English Reference

Word

joanna

Phoneticsjoan·na

/dʒoʊˈænə/

Definitions

01a female name

A1

n. a common name for a woman.

n. a female given name of Hebrew origin, meaning 'God is gracious'.

“Joanna is starting her new job at the hospital next Monday.”

“Joanna was named after her grandmother, following a long-standing family tradition of passing down biblical names through the generations.”

Synonyms

JohannaJoan

02a piano

C1 · Music

n. a slang word for a piano, used mostly in London.

n. Cockney rhyming slang for 'piano' (Joanna / pianner).

“He sat down at the old joanna and started playing a cheerful tune.”

“The pub was quiet until someone started hammering away at the joanna in the corner, leading the whole room in a singalong.”

British English · Slang · Dialect

Usage

Usually preceded by the definite article 'the'.

Synonyms

Etymology

From Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

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