Rebecca
English
Alternative forms
- Rebekah, Rebekka
Etymology
The Vulgate (Latin) form of biblical Rebekah, from Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɹɪˈbɛkə/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛkə
Proper noun
Rebecca (plural Rebeccas)
- A female given name from Hebrew, in regular use since the Reformation.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Romans 9:10-12:
- And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
- 1809 Charles and Mary Lamb, Poetry for Children: Choosing a Name:
- They would say, if 'twas Rebecca,
- That she is a little Quaker.
- 1949, Henry Miller, Sexus (The Rosy Crucifixion), Grove Press, published 1965, →ISBN, page 312:
- "What's her name?" I asked. "Rebecca. Rebecca Valentine." The name Rebecca excited me. I had always wanted to meet a woman called Rebecca—and not Becky. (Rebecca, Ruth, Roxane, Rosalind, Frederika, Ursula, Sheila, Norma, Guinevere, Leonora, Sabina, Malvina, Solange, Deirdre. What wonderful names women had! Like flowers, stars, constellations…)
- 1997, Robert T. Tauber, Self-fulfilling Prophecy, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 61:
- Our daughter's name, Rebecca, summons up similar visions. Although our family is not Jewish, both names (David and Rebecca) have a Hebrew ancestry which, in the eyes of many beholders ( i.e. teachers ) invokes a vision of a family that values education.
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Usage notes
The spelling Rebecca originates from the Latin Vulgate, which from the 4th century onward was the Bible that was used for centuries in Western Christianity. When the King James Version appeared in 1611, the spelling Rebekah was used in the Old Testament, but the spelling Rebecca was retained in the New Testament.
Derived terms
- Becky, Becca, Reba, Bex (pet forms)
Translations
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Noun
Rebecca (plural Rebeccas)
- (historical) One who protested in the Rebecca Riots; a Rebeccaite.
- 2019, Marsha R. Robinson, Disobedient Histories in Ancient and Modern Times (page 82)
- Colonel George Rice Trevor testified that the Rebeccas attacked poor-houses as well as tollgates.
- 2019, Marsha R. Robinson, Disobedient Histories in Ancient and Modern Times (page 82)
Danish
Proper noun
Rebecca
- a female given name, an English style spelling of the Danish Rebekka
Dutch
Alternative forms
- Rebekka
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Rebecca, from Hebrew רִבְקָה (rivká).
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Proper noun
Rebecca f
- a female given name from Hebrew
Related terms
- Rivka
French
Alternative forms
- Rébecca
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁe.be.ka/
Proper noun
Rebecca f
- (biblical) Rebekah (Biblical character)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Rebecca
German
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Proper noun
Rebecca
- a female given name from English [in turn from Biblical Hebrew], variant of Rebekka
Italian
Etymology
From Hebrew רִבְקָה (Riḇqāh, “enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /reˈbek.ka/
- Rhymes: -ekka
- Hyphenation: Re‧béc‧ca
Proper noun
Rebecca f
- Rebekah (Biblical character)
- a female given name of biblical origin
Anagrams
- beccare, erbacce
Latin
Etymology
From Biblical Hebrew רִבְקָה (Rivka)
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /reˈbek.ka/, [rɛˈbɛkːä]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /reˈbek.ka/, [reˈbɛkːä]
Proper noun
Rebecca f sg (genitive Rebeccae); first declension
- a female given name from Hebrew
Declension
First-declension noun, singular only.
Case | Singular |
---|---|
Nominative | Rebecca |
Genitive | Rebeccae |
Dative | Rebeccae |
Accusative | Rebeccam |
Ablative | Rebeccā |
Vocative | Rebecca |
Norwegian
Proper noun
Rebecca
- a female given name, an English style spelling of Rebekka
Swedish
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -²ɛka
Proper noun
Rebecca c (genitive Rebeccas)
- a female given name, an English style spelling of Rebecka