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Israel1 definition

Is·rael (iz′rē əl, -rā-; iz′rəl)

noun

  1. a masculine name: dim. Izzy
  2. Bible Jacob: so named after wrestling with the angel: Gen. 32:28
  3. the Jewish people, as descendants of Jacob

Etymology: OFr < LL(Ec) < Gr Israēl < Heb yisrael, lit., contender with God < sara, to wrestle + el, God

Israel2 definition

Is·ra·el (iz′rē əl, -rā-; iz′rəl)

  1. ancient land of the Hebrews at the SE end of the Mediterranean
  2. kingdom in the N part of this region, formed (10th cent. ) by the ten tribes of Israel that broke with Judah & Benjamin
  3. country between the Mediterranean Sea & Jordan: established (1948) as a Jewish state according to the United Nations plan (1947) partitioning Palestine into Arab and Jewish states: 8,463 sq mi (21,919 sq km); pop. 4,038,000; cap. Jerusalem

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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