English Reference

Word

johannes

Phoneticsjo·hannes

US/dʒoʊˈhænəs/

UK/dʒˈəʊhænz/

Definition

n. a Latin form of the name John. You will mostly see this in old books, historical documents, or when talking about famous people from the past.

n. the Latinate form of the masculine given name John. Primarily encountered in historical, theological, or academic contexts referring to figures from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance.

Examples

“The old document was signed by Johannes.”

“Historians often refer to the inventor of the printing press as Johannes Gutenberg.”

“The scholarly text meticulously cataloged the various Latin aliases used by the author, noting that Johannes was the most frequent signature on his early correspondence.”

Examples

simple

“The old document was signed by Johannes.”

contextual

“Historians often refer to the inventor of the printing press as Johannes Gutenberg.”

complex

“The scholarly text meticulously cataloged the various Latin aliases used by the author, noting that Johannes was the most frequent signature on his early correspondence.”

Usage

Used as a proper noun; almost exclusively restricted to historical contexts or specific European naming traditions.

Etymology

From Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān).

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

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/johannes

English Reference