Mary, mother of the Jesus of the New Testament, bore a Judeo-Aramaic variant of this name, Maryām (מרים). In the New Testament of the Bible, written in Greek, her name is transliterated Mariam (Μαριάμ) or Maria. Several other women in the New Testament, including St. Mary Magdalene, are called by the same name.
In antiquity, it was variously etymologized as "rebellion", "bitter sea", "strong waters", "exalted one", "ruling one", "wished for child", or "beautiful".[3]
Alternatively, the name can be interpreted "star of the sea" if taken as a contracted form of the Hebrew מאור ma'or "star" (lit. "luminary") plus ים yam "sea", yet this "strikes as a very free interpretation".[4]
Rashi, an 11th-century Jewish commentator on the Bible, wrote that the name was given to the sister of Moses because of the Egyptians' harsh treatment of Jews in Egypt. Rashi wrote that the Israelites lived in Egypt for two hundred ten years, including eighty-six years of cruel enslavement that began at the time Moses' elder sister was born. Therefore, the girl was called Miriam, because the Egyptians made life bitter (מַר, mar) for her people.[5]
Because of Mary's great religious significance, variants of her name are often given to girl children in both the Western and Arab worlds. In the Quran, Mary's name assumed the Arabic form Maryam (مريم), which has also passed into other languages. The Greek variant Maria passed into Latin and from thence into many modern European languages.
The letter y in the transliterationMiryam represents the palatal glide /j/.
The metathesized spelling Myriam has also gained some currency,[year needed] especially in France, alongside Miriam and Miryam.
The name of Israeli or Lebanese people called "Miriam" may be transliterated Miryam or Myriam depending on whether the context of the transliteration is French or English.
French-speakingedit
Myriam Abel or Myriam Morea (born 1981), French singer of Algerian descent
^What's in a Name? 25 Jewish Stories (in German, English, and French). Biel: Jewish Museum of Switzerland. 2022. ISBN 978-3-907262-34-4.
^Dan Isaac Slobin, The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition, p. 342
^ abc"Though the meaning of Mary as derived from the Egyptian Mery, Meryt (cherished, beloved), is most suitable for an only daughter, such a derivation is only possible, or at best barely probable."
A. Maas, "The Name of Mary", The Catholic Encyclopedia (1912)
^"Jerome (4th century AD) suggested relations with the word מאור (ma'or), meaning star, from the verb אור ('or), to be light or shine. Combined with the word ימ (yam), sea, the name Miriam would translate to Stella Maris (star of the sea), but that strikes as a very free interpretation.", "Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Miriam", Abarim Publications
^Rashi. "Commentary on Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs)". p. 2:13. "From the time that Miriam was born, the Egyptians intensified the bondage upon Israel; therefore, she was called Miriam, because they made it bitter (מַר) for them."
External linksedit
Look up Appendix:Names derived from Miryam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Behind the Name: Mary
Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Miriam, Abarim Publications
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