ὡσαννά

Forms

ὡσαννᾱ́ (hōsannā́) ^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשַׁע נָא (hōšaʿ nāʾ, “please save”),^[1][2] a shortened form of Biblical Hebrew הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא (hōšîʿāh nnāʾ) in Psalm 118:25.^[3][2][4] BDAG takes the short form as Aramaic הוֹשַׁע נָא (hōšaʿ nāʾ).^[3] The phrase is an imperative of the verb “to save” with a particle of entreaty.^[5][2] The Septuagint translates the verse of the Psalm as σῶσον (sôson) δή (dḗ) “save now” instead of transcribing it.^[2]

The editors of the New Testament disagree on the breathing: Westcott and Hort print ὡσαννά, Lachmann and Tischendorf ὠσαννά (ōsanná).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Gospels (1st century AD), as the shout of the crowd when Jesus enters Jerusalem: ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ “hosanna to the son of David” (Matthew 21:9).^[4][6][5]

Semantic evolution

Originally an appeal for help, the cry had become a liturgical formula of praise, familiar from the Hallel psalms, by the time of the Gospels.^[3][7][5] The Didache has it in its eucharistic prayer, and Clement of Alexandria uses it.^[3][6] Coptic took it over as Coptic ϩⲱⲥⲁⲛⲛⲁ (hōsanna), recorded from about AD 300.^[8] Zonaras glosses it as “save now, you who are in the highest”, or simply “a hymn”.^[9]

Latin hosanna and Old English osanna come from the Greek word.^[5] Modern Greek ωσαννά (osaná) is a church word for praising God, and also names the hymns that begin with it.^[10]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John use it for the crowd's shout at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.^[6][3]
• 2nd century AD – The Didache uses it in a eucharistic prayer.^[3][6]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Clement of Alexandria uses it.^[6][11]
• About AD 300 – Coptic ϩⲱⲥⲁⲛⲛⲁ (hōsanna) is first recorded.^[8]
• Modern Greek – ωσαννά (osaná) remains a church word of praise.^[10]

Meanings

Interjection

1. (literally) save now, I pray!^[4][2][3]
2. (New Testament) A shout of praise, hosanna.^[3][7]

Related words

• Latin hosanna
• English hosanna

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thayer, Joseph Henry (1889), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New York: American Book Company
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
4. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
8. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
9. ^ Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon, ed. Johann August Heinrich Tittmann (1808), Iohannis Zonarae Lexicon, Leipzig: Crusius
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge