hosanna

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English osanna,^[2][3] inherited from Old English osanna,^[4][5][6][7] borrowed from Late Latin osanna, also hosanna, as in the Vulgate,^[6][5][8] from Ancient Greek ὡσαννά (hōsanná),^[6][4][9] from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשַׁע נָא (hōšaʿ nā, “save, we pray”),^[10][6][11] an abbreviated form of a longer phrase with the same meaning in Psalm 118:25.^{[6][11][12][4]} Wiktionary takes the Greek through Aramaic אושענא ('ōsha‘nā),^[10] and Partridge also allowed for an Aramaic step.^[13] The first element is the imperative of the Hebrew verb meaning "to save",^[9][5][14] from the root of the nouns for "salvation" that also gave Joshua;^[9][14] the second is a particle of entreaty.^[5][14][15] Barnhart says the spelling with h- was adopted in the 1500s in imitation of Latin, Greek and Hebrew.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An exclamation meaning "save, we pray", used in praise: in the West Saxon Gospels (Mark 11:9), before 1050.^[6][4] The Middle English form is found before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi.^[4][16]

Semantic evolution

The cry forms part of the Hallel sung at Passover and was much used in Jewish liturgy;^[6] in Rabbinical Hebrew the word also named the willow or palm branches carried in procession at the Feast of Booths, whose seventh day was "hosanna-day".^[6][4] Christians adopted it as a cry of praise to Christ,^[8][2] and in Middle English osanna was also the hosanna sung in the Palm Sunday liturgy;^[2] Chaucer used osanne twice.^[17] As a noun, a shout of praise, it is found from 1641–42, in Milton's Reason of Church-Government,^[6][4] and Johnson (1755) quoted Paradise Lost for it.^[18] The verb, to greet with shouts of "hosanna", followed in 1697.^[6] Today the word is also used of any enthusiastic praise or acclaim.^[3][7]

Timeline

• before 1050 – osanna, an exclamation of praise, in the West Saxon Gospels.^[6][4]
• before 1325 – Middle English osanna, in the Cursor Mundi.^[4]
• c. 1380 – osanne, in Chaucer.^[2][17]
• 1500s – the spelling with h-.^[4]
• 1642 – noun, a shout of "hosanna", in Milton.^[6] Barnhart dates it to 1641.^[4]
• 1697 – verb, to acclaim with shouts of "hosanna".^[6]

Meanings

Interjection

1. A cry of praise or adoration, especially to God.^[7][3][6]

Noun

1. A shout of "hosanna"; any expression of enthusiastic praise or acclamation: The new bridge opened to hosannas from the local paper.^[3][7][6]

Verb

1. To acclaim or applaud with shouts of "hosanna", or as if with them.^[3][6]

Related words

• Joshua

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
11. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
14. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
15. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
16. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
17. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
18. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.