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John¹

(jŏn) Known as John Lackland. 1167?-1216.

King of England (1199-1216). The youngest son of Henry II, he schemed against his father and his brother Richard I. During his reign, the English lost most of their possessions in France. The nobility rose against John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta (1215).

John²

(jŏn)

See Table at Bible.

[Middle English, from Old French Jehan, from Late Latin Ioannes, Iohannes, from Greek Iōannēs, from Hebrew yôḥānān, Yahweh has been gracious : yô, Yahweh; see hwy in the Appendix of Semitic roots + ḥānan, he has been gracious; see ḥnn in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

john

(jŏn)

n.
Slang

1. A toilet.

2. A prostitute's customer.

[From the name John.]

John, Saint. Known as "the Evangelist" or "the Divine." fl. first century AD.

One of the 12 Apostles and the brother of James the Great. He is traditionally considered the author of the fourth Gospel, three epistles, and the book of Revelation.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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