2] From 1647 Maccabee was used in an extended sense, and in 1751 it was colloquial for a Methodist.^[2] The name also stands for the books of the Maccabees, four books of Jewish history and theology, of which two are in the Apocrypha^[3][8] and in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon.^[6] The adjective Maccabean dates from the mid-17th century,^[3] and Maccabee itself was used as an adjective from 1851.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1425 – a member of the family of Judas Maccabaeus, in the Wycliffite Bible.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.^[5]
• 1647 – in extended use.^[2]
• mid-17th century – Maccabean, of the Maccabees.^[3]
• 1751 – colloquial, a Methodist.^[2]
• 1851 – adjective, of or relating to the Maccabees.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A member of a priestly Jewish family, or one of their supporters, who led a revolt against Seleucid rule beginning in 168 BC and ruled Judaea from 142 to 63 BC; usually in the plural: the revolt of the Maccabees.^[6][8][2]
2. Maccabees: any of the books of Jewish history that tell of this family, two of which are in the Apocrypha.^[6][8][3]

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the Maccabees.^[2]

Word family

• Maccabean

Related words

• Hasmonean

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins